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Updated 2026-08-14

UnitedHealth Group grades, 26 to 31.
Scope, not title, sets the grade.

Why this matters

UnitedHealth Group and Optum share one internal grade spine, grades 26 to 31. levels.fyi normalizes UnitedHealth Group and UnitedHealthcare roles as SG and Optum roles as GL; the grade numbers are real, the letters are levels.fyi's community normalization, not official UnitedHealth codes. A grade is not a single title, and all pay below is commonly reported on levels.fyi as of August 2026, not official UnitedHealth Group data.

Free to scanScope per gradeOne shared spine
By the numbers
Grade range
26 to 31
Shared UHG + Optum spine
Optum SWE median
~$123K
levels.fyi, August 2026
UnitedHealth Group SWE median
~$113K
levels.fyi, August 2026
Distinguished Engineer
By appointment
Above the numbered grades

The quick answer

What are the grades at UnitedHealth Group and Optum, and what do they pay?

UnitedHealth Group and Optum share one internal grade spine, grades 26 to 31. levels.fyi normalizes UnitedHealth Group and UnitedHealthcare roles as SG and Optum roles as GL: the grade numbers are genuine internal salary grades, while the SG and GL letters are levels.fyi's community normalization, not official UnitedHealth codes. A grade is not a single title, so grade 29 can be an IC Lead Software Engineer or a Senior Manager. On the software engineer track, total compensation is commonly reported on levels.fyi as of August 2026 around $98.6K at GL26, $120.4K at GL27, $153.1K at GL28, and $168.2K at GL29 for Optum, with UnitedHealth Group at about $97.7K, $110.5K, $132.4K, and $177.8K for SG26 to SG29; grades 30 (Principal, around $239K to $250K) and 31 (Senior Principal, Optum only, around $342K) are a thin sample and indicative. Optum runs about one grade higher and pays somewhat more, and the US software-engineer median is around $123K at Optum versus $113K at UnitedHealth Group. Pay is base plus bonus heavy, with equity immaterial until the Principal band, the healthcare inversion of big tech. Above the numbered grades sits the Distinguished Engineer, an appointment-based title with no public comp and no public count. This page is about job grades, not UnitedHealth's Level2 diabetes product. Scan your resume to see whether its scope language matches the grade you are targeting. .

UnitedHealth Group publishes no official salary or grade map. The figures below are commonly reported on levels.fyi as of August 2026 and are not official UnitedHealth Group data. Actual pay varies by division, location, performance bucket, and year. Total compensation means base salary plus bonus plus any stock.

The important structural fact is that UnitedHealth Group and Optum share one internal grade spine, grades 26 to 31. levels.fyi normalizes UnitedHealth Group and UnitedHealthcare roles with an SG prefix and Optum roles with a GL prefix. The grade numbers are the genuine internal salary grades; the SG and GL letters are the community normalization, not official UnitedHealth codes, so treat the number as the signal and the prefix as a label.

A grade is not a single title. The same grade splits into an IC or a management role by job family, so grade 29 can be a Lead Software Engineer on the IC track or a Senior Manager on the management track. Optum also runs one grade higher on the software track: Optum reaches GL31, while the UnitedHealth Group SWE ladder tops out at SG30 on levels.fyi.

Comp shape is the healthcare inversion of big tech. Pay is base plus bonus heavy, and equity is immaterial until the Principal band: at grades 26 to 29 stock is a rounding error, roughly $1K to $7K a year. Only at Principal (grade 30) and Senior Principal (grade 31) does stock start to matter, and even then it is a modest share that typically vests over four years (NYSE: UNH). The data is thinnest at grades 30 and 31, so those are flagged indicative.

One disambiguation before the tables: a search for “UnitedHealth levels” collides with UnitedHealth's consumer product Level2, a type-2-diabetes therapy. This page is about job grades, not that product.

Salary reference, the shared grade spine

Optum and UnitedHealth Group pay,
grade by grade.

Average total compensation per grade on the software engineer track, leading with Optum (GL) as the primary technology track and comparing UnitedHealth Group (SG) beside it. Total compensation means base salary plus bonus plus any stock. Grades 30 and 31 are a thin sample and flagged; SG31 is not shown because the UnitedHealth Group SWE track tops out at grade 30 on levels.fyi. Every figure is commonly reported on levels.fyi as of August 2026, not official UnitedHealth Group data.

GradeIC titleOptum (GL) total compUnitedHealth Group (SG) total comp
26Associate Software Engineer~$98.6K~$97.7K
27Software Engineer~$120.4K~$110.5K
28Senior Software Engineer~$153.1K~$132.4K
29Lead Software Engineer (IC) or Senior Manager~$168.2K~$177.8K
30Principal (commonly reported)~$250.3K (thin sample)~$238.7K (thin sample)
31Senior Principal (Optum only, commonly reported)~$342.0K (thin sample)Not shown

Source: commonly reported on levels.fyi as of August 2026, not official UnitedHealth Group data, and it varies by division, location, and year. Optum runs about one grade higher than UnitedHealth Group on the software track. Grades 30 and 31 are a thin sample and indicative; SG31 is not shown.

Track medians

For perspective beyond the per-grade figures, the US software-engineer median for each track on the same shared grade spine. This is not a second ladder, it is the Optum premium seen at a glance. Both commonly reported on levels.fyi as of August 2026, not official UnitedHealth Group data.

TrackMedian total compNote
Optum software engineer (US median)~$123KRuns about one grade higher than UnitedHealth Group on the SWE track.
UnitedHealth Group software engineer (US median)~$113KThe UnitedHealth Group and UnitedHealthcare SWE track, SG-normalized.

Source: commonly reported on levels.fyi as of August 2026. Context only, not official UnitedHealth Group compensation. The two tracks run on the same grade spine, not separate ladders.

The spine, grade by grade

Each grade: scope, comp,
and the resume signal it expects.

For each grade, the IC title, scope of ownership, and the resume signal the grade expects, with Optum (GL) and UnitedHealth Group (SG) compensation folded into the signal. The grade splits into IC or management by job family, and all pay is commonly reported on levels.fyi as of August 2026, not official UnitedHealth Group data. For the wider hiring picture, start with the UnitedHealth Group resume guide.

26
Grade 26 (SG26 / GL26)

Associate Software Engineer (entry)

Scope of ownership

Entry level, the first rung on the shared grade spine. Owns well-scoped tasks and components under guidance, learns the codebase and the healthcare domain, and ships within a team rather than driving design. The grade is the same whether levels.fyi normalizes it as SG26 for UnitedHealth Group or GL26 for Optum.

Resume signal & comp

Title reads as Associate Software Engineer; lead with the systems you shipped, one quantified outcome, and the fundamentals you can prove. Total compensation is commonly reported on levels.fyi as of August 2026 around $98.6K at Optum (GL26) and around $97.7K at UnitedHealth Group (SG26). Pay is base plus bonus, with equity a rounding error at this band (roughly $1K to $7K a year). Commonly reported, not official UnitedHealth Group data.

27
Grade 27 (SG27 / GL27)

Software Engineer

Scope of ownership

The standard engineering grade. Owns features end to end within a team and delivers standard projects with some guidance, translating requirements into shipped work. Same grade number across the two brands, SG27 for UnitedHealth Group and GL27 for Optum, with Optum running somewhat higher on the software track.

Resume signal & comp

Title reads as Software Engineer; lead with features owned and shipped, plus the quantified impact each carried. Total compensation is commonly reported on levels.fyi as of August 2026 around $120.4K at Optum (GL27) and around $110.5K at UnitedHealth Group (SG27). Base plus bonus, equity still immaterial. Commonly reported, not official UnitedHealth Group data.

28
Grade 28 (SG28 / GL28)

Senior Software Engineer

Scope of ownership

The senior IC grade. Owns significant systems, drives design within a domain, and mentors less experienced engineers. This is where scope starts to span beyond a single feature into a system a team relies on. SG28 at UnitedHealth Group, GL28 at Optum, same grade number.

Resume signal & comp

Title reads as Senior Software Engineer; lead with the systems you own, the design decisions you drove, and the engineers you mentored, each quantified. Total compensation is commonly reported on levels.fyi as of August 2026 around $153.1K at Optum (GL28) and around $132.4K at UnitedHealth Group (SG28). Base plus bonus heavy, equity a rounding error. Commonly reported, not official UnitedHealth Group data.

29
Grade 29 (SG29 / GL29)

Lead Software Engineer (IC) or Senior Manager (management)

Scope of ownership

The clearest proof that a grade is not a single title. Grade 29 splits by job family: on the individual-contributor track it is a Lead Software Engineer owning cross-team technical scope, and on the management track the same grade is a Senior Manager owning a team and its delivery. Two people can both be grade 29 and hold very different titles.

Resume signal & comp

Title reads as Lead Software Engineer on the IC track or Senior Manager on the management track; lead with the cross-team scope you own or the teams you manage, quantified. Total compensation is commonly reported on levels.fyi as of August 2026 around $168.2K at Optum (GL29) and around $177.8K at UnitedHealth Group (SG29), the one grade where the reported SG figure reads above GL. Base plus bonus, equity immaterial. Commonly reported, not official UnitedHealth Group data.

30
Grade 30 (SG30 / GL30)

Principal (commonly reported, unnamed on the levels.fyi card)

Scope of ownership

Org-wide technical ownership. Sets architecture and direction across teams and is the top numbered IC band on the UnitedHealth Group SWE track. The Principal title is commonly reported for this grade but is unnamed on the levels.fyi card, so it is framed as commonly reported rather than verified one to one.

Resume signal & comp

Title is commonly reported as Principal (unnamed on the card); lead with the org-wide architecture and direction you own, quantified. Total compensation is a thin sample and indicative, commonly reported on levels.fyi as of August 2026 around $250.3K at Optum (GL30) and around $238.7K at UnitedHealth Group (SG30). Only at this band does stock start to matter, and even then it is a modest share of the package that typically vests over four years. Commonly reported, not official UnitedHealth Group data.

31
Grade 31 (GL31, Optum only)

Senior Principal (Optum only, commonly reported)

Scope of ownership

The top numbered rung, and Optum only: the UnitedHealth Group software track tops out at SG30 on levels.fyi, while Optum runs one grade higher to GL31. Broad, org-spanning technical leadership that sits just below the appointment-based Distinguished Engineer, which is above the numbered grades entirely.

Resume signal & comp

Title is commonly reported as Senior Principal (Optum only, unnamed on the card); lead with the broadest technical scope you drive and the outcomes it produced. Total compensation is a thin sample and indicative, commonly reported on levels.fyi as of August 2026 around $342.0K at Optum (GL31); it is not shown for the UnitedHealth Group SWE track, which tops out at grade 30. Base plus bonus with a modest stock share at this band. Commonly reported, not official UnitedHealth Group data.

Notes on the comp figures

UnitedHealth Group and Optum pay is base plus a bonus that grows as a share of pay at senior grades. Equity is immaterial until the Principal band: at grades 26 to 29 stock is a rounding error, roughly $1K to $7K a year, the healthcare inversion of big tech (NYSE: UNH). Only at Principal (grade 30) and Senior Principal (grade 31, Optum only) does a modest stock share appear, and it typically vests over four years. Optum runs somewhat higher than UnitedHealth Group at the same grade, and grades 30 and 31 are a thin sample and indicative. All figures are commonly reported on levels.fyi as of August 2026, not official UnitedHealth Group data, and vary by division, location, and year.

30

Principal (grade 30)

Position
Grade 30, a tracked rung on the numbered spine; the top IC band on the UnitedHealth Group (SG30) track, one below Optum's Senior Principal (GL31).
Scope
Org-wide technical ownership; sets architecture across teams.
How you get there
A tracked promotion up the grade spine, earned on scope and impact.
Comp (levels.fyi, August 2026)
Commonly reported around $239K to $250K total comp, a thin sample and indicative. Not official UnitedHealth Group data.
Rarity
A small senior fraction of the IC ladder; the top numbered band.
DE

Distinguished Engineer

Position
Above the numbered grades entirely, not a slot on the 26 to 31 spine.
Scope
Org-wide and industry-level scope; influence beyond a single organization.
How you get there
An appointment, conferred rather than slotted; you are named to it, not promoted into a numbered grade.
Comp (levels.fyi, August 2026)
No public comp figure. No number is asserted for the Distinguished Engineer band.
Rarity
Rarer still, and not a headcount you can look up. UnitedHealth cites 40,000+ technology staff but discloses no Distinguished Engineer count.
Above the numbered grades

An appointment, not a grade,
and how rare the title is.

Because the Distinguished Engineer band carries no public comp and no public count, the defensible signal at the very top is the appointment and the rarity, not a number. UnitedHealth cites more than 40,000 technology staff but discloses no Distinguished Engineer or Fellow headcount, so the honest framing is appointment and rarity.

The appointment

Distinguished Engineer is conferred, not slotted into a grade. It sits above the numbered spine of 26 to 31, so you are named to it rather than promoted into a grade, and it carries org-wide and industry-level scope.

How it worksAn appointment conferred on org-wide and industry-level impact, not a tracked step up the grade spine.
GradeNone. It sits above grades 26 to 31, not on the numbered spine, so it has no SG or GL grade number.
CompNo public figure. Because it is an appointment above the grades, no comp number is asserted for it.
Below itSenior Principal (grade 31, Optum only) is the top numbered rung just beneath the Distinguished Engineer band.

Distinguished Engineer is an appointment, not a pay grade. No comp figure is published for it.

How rare the title is

Reaching Distinguished Engineer is the exception, not the path. It is conferred, sits above every numbered grade, and is far rarer than any tracked rung. Because the count is not published, the honest signal is rarity and appointment, not a percentage.

HeadcountNot published. UnitedHealth Group discloses no Distinguished Engineer or Fellow count, so any specific number is not disclosed.
Technology staffUnitedHealth cites more than 40,000 technology staff, but no Distinguished Engineer or Fellow headcount within that.
RarityFar rarer than any numbered grade; the title is conferred by appointment, not reached on tenure.
How to frame itBy rarity and appointment, not a number. Treat it as a conferred honor above the grade spine.

The count of Distinguished Engineers is not published; the title is answered by appointment and rarity, not a number.

Why a grade is not a single title

Across grades 26 to 31, the same grade splits into an IC or a management role by job family, which is why grade 29 can be a Lead Software Engineer or a Senior Manager. That is also why the title on a posting is not enough to place you: recruiters map you by the scope your bullets can prove, and the SG or GL prefix is levels.fyi normalization rather than an official code. Optum runs one grade higher on the software track (to GL31), while the UnitedHealth Group SWE ladder tops out at SG30 on levels.fyi. Treat the grade number as the signal, the prefix as a label, and the title as a downstream consequence of scope.

  1. 01

    Identify your grade by scope, not title

    UnitedHealth Group and Optum share one grade spine, grades 26 to 31, and a grade is not a single title, so place yourself by the scope you own: grade 26 owns well-scoped tasks under guidance, 27 owns features end to end, 28 owns significant systems and mentors, 29 owns cross-team scope as a Lead or a team as a Senior Manager, 30 (Principal) owns org-wide direction, and 31 (Senior Principal, Optum only) owns the broadest technical scope. The SG and GL prefixes are levels.fyi normalization, not an official code, so ignore them and read the scope.

  2. 02

    Write bullets at the grade's altitude

    Shipped components for grade 26, features owned end to end for 27, significant systems and mentorship for 28, cross-team or team ownership for 29, org-wide architecture for Principal at 30, and the broadest technical leadership for Senior Principal at 31. A resume written one grade too low reads as the lower grade, because the recruiter maps you by the scope your bullets can prove.

  3. 03

    Translate scope into numbers

    Attach a denominator to every claim: systems and services owned, users or claims processed, teams led, latency or cost or quality deltas, dollars saved. Cross-reference levels.fyi for the grade that matches your scope, accessed August 2026, and remember these are commonly reported figures, not official UnitedHealth Group data, with Optum running somewhat higher than UnitedHealth Group at the same grade.

  4. 04

    Scan and iterate on ResumeAdapter

    Upload to ResumeAdapter to see your score against the UnitedHealth Group or Optum job description, the scope language missing for your target grade, and a rewrite plan that quantifies the grade you are pitching.

FAQ

UnitedHealth Group levels FAQ

The questions candidates surface when they cross-reference their experience against the UnitedHealth Group and Optum grade spine, grades 26 to 31. Answers are byte-identical to the FAQPage JSON-LD, because AI engines that extract HTML and AI engines that extract JSON-LD should not see different text.

What are the levels or grades at UnitedHealth Group and Optum?

UnitedHealth Group and Optum share one internal grade spine, grades 26 to 31. levels.fyi normalizes UnitedHealth Group and UnitedHealthcare roles with an SG prefix and Optum roles with a GL prefix, so you see SG26 to SG30 and GL26 to GL31. The grade numbers are the genuine internal salary grades; the SG and GL letters are levels.fyi's community normalization, not official UnitedHealth codes. A grade is not a single title: grade 26 is an Associate Software Engineer, 27 a Software Engineer, 28 a Senior Software Engineer, 29 a Lead Software Engineer on the IC track or a Senior Manager on the management track, 30 a Principal (commonly reported, unnamed on the levels.fyi card), and 31 a Senior Principal (Optum only, commonly reported). All pay attached to these grades is commonly reported on levels.fyi as of August 2026, not official UnitedHealth Group data.

How much does an Optum software engineer make?

The US median for an Optum software engineer is commonly reported on levels.fyi as of August 2026 around $123K in total compensation, not official UnitedHealth Group data. Across the grade spine the reported average total comp runs from about $98.6K at GL26 (Associate Software Engineer) to about $342K at GL31 (Senior Principal, Optum only), though the top grades 30 and 31 are a thin sample and indicative. Total compensation means base salary plus bonus plus any stock, and the package is base plus bonus heavy, with equity immaterial until the Principal band. Actual pay varies by division, location, and year.

What is pay grade 27 or grade 28 at UnitedHealth Group?

On the software engineer track, grade 27 (Software Engineer) total compensation is commonly reported on levels.fyi as of August 2026 around $110.5K at UnitedHealth Group (SG27) and around $120.4K at Optum (GL27). Grade 28 (Senior Software Engineer) is commonly reported around $132.4K at UnitedHealth Group (SG28) and around $153.1K at Optum (GL28). Optum runs somewhat higher than UnitedHealth Group at the same grade. These are crowdsourced community figures, not official UnitedHealth Group data, and total compensation means base salary plus bonus plus any stock.

Is GL29 or SG29 a manager or an individual contributor?

Either. Grade 29 is a grade, not a track, so it splits by job family: on the individual-contributor track it is a Lead Software Engineer, and on the management track the same grade is a Senior Manager. That is why two people can both be grade 29 and hold very different titles. On the software track, grade 29 total compensation is commonly reported on levels.fyi as of August 2026 around $177.8K at UnitedHealth Group (SG29) and around $168.2K at Optum (GL29), not official UnitedHealth Group data.

Does Optum pay differently from UnitedHealthcare or UnitedHealth Group?

Yes, somewhat. Optum and UnitedHealth Group share the same internal grade spine, grades 26 to 31, but on the software engineer track Optum runs about one grade higher and pays somewhat more at the same grade. Optum's SWE ladder reaches GL31 (Senior Principal), while UnitedHealth Group's software track tops out at SG30 on levels.fyi. The US software-engineer median is commonly reported around $123K at Optum and around $113K at UnitedHealth Group as of August 2026, not official UnitedHealth Group data. The SG and GL prefixes are levels.fyi's normalization for the same shared grade numbers, not official UnitedHealth codes.

What is the difference between a Principal and a Distinguished Engineer at UnitedHealth Group?

Principal is grade 30, a tracked rung on the numbered grade spine with commonly-reported total comp around $239K to $250K (a thin sample, indicative, levels.fyi as of August 2026, not official UnitedHealth Group data). A Distinguished Engineer sits above the numbered grades entirely: it is appointment-based, conferred rather than slotted into a grade, and it carries org-wide and industry-level scope. Because it is an appointment rather than a tracked grade, the Distinguished Engineer band has no public compensation figure and no public count, so no number is asserted for it here. The cleanest way to hold the two apart is a tracked ladder rung (Principal) versus a conferred title above the ladder (Distinguished Engineer).

How many Distinguished Engineers or Fellows does UnitedHealth Group have?

UnitedHealth Group does not publish a count of Distinguished Engineers or Fellows, so any specific number is not disclosed. It is an appointment, not a headcount you can look up. UnitedHealth cites more than 40,000 technology staff but discloses no Distinguished Engineer or Fellow count, so the honest way to frame the question is by rarity and appointment, not a number: the title is conferred, it sits above the numbered grades 26 to 31, and it is far rarer than any tracked rung.

Continue

Go deeper on the rest
of the UnitedHealth Group stack.

01 / Pillar

UnitedHealth Group resume guide

The pillar covering UnitedHealth Group and Optum hiring, the values it screens for, and the process. Start here if you have not already.

Read
02 / Spoke

UnitedHealth Group values

The six values (Integrity, Compassion, Inclusion, Relationships, Innovation, Performance) mapped to resume language, shared across UnitedHealthcare and Optum.

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03 / Spoke

The UnitedHealth Group interview process

The six-step model, the recorded digital interview, and how the grade you are hired into is decided across UnitedHealthcare and Optum.

Read
04 / ATS

How applicant tracking systems read you

UnitedHealth Group hiring runs on Oracle Taleo. See how an ATS parses your resume and what formatting survives the read.

Read
Related

The ATS baseline, a worked example, and the company library.

For the data behind the median pre-edit score, see the ATS statistics. For a worked model at these grades, see the software engineer resume example. To compare hiring playbooks across employers, browse the full company library.

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