Sr Software Engineer I (Formal Leadership)

What You'll Do At Principal, we’re building reliable, secure, and scalable technology that supports millions of customers worldwide. As Sr Software Engineer I, you will be the primary leader for engineers shaping our onboarding tools and onboarding experiences for our customers! You’ll drive technical direction, develop team culture, and own domain outcomes while cultivating an environment of innovation and engineering excellence. As a formal leader, success in this role comes from strong leadership aptitude, sound technical judgment, and the ability to make confident decisions. What You’ll Do People Leadership Lead and develop engineers through mentoring, goal setting, performance feedback, and career development. Cultivate a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement. Growth, Innovation & Learning Stay up to date on industry trends, emerging technologies, and modern engineering practices and research, evaluate, and influence adoption of new tools, platforms, and technologies. Influence & Collaboration Provide technical guidance and input on decisions affecting other teams and the broader enterprise. Clearly communicate complex technical concepts to business partners and translate business strategy into technical direction. Build alignment and buy‑in across engineering, product, and business stakeholders. Technical Strategy & Solution Design Influence end‑to‑end solution design, spanning all layers of software development and multiple systems. Apply design thinking to create scalable, resilient architectures that balance technical, analytical, and product needs. Identify systemic technical challenges, propose forward‑looking strategies, and drive alignment on standards and solutions. 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. Who You Are Associate’s or bachelor’s degree (preference in computer science, technology, engineering or math-related field) or equivalent experience and 6+ years of relevant IT experience Experience leading people in a formal capacity (e.g., managing a small team, acting as a tech lead or domain lead with direct reports) Experience conducting 1:1s, giving feedback, supporting performance and growth Strong technical judgment and ability to guide technical decisions Comfort owning decisions and partnering with Product and peers Ability to operate with incomplete information and make tradeoffs Strong problem-solving and analytical skills Excellent communication and interpersonal skills Adaptable and able to learn from experiences Actively seeks coaching and feedback for personal growth Skills That Will Help You Stand Out Track record of building team culture Background in system integration and API design Experience with AWS, Typescript, GraphQL, and/or Salesforce Strategic approach and change management experience Experience with migration from legacy implementations to cloud solutions Strong stakeholder management skills 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) $110200 - $148200 / 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 Yes Work Environments This role offers a hybrid work environment in our Global Headquarters located in Des Moines, Iowa (blending at least three office days in a typical workweek). 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 and 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 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 4/15/2026 Most Recently Posted Date 4/22/2026 LinkedIn Hashtag #LI-EW1 At Principal, we’re building reliable, secure, and scalable technology that supports millions of customers worldwide. As Sr Software Engineer I, you will be the primary leader for engineers shaping our onboarding tools and onboarding experiences for our customers! You’ll drive technical direction, develop team culture, and own domain outcomes while cultivating an environment of innovation and engineering excellence. As a formal leader, success in this role comes from strong leadership aptitude, sound technical judgment, and the ability to make confident decisions. What You’ll Do People Leadership Lead and develop engineers through mentoring, goal setting, performance feedback, and career development. Cultivate a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement. Growth, Innovation & Learning Stay up to date on industry trends, emerging technologies, and modern engineering practices and research, evaluate, and influence adoption of new tools, platforms, and technologies. Influence & Collaboration Provide technical guidance and input on decisions affecting other teams and the broader enterprise. Clearly communicate complex technical concepts to business partners and translate business strategy into technical direction. Build alignment and buy‑in across engineering, product, and business stakeholders. Technical Strategy & Solution Design Influence end‑to‑end solution design, spanning all layers of software development and multiple systems. Apply design thinking to create scalable, resilient architectures that balance technical, analytical, and product needs. Identify systemic technical challenges, propose forward‑looking strategies, and drive alignment on standards and solutions. 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. Associate’s or bachelor’s degree (preference in computer science, technology, engineering or math-related field) or equivalent experience and 6+ years of relevant IT experience Experience leading people in a formal capacity (e.g., managing a small team, acting as a tech lead or domain lead with direct reports) Experience conducting 1:1s, giving feedback, supporting performance and growth Strong technical judgment and ability to guide technical decisions Comfort owning decisions and partnering with Product and peers Ability to operate with incomplete information and make tradeoffs Strong problem-solving and analytical skills Excellent communication and interpersonal skills Adaptable and able to learn from experiences Actively seeks coaching and feedback for personal growth Skills That Will Help You Stand Out Track record of building team culture Background in system integration and API design Experience with AWS, Typescript, GraphQL, and/or Salesforce Strategic approach and change management experience Experience with migration from legacy implementations to cloud solutions Strong stakeholder management skills