Principal Software Engineer

The Hartford; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 168,400 - 252,600; Full time

Job summary

The Hartford is seeking a Director of Software Engineering to lead the technical strategy for Digital Enablement platforms. In this role, you will drive modernization efforts, ensure operational resilience, and leverage AI technologies to enhance business outcomes.

The ideal candidate has over 12 years of experience in enterprise application development, exceptional collaboration skills, and a proven track record in Agile environments. A hybrid work schedule is offered, with office time required three days a week.

Qualifications

• 12+ years of enterprise application development experience.
• Demonstrated success in Agile environments delivering complex systems.
• Exceptional communication skills for decision-making in ambiguity.

Responsibilities

• Own and execute end-to-end strategy for Digital Enablement platforms.
• Lead modernization of legacy systems into cloud-native architectures.
• Ensure technology decisions support operational efficiency and sustainability.

Skills

Java

Spring Boot

Angular/TypeScript

SQL

AI frameworks

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or related field

Tools

AWS

Application Insights

Splunk

Job description

Director Software Engineering - IE06FE

We’re determined to make a difference and are proud to be an insurance company that goes well beyond coverages and policies. Working here means having every opportunity to achieve your goals – and to help others accomplish theirs, too. Join our team as we help shape the future.

Role Summary

The Principal Software Engineer is a senior technical leader and hands-on engineer for Digital Enablement which is the digital backbone for most of our external customer interactions and internal workflow management. This role shapes and executes end-to-end application and platform strategy while providing forward-looking technology leadership across the Digital Enablement ecosystem.

As a trusted technical authority, the Principal Engineer anticipates emerging technology trends and architectural risks, guiding modernization decisions to ensure platforms remain secure, scalable, and resilient over multi-year horizons. Operating at the intersection of strategy and execution, this role influences architectural standards and engineering practices across teams while remaining deeply engaged in design, code, and the resolution of the most complex technical challenges with an AI first mindset.

Key Responsibilities

• End-to-End Application & Platform Strategy: Own and execute end-to-end technical strategy for Digital Enablement platforms and applications, from architecture and design through delivery and production support.
• Serve as a technical authority across Digital Enablement platforms, spanning frontend, backend, integration, and data layers.
• Define and evolve solution architectures aligned with enterprise standards, security requirements, resiliency expectations, and modernization goals.
• Ensure technology decisions directly support business outcomes, operational efficiency, and long-term platform sustainability.
• Technical Leadership & Architecture Excellence: Establish and enforce engineering standards, architectural patterns, and best practices across teams and release trains with an AI first Engineering Excellence mindset.
• Lead the modernization of legacy systems into cloud-native, API-driven, and event-based architectures.
• Evaluate architectural trade-offs and risks, providing clear recommendations to senior technology and business leaders.
• Partner with Enterprise Architecture, Security, and Platform teams to ensure solutions meet non-functional requirements including performance, availability, scalability, and compliance.
• Hands-On Engineering & Delivery: Contribute production-quality code, technical designs, prototypes, and reference implementations for complex and high-risk initiatives.
• Lead the resolution of complex technical issues, including high-severity production incidents and systemic design problems.
• Act as a technical escalation point for delivery teams, helping unblock critical path issues and reduce delivery risk.
• Ensure solutions are production-ready and supportable, with appropriate documentation, controls, and operational readiness.

Quality & Engineering Excellence

• Ensure quality is engineered into solutions through strong design, extreme automation, and preventative practices.
• Define and enforce ‘Definition of Ready’ and ‘Definition of Done’ expectations across the development lifecycle.
• Promote shift-left practices such as test-driven development, in-sprint automation, and design for testability.
• Lead root cause analysis of recurring defects or reliability issues and drive systemic improvements.
• AI-First Innovation Focus: Identify opportunities to leverage modern platforms, AI-enabled capabilities, and GenAI solutions to improve business outcomes.
• Lead Proof of Concept (POC) efforts to validate feasibility, value, risk, and scalability of new technologies or approaches.
• Translate ambiguous business problems into clear technical hypotheses and solution options.
• Present POC outcomes, architectural decisions, and recommendations to senior stakeholders.

SDLC, DevOps & Operational Excellence

• Champion strong AI driven SDLC and DevOps practices, including CI/CD pipelines, automation-first delivery, and environment hygiene.
• Partner with DevSecOps and Reliability Engineering to embed observability, monitoring, alerting, and resiliency into functional solutions.
• Design systems that are reliable, diagnosable, and operable at enterprise scale.

Technology Risk & External Insight Awareness

• Continuously assess the relevant external technology landscape to identify emerging trends, architectural shifts, and external innovations with potential business impact.
• Proactively surface and mitigate technology stack risks, including obsolescence, scalability constraints, security exposure, and vendor or platform dependencies.
• Evaluate long-term trade-offs across build vs. buy, modernization sequencing, and platform investments to inform strategic decision-making.
• Partner with Enterprise Architecture, Security, and Platform teams to ensure future-facing designs remain resilient, compliant, and aligned to enterprise strategy.
• Cross-Functional Influence & Collaboration with Business and Technology: Partner closely with business Product Owners to validate requirements, influence technical prioritization, and align solutions with business objectives.
• Manage technical dependencies across teams and release trains; proactively identify and escalate risks.
• Mentor and guide engineers through design reviews, technical coaching, and knowledge sharing.

Professional Skills & Experience

• 12+ years of experience in enterprise application development and large-scale system delivery.
• Demonstrated success delivering complex, mission-critical systems in Agile environments.
• Proven ability to influence technical direction across multiple teams or domains.
• Demonstrated success in using the AI tools in SDLC and delivering better business outcomes.
• Exceptional communication skills, with the ability to drive clarity and sound decision-making in ambiguous situations.
• Experience in Finance and/or Insurance industries strongly preferred.
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field required.

Technical Qualifications

• Strong hands-on expertise in Java, Spring Boot, Angular/TypeScript, SQL, and modern application architectures.
• Deep experience with cloud-native platforms (AWS experience preferred).
• Expertise in APIs, microservices, event-driven architectures, and distributed systems. Experience with observability and monitoring tools (e.g., Application Insights, Splunk).
• Experience in Identity and Access Management, Mobile a plus.
• Hands on experience with AI frameworks and AI-assisted development tools.

This role will have a Hybrid work schedule, with the expectation of working in an office (Columbus, OH, Chicago, IL, Hartford, CT or Charlotte, NC) 3 days a week (Tuesday through Thursday). Candidates must be authorized to work in the US without company sponsorship. The company will not support the STEM OPT I-983 Training Plan endorsement for this position.

Compensation

The listed annualized base pay range is primarily based on analysis of similar positions in the external market. Actual base pay could vary and may be above or below the listed range based on factors including but not limited to performance, proficiency and demonstration of competencies required for the role. The base pay is just one component of The Hartford’s total compensation package for employees. Other rewards may include short-term or annual bonuses, long-term incentives, and on-the-spot recognition.

The annualized base pay range for this role is:

$168,400 - $252,600

Equal Opportunity Employer/Sex/Race/Color/Veterans/Disability/Sexual Orientation/Gender Identity or Expression/Religion/Age