Software Developer Lead

Athene; Des Moines (IA); On-site; USD 100,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading financial services company in Des Moines is seeking a technical leader to drive the development of an AI-native, event-driven platform for insurance workflows. This role requires significant experience in distributed systems and AI application, with a focus on production reliability and technical mentoring. The ideal candidate will excel in architecting solutions, driving automation, and enhancing team effectiveness in a collaborative environment. Commitment to inclusion and diversity is a company priority.

Qualifications

• 6+ years of experience building and delivering software or data-driven solutions.
• Hands-on experience applying AI in development workflows.
• Experience designing and operating complex, distributed systems.

Responsibilities

• Lead design and delivery of event-driven, distributed systems.
• Ensure production excellence through strong observability and operational practices.
• Mentor engineers and help scale team capabilities.

Skills

AI application in workflows

Systems architecture

Distributed systems design

Automation

Technical mentoring

Production reliability

Education

Bachelor's degree in a related field

Job description

We are driven to do more. More for our customers and the financial professionals who offer our products. If you are driven to do more and love the challenge of pursuing more, Athene is your kind of company. You will find we offer more than the basics to create an inclusive and dynamic work environment at our various locations.**Purpose:**Athene is seeking a technical leader to drive the direction and delivery of an AI-native, event-driven platform powering insurance workflows. This is a hands-on individual contributor role focused on designing and building distributed systems, ensuring production reliability, and advancing how AI is applied across the software development lifecycle. In this role, you will shape both the platform architecture and the engineering practices that support it, serving as a go-to technical leader and mentor. You will help establish a spec-driven, AI-augmented development approach that enables faster, higher-quality delivery on a scale.**Accountabilities:****What You’ll Own*** End-to-end platform architecture across workflow, document, intake, and data model services* Reliability and performance of business-critical production systems* Technical strategy, roadmap, and engineering standards* Adoption of AI-driven, spec-first development practices**What You’ll Do*** Lead design and delivery of event-driven, distributed systems with a focus on simplicity and scalability* Establish and model spec-first, AI-augmented development workflows* Ensure production excellence through strong observability, incident response, and operational practices* Drive automation across testing, deployment, and operational processes* Mentor engineers and help scale team capabilities and standards**How You Think*** Systems-oriented and pragmatic, balancing scale, reliability, and simplicity* Spec-first and AI-native in your development approach* Operator-minded, with a focus on production readiness* Focused on reducing complexity and enabling team effectiveness**Qualifications and Experience:*** Bachelor’s degree in a related field or equivalent experience, with 6+ years of experience building and delivering software or data-driven solutions, including recent work applying AI in real-world use cases* Experience designing and operating complex, distributed systems at scale* Strong foundation in building reliable, secure, and well-observed production systems* Ability to define and drive technical direction while mentoring and guiding other engineers* Hands-on experience applying AI in development workflows, with a spec-driven approach to building and delivering solutions* Product-oriented mindset with the ability to rapidly iterate, test, and deliver business value* Focus on automation, simplicity, and long-term health* Strong communication skills, with the ability to align teams around technical decisions and architecture* Experience working in regulated or enterprise environments (preferred)Drive. Discipline. Confidence. Focus. Commitment. Learn more about .Athene is a Military Friendly Employer! Learn more about how we support our .Athene is committed to inclusion and is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, veteran status or any other status protected by federal, state or local law.We are driven to do more. More for our customers and the financial professionals who offer our products. If you are driven to do more and love the challenge of pursuing more, Athene is your kind of company. You will find we offer more than the basics to create an inclusive and dynamic work environment at our various locations.