Assistant Director, Engineering

What You'll Do

We’re looking for an Assistant Director of Engineering to join our RIS (Retirement and Income Solutions) team. In this role, you’ll play a critical role in shaping and delivering portfolio level initiatives to support the business at scale, while leading high performing engineering teams who drive high-impact technical initiatives. Your efforts will directly contribute to increasing revenue and customer satisfaction through key initiatives prioritized by the business.

You'll have the opportunity to :

Leverage technology to uncover and capitalize on revenue growth opportunities, driving impactful outcomes and contributing to strategic business goals in a dynamic, high-profile setting

Assess emerging technology advancements; collaborate with business partners to understand their strategies and provide recommendations on future technical trends and directions. Align these recommendations with large-scale strategic initiatives involving multiple systems and teams to support overall business objectives

Communicate technical concepts to business partners as well as business objectives to technical teams

Participate in larger strategic enterprise programs, including establishing a point of view for product(s)

Lead and develop engineering teams in an effective manner to promote individual development, improve retention, and ensure success in a team environment

Build high-performing, resilient teams and leaders who are dedicated to their roles in coaching and driving innovation. Foster a culture of active listening, open communication, and mutual respect

Operating at the intersection of financial services and technology, Principal builds financial tools that help our customers live better lives. We take pride in being a purpose-led firm, motivated by our mission to make financial security accessible to all. Our mission, integrity, and customer focus have made us a trusted leader for more than 140 years.

As Principal continues to modernize its systems, this role will offer you an exciting opportunity to build solutions that will directly impact our long-term strategy and tech stack, all while ensuring that our products are robust, scalable, and secure!

Who You Are

Bachelor's degree (preference in a computer science, technology, engineering or math-related field) or equivalent experience

8 or more years of related technical experience in an enterprise environment

Excellent leadership, problem solving, analytical, time management, delegation and decision making skills

Experience supporting engineers with business problems, solutioning architectural issues and planning by engaging and influencing partners at all levels

Adaptable, flexible, innovative, influential, collaborative and have the ability to learn from experiences and setbacks

Skills That Will Help You Stand Out

Leading transformation and modernization efforts

Solutions architecture

Experience in a formal technology leadership role, leading multiple teams with direct reports

Financial services industry experience, working in a hybrid environment with legacy and modern systems

Salary Range Information

Salary ranges below reflect targeted base salaries. Non-sales positions have the opportunity to participate in a bonus program. Sales positions are eligible for sales incentives, and in some instances a bonus plan, whereby total compensation may far exceed base salary depending on individual performance. Actual compensation for all roles will be based upon geographic location, work experience, education, licensure requirements and / or skill level and will be finalized at the time of offer.

Salary Range (Non-Exempt expressed as hourly; Exempt expressed as yearly)

137000 - $185000 / year

Time Off Program

Flexible Time Off (FTO) is provided to salaried (exempt) employees and provides the opportunity to take time away from the office with pay for vacation, personal or short-term illness. Employees don’t accrue a bank of time off under FTO and there is no set number of days provided.

Pension Eligible

Additional Information

Work Environments

This role offers an in-office and hybrid (blending at least three office days in a typical workweek) work arrangement in Des Moines, IA or Charlotte, NC.

Our Engineering Culture

Through our product-driven Agile / Lean DevOps environment, we’ve fostered a culture of innovation and experimentation across our development teams. As a customer-focused organization, we work closely with our end users and product owners to understand and rapidly respond to emerging business needs.

Collaboration is embedded into everything we do – from the products we develop to the quality service we provide. We’re driven by the belief that diversity of thought, background, and perspective is critical to creating the best products and experiences for our customers.

Work Authorization / Sponsorship

At this time, we're not considering applicants that need any type of immigration sponsorship (additional work authorization or permanent work authorization) now or in the future to work in the United States. This includes, but IS NOT LIMITED TO : F1-OPT, F1-CPT, H-1B, TN, L-1, J-1, etc. For additional information around work authorization needs please use the following links.

Nonimmigrant Workers (https : / / www.uscis.gov / working-in-the-united-states / temporary-nonimmigrant-workers) and Green Card for Employment-Based Immigrants (https : / / www.uscis.gov / green-card / green-card-eligibility / green-card-for-employment-based-immigrants)

Investment Code of Ethics

For Principal Asset Management positions, you’ll need to follow an Investment Code of Ethics related to personal and business conduct as well as personal trading activities for you and members of your household. These same requirements may also apply to other positions across the organization.

Experience Principal

At Principal, we value connecting on both a personal and professional level. Together, we’re imagining a more purpose-led future for financial services – and that starts with you. Our success depends on the unique experiences, backgrounds, and talents of our employees. And we support our employees the same way we support our customers : with comprehensive, competitive benefit offerings crafted to protect their physical, financial, and social well-being. Check out our careers site (https : / / www.principal.com / about-us / careers) to learn more about our purpose, values and benefits.

Principal is an Equal Opportunity Employer

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or veteran status.

Posting Window

We will accept applications for 3 full days following the Original Posting Date, after which the posting may remain open or be removed based upon applications received. If we choose to post the job again, we will accept additional applications for at least 1 full day following the Most Recently Posted Date. Please submit applications in a timely manner as there is no guarantee the posting will be available beyond the applicable deadline.

Original Posting Date

1 / 23 / 2025

Most Recently Posted Date

1 / 23 / 2025

LinkedIn Hashtag

LI-EW1

Salary : $137,000 - $185,000