Assistant Director of Engineering

About the Job 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.

If you want to know about the requirements for this role, read on for all the relevant information.

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.

What You'll DoLead 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 What You'll Bring to the Role

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:
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