Assistant Director of Engineering

As an Assistant Director of Engineering in our Wealth Engineering organization, you'll play a pivotal role in shaping the future of how Northwestern Mutual serves our clients through technology. You will lead multiple engineering teams responsible for building and maintaining critical business applications and APIs that empower both our home office employees and field professionals to deliver exceptional client experiences. This role requires a leader who can balance technical excellence with strategic vision, driving innovation while ensuring operational excellence.

You'll work at the intersection of product, engineering, and business stakeholders to deliver solutions that directly impact our ability to help clients achieve financial security. This is an opportunity to make a meaningful impact on an organization committed to putting clients first, powered by our people, and focused on the future.

• Lead and Develop High-Performing Teams:
  Provide technical and leadership guidance to engineering teams, fostering an environment where engineers thrive, learn continuously, and deliver their best work
• Drive Technical Excellence:
  Establish and champion engineering standards, best practices, and architectural patterns across teams, ensuring high-quality, scalable, and maintainable solutions
• Enable
  
  Cross-Functional Collaboration:
  
  Partner effectively with product managers, business stakeholders, and other engineering leaders to translate business objectives into technical strategies and deliverable roadmaps
• Build and Scale Teams:
  Recruit, hire, and onboard top engineering talent, creating diverse teams with the right mix of skills and experiences to meet evolving business needs
• Mentor and Grow Future Leaders:
  Guide and coach engineers in both technical skills and leadership capabilities, providing actionable feedback and creating opportunities for career advancement
• Ensure Operational Excellence:
  Own production stability, monitoring, incident response, and root cause analysis for your teams' products, driving continuous improvement in reliability and performance
• Champion Innovation:
  Foster a culture of experimentation and calculated risk-taking, encouraging teams to challenge the status quo and pursue innovative solutions that enhance client value
• Manage Resources Strategically:
  Oversee team structure, headcount planning, and budget allocation to optimize team effectiveness and deliver on business priorities
• Lead Through Change:
  Provide context and vision during organizational changes, helping teams understand the "why" behind decisions and supporting them through transitions
• Promote Enterprise Thinking:
  Encourage knowledge sharing and collaboration across teams and departments, breaking down silos to create solutions that benefit Northwestern Mutual as a whole
• Drive Agile Delivery:
  Lead teams in adopting and refining agile practices, ensuring iterative delivery of value while maintaining focus on strategic objectives
• Cultivate Inclusive Culture:
  Create an environment where diverse perspectives are valued, all voices are heard, and every team member feels empowered to contribute ideas and challenge convention

• Education:
  
  Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field, or equivalent practical experience
• Professional
  
  Experience:
  
  6-8+ years of professional experience in software engineering and technology leadership roles
• Technical Depth: 4-5+ years of hands-on experience with modern engineering practices, including cloud technologies, API design, microservices architecture, CI/CD pipelines, and contemporary programming languages and frameworks
• Leadership
  
  Experience:
  
  2-5+ years of direct experience leading and managing engineering teams, with demonstrated success in:
  • Growing technical capabilities and engineering skill sets in others
  • Developing and promoting future engineering leaders
  • Providing direct, actionable feedback and conducting performance reviews
  • Building psychologically safe environments where teams can take calculated risks
• Proven Track Record:
  History of successfully designing and delivering significant, high-impact technology solutions that solve real business problems and create measurable value
• Agile Expertise:
  Deep experience developing and leading solution delivery using agile methodologies, with ability to adapt practices to fit team and organizational needs
• Domain Knowledge:
  Solid understanding of financial services, wealth management, or related business domains, with ability to quickly learn Northwestern Mutual's specific business functions and client needs
• Communication Excellence:
  Exceptional ability to communicate complex technical concepts to diverse audiences, from engineers to executives, adapting style and detail level appropriately for the audience
• Bridge Builder:
  Proven capability to translate between product, engineering, and business perspectives, fostering alignment and shared understanding across functions
• Collaborative Leadership:
  Natural…