UnitedHealth Group logo
UnitedHealth Group
Gardena, California

Staff Pharmacist

PharmacistFull-Time

Listed compensation

$44-$79/hr

The week · per this posting · weekdays assumed

Ask the employer about the work setting, call expectations, weekend coverage and time off.

Posted 1mo ago · Verified live

Job Description

Explore opportunities with CPS, part of the Optum family of businesses. We’re dedicated to crafting and delivering innovative hospital and pharmacy solutions for better patient outcomes across the entire continuum of care.

With CPS, you’ll work alongside our team of more than 2,500 pharmacy professionals, technology experts, and industry leaders to drive superior financial, clinical, and operational performance for health systems nationwide. Ready to help shape the future of pharmacy and hospital solutions? Join us and discover the meaning behind Caring. Connecting. Growing together.

As a full time, non-exempt Staff Pharmacist you’ll play a vital role in delivering safe, accurate, and efficient pharmacy services. This is a hands-on opportunity to make a direct impact by ensuring the accuracy of medication orders, verifying technician-prepared products, and safeguarding controlled substances.

You’ll contribute to a high-performing team by mentoring new staff, maintaining seamless daily operations, and supporting the Director in optimizing pharmacy performance.

Primary Responsibilities

  • Reviews, verifies, and dispenses medication orders to ensure appropriateness, safety, and accuracy
  • Provides clinical pharmacy services, including medication therapy management and pharmacokinetic dosing and monitoring
  • Collaborates with physicians, nurses, and care teams to optimize medication regimens for hospitalized patients
  • Oversees sterile and non-sterile compounding activities, ensuring compliance with USP and hospital standards
  • Monitors patient outcomes and medication safety, identifying and preventing adverse drug events
  • Supervises and supports pharmacy technicians and interns, ensuring efficient and compliant workflow
  • Ensures regulatory and accreditation compliance, including Joint Commission, state, and federal requirements
  • Location: Memorial Hospital of Gardena in Gardena, CA
  • Schedule: This full time, nonexempt position will work up to 40 hours/week in a variety of day/evening/night shifts in this 24/7 centralized pharmacy. Our standard shifts are:
  • 1st shift: 7am - 3:30pm
  • 2nd shift: 9am - 5:30pm
  • 3rd shift: 1pm - 9:30pm
  • 4th shift: 2:30pm - 11pm
  • 5th shift: 9pm - 7:30am
  • Pharmacy Hours: The centralized pharmacy is open 24/7 and supported by AllScripts and Pyxis.

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

  • ACPE-accredited pharmacy degree
  • Current California Pharmacist license in good standing
  • IV compounding experience
  • Proven skilled with pharmacy systems and Microsoft Office

Preferred Qualifications

  • PharmD
  • 1+ years of recent acute care inpatient pharmacist experience

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 hourly pay for this role will range from $44 - $79 per hour based on full-time employment. We comply with all minimum wage laws as applicable.

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.

Key Responsibilities

The Staff Pharmacist is responsible for reviewing, verifying, and dispensing medication orders while providing clinical pharmacy services to optimize patient outcomes. They also oversee compounding activities and supervise pharmacy technicians to ensure regulatory compliance and operational efficiency.

Requirements

Candidates must hold an ACPE-accredited pharmacy degree and a current California Pharmacist license. Experience with IV compounding and proficiency in pharmacy systems and Microsoft Office are required, with acute care inpatient experience preferred.

Qualifications

Experience
2+ years of experience

Key Skills

Pharmacy operationsTeam leadership

Pharmacist Career Context

Of the 40 active Pharmacy listings this role was benchmarked against, 20% are remote, 53% have no call, 45% require no weekends.

The cost-of-living index for California is 110.7 (US average = 100; BEA Regional Price Parities (2024)), so the posted ~$128k midpoint carries the purchasing power of roughly $116k in an average-cost state. 63.6% of California clinicians report burnout symptoms in WeekdayDoc's Burnout Index (2026-01 data).

What does the Pharmacy market look like in California?
MeasureThis jobMarket
Listed pay$92k–$164kPharmacy median $156k (middle half $145k–$186k)34 comparable listings, Nov 2026
Cost-of-living adjusted pay~$116k in purchasing powerCalifornia index 110.7 (US = 100)BEA Regional Price Parities (2024)
Pharmacy listings in California626 active10,164 nationallylive on WeekdayDoc, Nov 2026
Work settingon-sitepeers: 20% remote · 53% no call · 45% no weekends40 benchmarked listings
Sign-on & loan repaymentnot statedCalifornia Pharmacist listings: 8% state a sign-on bonus (median $10k) · 13% offer loan repayment647 active listings, Nov 2026
New Pharmacy listings3,691 in the last 30 days3,159 the 30 days before (+17%)U.S., first seen on WeekdayDoc, Nov 2026
Pharmacy pay trend+3.8% vs prior quarter—through Oct 2026
UnitedHealth Groupsilver tier, 71/100Top Employers work-life index1,666 active listings
Sources: WeekdayDoc live listing index, Top Employers work-life index, BEA Regional Price Parities (2024); as of Nov 2026. Same values as the Weekday Verdict and Market Insights on this page.

Top Pharmacist Jobs

20 matches · ranked by pay

Salary Distribution

20 jobs · 18 employers
7
<$160k
8
$160k-180k
3
$180k-200k
1
$217k
1
$238k

Annual compensation range

Benefits & Perks

15 jobs
401k / retirement match
93% this job
Sign-on bonus
53%
Loan repayment
7%
CME allowance
7%
Relocation assistance
7%

Share of similar jobs offering each benefit

#1

Clinical Pharmacist - Cardiology

Providence · Portland, Oregon

$72.42-$114.33/hr
#2

Clinical Pharmacist Telepharmacy

CommonSpirit Health · Houston, Texas

$63.25-$104.36/hr
#3

Senior Clinical Pharmacist

$108k-$199k
#4

Clinical Pharmacist

$157k-$196k
+ 18 more · ranked by pay

Work-life snapshot

median 2.8this job 1.5
Better work-life than 10% of Pharmacy listings

Listing-based score, 0–10, across 10,041 comparable listings. Shaded area = the share scoring below this one.

UnitedHealth Group logo

About UnitedHealth Group

Hospitals and Health Care
Eden Prairie , Minnesota
10,000+ employees

Benefits & Perks

Comprehensive benefits package
Incentive and recognition programs
Equity stock purchase
401k contribution

Living in Gardena

Typical 3-bedroom home value
$791k
Typical market rent
$2,334/mo
Residents’ average commute
29 min
Metro price indexU.S. average = 100
113.6
State income tax
Up to 13.3%
Sources & methodology

Sources: Zillow home values (Sep 2026), Zillow market rents (Sep 2026), U.S. Census ACS 2024 five-year.

BEA 2024 · Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA metro prices. Housing figures are city-level.

City-level figures. Not a cost-of-living guarantee.