Senior Software Engineer II, Platform Modernization Technology Enablement

Principal Financial Group operates at the intersection of financial services and technology, building financial tools that help customers achieve greater financial security. The Senior Software Engineer II will support a retirement and income solutions modernization initiative by designing enterprise integration patterns, building reusable AWS-based solutions, and providing hands-on technical direction across engineering teams.

Responsibilities:

• Design, build, and evolve enterprise integration patterns leveraging APIs, events, and messaging to support the RIS modernization effort
• Partner closely with enterprise teams to enable scalable integrations using AWS-native services (e.g., EventBridge, SQS, Lambda, ECS/EKS)
• Develop reusable, composable CDK constructs that can be adopted consistently across teams
• Provide technical direction and informal leadership, helping engineers align to standards while staying deeply hands-on
• Translate complex business and modernization needs into practical, repeatable engineering solutions
• Contribute to architectural discussions with a strong engineering lens, understanding design intent and implementation tradeoffs
• Help shape how integration capabilities are delivered at scale across RIS and the broader organization

Requirements:

• Associate's or bachelor's degree (preference in a computer science, technology, engineering or math-related field) or equivalent experience
• 8+ years of enterprise engineering experience, with increasing scope and technical influence
• Deep experience building solutions on AWS, with strong working knowledge of core services
• Experience working in matrixed, highly collaborative environments, partnering across teams and disciplines
• Informal team leadership experience, mentoring and providing strategic direction to a team
• Excellent communication and problem-solving skills, with the ability to work through complex technical challenges
• 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
• To support collaboration across teams, this role has an expectation to begin the workday at 7:30 a.m. Central Time
• This role offers in-office, hybrid (blending at least three office days in a typical workweek), and remote work arrangements (only if residing more than 30 miles from Des Moines, IA, or Charlotte, NC)
• Experience designing and implementing enterprise integrations using APIs, events, files, and messaging
• Experience with TypeScript or similar modern languages
• Hands-on experience creating Level 2 and Level 3 AWS constructs or similar reusable cloud patterns
• Familiarity with Domain-Driven Design (DDD) concepts and application patterns
• Exposure to or experience with AI and agentic AI solutions in modern cloud environments
• A track record of contributing to modernization efforts while maintaining reliability and continuity