Careers at Optum — Pune

Clinical research roles at Optum in Pune

Optum is the health-services and technology arm of UnitedHealth Group, and its India operations are built around US healthcare payer and provider services rather than clinical trials. In Pune, the largest fresher entry point is medical coding, including outpatient and risk-adjustment (HCC) coding tied to US insurance and Medicare Advantage work. Around coding sit claims processing, healthcare data operations, and clinical data roles that structure and validate patient and claims data. Being payer-side, Optum’s coding work often centres on accuracy of diagnosis capture and compliance with CMS guidelines, which gives it a different flavour from provider-only billing shops. The environment is large-scale, metrics-driven, and aligned to US hours.

What Optum looks for in freshers

Life sciences, pharmacy, nursing, BDS, BAMS, BHMS, physiotherapy, and allied health graduates are all common in coding hiring. Strong anatomy, physiology, and medical terminology knowledge helps, and familiarity with ICD-10-CM and, for risk adjustment, HCC logic is a clear advantage. A recognised coding certification signals readiness for the higher tracks. Clinical data roles favour life sciences and pharmacy backgrounds with attention to data accuracy. Optum screens for precision and consistency, since coding accuracy directly affects reimbursement and compliance.

Interview process

Expect an assessment, a domain or technical interview, and an HR round. Coding candidates get questions on ICD-10-CM guidelines, specificity, and, for risk-adjustment roles, how a diagnosis maps to an HCC; a sample coding test is common. Data candidates may be asked about validation logic. HR covers US-shift readiness, package, and joining timelines. The bar is more about coding accuracy and domain aptitude than prior experience.

How to prepare

Coding is the main door in, so train for it. Our Medical Coding course (3 months, ₹40K + GST) covers ICD-10-CM, CPT, and coding guidelines and prepares candidates for the certification-track roles Optum recruits into. If you are aiming at the clinical data side, the Clinical Data Management course (3 months, ₹40K + GST) builds the data-handling skills those teams use. iLearn CRI’s 50+ placed alumni and 100% placement assistance help coding freshers reach interviews with major healthcare-operations employers.