Lead Software Engineer - Delivery Platform & Developer Experience

SmartRecruiters, Inc.; Des Moines (IA); On-site; USD 130,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

Wellmark is seeking a Lead Software Engineer to drive the delivery platform and developer experience. You will lead design, development, and adoption of CI/CD capabilities, reusable pipelines, and platform integrations across engineering teams.

You will collaborate with stakeholders, guide architectural direction, and mentor teammates in a fast-paced environment while focusing on security and governance.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required and experience in software development lifecycle.
• Demonstrated communication and mentoring ability.
• Ability to translate WaaS strategy to company strategy.

Responsibilities

• Lead the design, development, and evolution of complex software delivery platform capabilities.
• Provide technical leadership for CI/CD engineering and self-service tooling.
• Ensure solutions align with architecture principles and security requirements.

Skills

Analytical problem-solving

Communication & mentoring

Software delivery lifecycle

Cross-team leadership

Strategic thinking

Data-driven problem solving

Root cause analysis

Education

Bachelor’s degree in computer science, MIS, or related field

Tools

GitHub Actions

Job description

Lead Software Engineer - Delivery Platform & Developer Experience

• Full-time
• Department: Technology
• Pay Grade: 25

Why Wellmark: We are a mutual insurance company owned by our policy holders across Iowa and South Dakota, and we’ve built our reputation on over 80 years’ worth of trust. We are not motivated by profits. We are motivated by the well-being of our friends, family, and neighbors-our members. If you’re passionate about joining an organization working hard to put its members first, to provide best-in-class service, and one that is committed to sustainability and innovation, consider applying today!

Why Wellmark Technology?Wellmark is building innovative, modern solutions using cutting edge technology. We are driving organizational transformation and business strategy by empowering our technology team to innovate new and elegant solutions to enhance the customer experience. Together, we are leaning into the future, owning the outcome, and driving organizational change to transform how we work.

Leads the design, development, and evolution of complex software engineering solutions and software delivery platform capabilities that support Wellmark’s business and technology initiatives. Serves as a technical leader for CI/CD engineering, software delivery automation, reusable pipelines and workflows, self-service, and engineering enablement. Ensures engineering solutions align with business expectations, Wellmark standards, architecture principles, and security requirements.

Utilizes established relationships with Wellmark leaders and acts as a consultant on software delivery capabilities, engineering delivery challenges, process improvements, and technology enhancements. Provides technical leadership and contributes to the direction and evolution of enterprise CI/CD, including reusable pipelines and workflows, delivery automation, platform integrations, governance controls, and continuous improvement of software delivery workflows.

Preferred:

• Experience working within Agile product delivery or software engineering environments.
• Experience designing, implementing, and supporting enterprise CI/CD capabilities using GitHub Actions or similar technologies.
• Experience designing and implementing CI/CD capabilities for AWS-based applications and infrastructure, including build, deployment, configuration, environment, and release automation.
• Experience developing and driving adoption of reusable pipelines, workflows, automation templates, and self-service capabilities, including integrations with cloud platforms, security tooling, testing frameworks, observability solutions, and developer tools.
• Experience defining software delivery roadmaps, prioritizing engineering capabilities, and balancing developer, security, operational, and business needs.
• Experience identifying developer friction and gaps across software delivery workflows and driving measurable improvements across tools, processes, and teams.
• Experience in integrating CI/CD capabilities with internal developer platforms, developer portals, and other self-service engineering experiences.
• Experience implementing software supply chain security, automated governance, and compliance controls within delivery workflows.
• Experience using software delivery, reliability, adoption, usage or developer productivity measures to identify opportunities and evaluate outcomes.
• Experience with infrastructure as code, configuration as code, or policy as code practices.
• Experience applying product management principles to software delivery capabilities, including gathering developer feedback, prioritizing capabilities, measuring adoption, and creating alignment with engineering standards.

Required:

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, MIS, or related field of study and at least five years of development experience or nine years of related and applicable experience.
• Strong analytical problem-solving skills and attention to detail.
• Demonstrated experience in software development lifecycle methodologies.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate and coach/mentor team members.
• Big picture thinker with the ability to translate WaaS strategy to company strategy.
• Strong ability to perform root cause analysis and recommend solutions using data.
• Demonstrated ability to build relationships and communicate with stakeholders.
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment with changing priorities.
• Continuous learning mindset and awareness of industry trends.
• Ability to collaborate and work within a diverse development team model.
• Demonstrated experience leading cross team technical initiatives.
• Demonstrated experience designing and implementing reusable pipeline capabilities, defining CI/CD engineering standards, and driving adoption across engineering teams.

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