Counsel

Principal Financial Group; Des Moines (IA); Hybrid; USD 141,000 - 213,000; Full time

Job summary

Principal Financial Group is seeking an experienced Counsel to support privacy, cybersecurity, and AI matters enterprise-wide. You will serve as a primary legal advisor to Privacy, Cybersecurity, Sourcing, and business stakeholders, offering practical guidance, negotiating protections, and helping scale governance capabilities.

The role requires strong judgment, exceptional drafting, and the ability to manage substantial work volume while collaborating with senior legal leadership.

Qualifications

• Juris Doctor from an accredited U.S. law school.
• Active license in good standing in at least one U.S. jurisdiction.
• Must be admitted to practice in the state employed within twelve months of hire.
• 5+ years of relevant legal experience.
• Significant experience negotiating technology, privacy, cybersecurity, and data-related agreements.

Responsibilities

• Lead negotiations of privacy, cybersecurity, AI, data use, and technology-related terms.
• Review and negotiate DPAs, security addenda, AI provisions, confidentiality agreements, and technology agreements.
• Provide support for strategic transactions and data-sharing initiatives.
• Develop and maintain templates, negotiation playbooks, and guidance materials.

Skills

Negotiation

Drafting

Communication

Project management

Executive influence

Prioritization

Education

Juris Doctor

Bar admission (US)

Job description

What You'll Do

Join the Law Department as Counsel supporting privacy, cybersecurity and AI matters across the enterprise. This attorney will serve as a primary legal advisor to Privacy, Cybersecurity, Sourcing and business stakeholders, providing practical legal guidance, negotiating contractual protections, supporting regulatory compliance initiatives, and helping scale the company's privacy, cybersecurity and AI governance capabilities.

The role requires strong judgment, exceptional drafting and negotiation skills, and the ability to independently manage a substantial volume of work while partnering closely with senior legal leadership. This attorney will also help develop scalable legal processes and leverage technology and AI to enhance legal service delivery.

Key Responsibilities

Contracting and Transactions

• Lead negotiations of privacy, cybersecurity, AI, data use, and technology-related terms.
• Review and negotiate DPAs, security addenda, AI provisions, confidentiality agreements, and technology agreements.
• Provide support for strategic transactions and data-sharing initiatives.
• Develop and maintain templates, negotiation playbooks, and guidance materials.

Legal and Regulatory Counseling

• Advise stakeholders regarding privacy, cybersecurity, and AI legal requirements.
• Provide practical guidance on implementation of regulatory obligations.
• Support responses to customer, regulator, and business inquiries.
• Advise on emerging legal developments and business implications.

Enterprise Program Support

• Partner with Privacy and Cybersecurity teams on governance initiatives.
• Support development and maintenance of policies, standards, notices, and training materials.
• Assist with assessments of new products, services, technologies, and vendor relationships.
• Support incident response and related legal analysis when needed.

AI and Innovation

• Advise on AI contract terms and legal risks.
• Support implementation of AI governance requirements.
• Identify opportunities to improve legal operations through responsible use of AI and automation.

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

• Juris Doctor from an accredited U.S. law school.
• Active license in good standing in at least one U.S. jurisdiction.
• Must be admitted to practice in the state employed within twelve months of hire.
• 5 plus years of relevant legal experience.
• Significant experience negotiating technology, privacy, cybersecurity, and data-related agreements.
• Demonstrated ability to provide practical, business-focused legal advice.
• Excellent drafting, negotiation, and communication skills.
• Strong project management and organizational capabilities.
• Ability to independently manage a high-volume workload and prioritize competing demands.
• Demonstrated ability to advise and influence executive leadership, building credibility through clear, confident communication and sound judgment.
• Provide legal counsel and strategic support to the Corporate Law team, partnering with business leaders on a broad range of legal and business matters.

Preferred Qualifications

• In-house counsel experience.
• Experience advising on:
• GLBA
• CCPA/CPRA
• GDPR
• HIPAA
• NYDFS Part 500
• NIST and ISO frameworks
• Experience supporting cybersecurity incident response.
• Experience with AI governance and AI contracting.
• CIPP/US, CIPP/E, CIPM, and/or CIPT certification.
• Experience supporting enterprise privacy or cybersecurity programs.

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)

$141000 - $213000 / 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

Location & Work Environment

This role will be based in our corporate headquarters in Des Moines, IA and offers a hybrid work arrangement, with at least three in-office days during a typical work week.

Job Level

We’ll consider talent at the next level with the right experiences and skills. 8 plus years of relevant legal experience to be considered at the next level.

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.