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Data Science Remote Freelance Jobs in Minnesota (NOW HIRING)

Dlapiper

Data Scientist

Minneapolis, MN · On-site +1

Prioritizes, scopes and manages data science projects for internal stakeholders and clients ... Opportunity for a hybrid work arrangement combining remote and in-office work. The specific ...

General Mills

Senior Data Scientist

Minneapolis, MN · On-site +1

$110K - $184K/yr

What you will do * Partner with data science leaders, AI engineering teams, and business ... International relocation and international remote working arrangements outside of the United States ...

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Data Science Remote Freelance information

What does a data science remote freelance professional do?

A Data Science Remote Freelance job involves working independently, often from home or any location, to provide data analysis, modeling, and interpretation services to various clients or companies. Freelance data scientists use programming, statistics, and machine learning to solve business problems, create predictive models, and generate actionable insights from data. They may work on projects like data cleaning, visualization, algorithm development, and reporting, and must manage their own schedules and client relationships.

What skills and qualifications are needed to thrive as a data science remote freelance professional?

To thrive as a Data Science Remote Freelance professional, you need strong analytical skills, proficiency in statistics, programming (Python or R), and a solid understanding of machine learning, typically supported by a relevant degree or portfolio. Familiarity with data visualization tools (like Tableau), cloud platforms (such as AWS or GCP), and version control systems (like Git) is highly valuable. Exceptional communication, self-motivation, and time management are critical soft skills for remote client collaboration and project delivery. These skills ensure you can independently deliver actionable insights and maintain client satisfaction in a flexible, remote setting.

How do data science remote freelance professionals manage collaboration and communication with clients and teams?

Remote freelance data scientists usually rely heavily on digital collaboration tools such as Slack, Zoom, and project management platforms to stay connected with clients and team members. Clear communication about project goals, timelines, and deliverables is essential, especially since team members may be located in different time zones. Regular check-ins, status updates, and sharing progress through documentation or presentations help ensure everyone stays aligned. Building strong relationships and maintaining transparency are key to successful remote collaboration in this role.

What is the difference between Data Science Remote Freelance vs Data Analyst Remote Freelance?

AspectData Science Remote FreelanceData Analyst Remote Freelance
Required CredentialsTypically requires a degree in data science, statistics, or related field; proficiency in programming languages like Python or RUsually requires a degree in statistics, mathematics, or related field; strong Excel and SQL skills
Work EnvironmentIndependent, project-based, often self-managedIndependent, project-based, often self-managed
Employer & Industry UsageUsed by tech companies, startups, and consulting firms for complex data modelingUsed across industries for reporting, data visualization, and business insights

Data Science Remote Freelance and Data Analyst Remote Freelance share similarities in work environment and employer usage, but data science roles typically require more advanced technical skills and programming knowledge. Both roles are popular in remote freelance markets, serving different analytical needs.

What are popular job titles related to Data Science Remote Freelance jobs in Minnesota?

For Data Science Remote Freelance jobs in Minnesota, the most frequently searched job titles are:

What job categories do people searching Data Science Remote Freelance jobs in Minnesota look for?

The top searched job categories for Data Science Remote Freelance jobs in Minnesota are:

What cities in Minnesota are hiring for Data Science Remote Freelance jobs?

Cities in Minnesota with the most Data Science Remote Freelance job openings:

Data Science Remote Freelance jobs near you
Infographic showing various Data Science Remote Freelance job openings in Minnesota as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 3% Internship, 63% Full Time, 19% Part Time, 1% Temporary, and 14% Contract. Highlights an 100% Remote job distribution.

Lead AI/ML Engineer (Data Science) - Remote

UnitedHealth Group

Eden Prairie, MN • On-site, Remote

$104K - $137K/yr

Full-time

Retirement

Re-posted 7 days ago

Key responsibilities

  • Design, develop, and deploy production-grade AI-powered solutions addressing complex business challenges.

  • Own the end-to-end AI/ML technical roadmap, including architectural direction, technology selection, and standards enforcement.

  • Lead, mentor, and develop a team of AI/ML engineers, ensuring high standards of quality, compliance, and Responsible AI.

UnitedHealth Group rating

7.6

Company rating: 7.6 out of 10

Based on 146 frontline employees who took The Breakroom Quiz

193rd of 898 rated healthcare providers

Job description

Optum Tech is a global leader in health care innovation. Our teams develop cutting-edge solutions that help people live healthier lives and help make the health system work better for everyone. From advanced data analytics and AI to cybersecurity, we use innovative approaches to solve some of health care's most complex challenges. Your contributions here have the potential to change lives. Ready to build the next breakthrough? Join us to start Caring. Connecting. Growing together.
This is a high-impact technical leadership role within the Optum Tech AI Transformation team, supporting key enterprise initiatives such as the Real-Time AI Underwriting platform. You will own the technical direction and people leadership for a squad of AI/ML engineers, driving strategic engineering efforts. Beyond building, you will lead, mentor, govern, and ensure that everything your team delivers meets the highest standards of quality, compliance, and Responsible AI. You'll serve as a bridge between engineering execution and leadership vision, ensuring AI investments translate into measurable, production-grade business outcomes.
You'll enjoy the flexibility to work remotely * from anywhere within the U.S. as you take on some tough challenges. For all hires in the Minneapolis or Washington, D.C. area, you will be required to work in the office a minimum of four days per week.
Primary Responsibilities:
  • Design, develop, and deploy production-grade AI-powered solutions-spanning classical ML, Generative AI (LLMs, RAG, Graph RAG), and multi-agent orchestration frameworks-to address complex business challenges with emphasis on responsible and secure AI practices
  • Own the end-to-end AI/ML technical roadmap, defining architectural direction, choosing optimal technologies, and establishing engineering and coding standards for the team's portfolio
  • Use enterprise-approved AI tools to streamline workflows, automate tasks, and drive continuous improvement across the development lifecycle, optimizing team productivity and operational efficiency
  • Evaluate emerging trends and technologies (such as Agentic AI, foundation models, fine-tuning, and enterprise AI tooling) to inform high-quality solution design and strategic innovation
  • Drive MLOps maturity across development pipelines, overseeing model versioning, CI/CD for ML, retraining automation, drift detection, and production monitoring
  • Ensure compliance and ethical governance by aligning solutions with enterprise policies, Responsible AI principles, and data privacy regulations (HIPAA/PHI handling)
  • Lead, mentor, and develop a team of 5-10 direct/indirect AI/ML engineers, setting clear goals, conducting regular 1:1s, and fostering a high-performance, self-managed culture
  • Own and conduct robust technical reviews (architecture, design, and code reviews) to enforce rigorous standards, security posture, and pythonic best practices

You'll be rewarded and recognized for your performance in an environment that will challenge you and give you clear direction on what it takes to succeed in your role as well as provide development for other roles you may be interested in.
Required Qualifications:
  • 10+ years of software development experience with a strong engineering and architecture foundation
  • 2+ years of hands-on experience in AI/ML project implementation (full lifecycle from ideation, data analysis, model development through production deployment)
  • Hands-on experience with NLP (text processing, embeddings, transformers, NER, text classification, or conversational AI)
  • Working experience with GenAI (RAG pipelines, prompt engineering, LLM integration, fine-tuning techniques like LoRA, and enterprise deployment)
  • Experience or strong working knowledge of Agentic AI development (agentic workflows, tool orchestration, multi-agent systems, or planning frameworks)
  • Very solid Python programming skills with deep proficiency in production-grade coding, code reviews, and enforcing standards
  • Driver's license and access to reliable transportation

Preferred Qualifications:
  • Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, Statistics, or a related field (or equivalent professional experience)
  • Experience with MLOps tooling (MLflow, Weights & Biases, Kubeflow, etc.) for experiment tracking, model registry, and automation
  • Familiarity with Responsible AI frameworks (bias detection, fairness metrics, model explainability like SHAP/LIME, and adversarial red-teaming)
  • Knowledge of Graph RAG, knowledge graphs, and ontology-based reasoning systems

*All employees working remotely will be required to adhere to UnitedHealth Group's Telecommuter Policy.
Pay is based on several factors including but not limited to local labor markets, education, work experience, certifications, etc. In addition to your salary, we offer benefits such as, a comprehensive benefits package, incentive and recognition programs, equity stock purchase and 401k contribution (all benefits are subject to eligibility requirements). No matter where or when you begin a career with us, you'll find a far-reaching choice of benefits and incentives. The salary for this role will range from $145,500 - $249,500 annually based on full-time employment. We comply with all minimum wage laws as applicable.
Application Deadline: This will be posted for a minimum of 2 business days or until a sufficient candidate pool has been collected. Job posting may come down early due to volume of applicants.
At UnitedHealth Group, our mission is to help people live healthier lives and make the health system work better for everyone. We believe everyone-of every race, gender, sexuality, age, location and income-deserves the opportunity to live their healthiest life. Today, however, there are still far too many barriers to good health which are disproportionately experienced by people of color, historically marginalized groups and those with lower incomes. We are committed to mitigating our impact on the environment and enabling and delivering equitable care that addresses health disparities and improves health outcomes - an enterprise priority reflected in our mission.
UnitedHealth Group is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer under applicable law and qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, national origin, religion, age, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, or protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by local, state, or federal laws, rules, or regulations.
UnitedHealth Group is a drug - free workplace. Candidates are required to pass a drug test before beginning employment.
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