Technical Lead

Security Benefit; Topeka (KS); Hybrid; USD 130,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

PTO & holidays

401(k) match

Educational assistance

Disability insurance

Life Insurance

Job summary

Security Benefit seeks an experienced Technical Lead to own architecture, run Enabler Epics, and guide two teams through complex onboarding, eApp platforms, and DTCC-related custody workflows. You will partner with Product, Analysts, and Delivery managers, while maintaining a strong engineering voice and governance.

A hybrid work model is supported from multiple offices, including Topeka and Overland Park. The role emphasizes technical feasibility, risk management, and engineering quality, with

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or related field.
• Minimum 8 years of software engineering or technical leadership experience.
• Experience owning technical architecture and design decisions for platforms and integrations.
• Experience creating and sequencing Enabler Epics to establish an architectural runway.
• Experience assessing technical feasibility and managing risk across the project lifecycle.

Responsibilities

• Own technical architecture and design decisions for eApp platforms and custodial systems.
• Create and sequence Enabler Epics to support Business Epics.
• Evaluate technologies and manage vendor partnerships with engineering teams.
• Advocate for technical debt remediation and roadmap sequencing.
• Set engineering standards, conduct code reviews, and ensure quality.
• Assess feasibility and risk from discovery to delivery; pre-approve initiatives.
• Participate in backlog refinement, iteration planning, and cross-team syncs.
• Mentor engineers and provide technical guidance; occasionally hands-on prototyping.

Skills

Technical leadership

Architecture ownership

Enabler Epics

Feasibility risk

Code reviews

Vendor collaboration

Full-stack knowledge

eApp platforms

SAFe / Agile

DTCC domain

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or related field

Job description

We're Looking for an experienced Technical Lead!

About the Company:

Security Benefit is a leader in the U.S. retirement market with more than $75 billion in assets under management. We offer opportunities to thrive, innovate, and make an impact. As part of our team, you’ll play a key role in driving the future of the U.S. retirement industry. Security Benefit is a PLACE where we promise to help our customers To and Through Retirement®

We’re proud to have been recognized as one of the best in the business:

• Named to Ward’s 50 list of top-performing life-health insurance companies
• Recognized on list of Ingram’s Top 100 Private Companies in the Kansas City area in 2025

About the Role:

Security Benefit's Firm & Advisor Onboarding (FAO) and Annuity & Mutual Fund Custodial (AMFC) teams own how firms and advisors get onboarded, how business is submitted through our eApp platforms (Firelight/Affirm, AnnuityNet/AN4), and how transactions and replacements settle through DTCC and our custodial partners. Wirehouse onboarding and new product launches to DTCC digitization and custodial data quality. As the Technical Lead for both teams, you operate within Security Benefit's Customer Centric Delivery Model (CCDM): the Product Manager or Platform Lead owns the “what” — product and platform outcomes, the roadmap, and quarterly planning — and you own the “how” — technical architecture, Enabler Epics, feasibility, and engineering quality that make that roadmap achievable.

This is a technical leadership role, not a delivery-ownership role. You partner closely with the Product Manager / Platform Lead, Business Systems Analyst, and Delivery Manager on both teams, but the roadmap, quarterly planning accountability, business stakeholder relationships, and delivery facilitation belong to them, not to you. You will occasionally write code — to prototype a solution, evaluate a vendor capability, or step in on a hard problem — but your primary output is sound architecture, Enabler Epics that create the runway for business work, technical feasibility assessments, and engineering quality across both teams.

The Technical Lead position reports to the Senior Manager, Platform Engineering and can be based out of our home office in Topeka, Kansas, our Overland Park, KS office or remotely for the right candidate. We work a hybrid schedule, offering flexibility to work both remotely and on-site.

• Architecture & Design Decisions. Own technical architecture and design decisions across the eApp platforms (Firelight/Affirm, AnnuityNet/AN4), DTCC transaction networks, and Security Benefit's internal onboarding and custodial platforms, ensuring solutions adhere to the technology architecture and standards set by the platform organization.
• Enabler Epic Creation & Sequencing. Partner with the Product Manager / Platform Lead to decompose Initiatives into Epics — providing sizing estimates and creating the Enabler Epics that establish the architectural runway for Business Epics.
• Technology Evaluation & Vendor Technical Partnership. Own technology evaluation and governance for both teams' tools and integrations — partnering with the Platform Lead on any enterprise-wide platform decisions — and serve as the primary technical partner with eApp, DTCC, and other vendor engineering teams.
• Technical Debt Advocacy. Identify technical debt across both teams and advocate for it, partnering with the Product Manager or Platform Lead on how it gets sequenced into the roadmap.
• Code Quality & Engineering Standards. Set engineering standards for both teams, conduct code reviews, and guide technical implementation decisions throughout each Iteration.
• Technical Feasibility & Risk Management. Assess technical feasibility from Portfolio Flow intake through delivery — flagging technology opportunities or constraints early and confirming feasibility before an Initiative is approved.
• Backlog & Iteration Participation. Attend Backlog Refinement and Iteration Planning to validate feasibility and add technical acceptance criteria, validate technical quality at Iteration reviews, and resolve technical blockers that impede the team.
• QPE & Quarterly Cadence. Finalize the Enabler Epic list ahead of Quarterly Planning (QPE), provide sizing estimates for Business Epics, and present and advocate for Enabler Epics at QPE — confirming that Enablers which must precede Business Epics are correctly sequenced.
• Cross-Team Technical Consultation. Surface technical dependencies and architecture risks at Cross-Team Sync, and consult with other Tech Leads on cross-team architecture, standards, and shared infrastructure.
• Mentorship. Mentor engineers across both teams through code review, pairing, and technical coaching, and serve as the go-to technical resource.
• Occasional Hands-On Development. Engage in hands-on development on an occasional basis — prototyping, spikes, or unblocking a team on a hard problem — while keeping the majority of your time on architecture, feasibility, and engineering quality.

What We’re Looking For:

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or related field, or equivalent experience.
• Minimum 8 years of experience in software engineering or technical leadership, including significant prior hands-on development experience — you understand the craft deeply even though this role is not primarily a coding role.
• Demonstrated experience owning technical architecture and design decisions for vendor-built or third-party platforms and their integrations.
• Experience creating and sequencing Enabler Epics (or an equivalent technical work breakdown) that establish the architectural runway for business-facing work.
• Experience assessing technical feasibility and managing technical risk across the full project lifecycle, from early discovery through delivery.
• Track record of identifying and advocating for technical debt remediation, and partnering with a Product Manager or Platform Lead on how it gets sequenced.
• Experience setting engineering standards, running code reviews, and guiding implementation decisions for a team.
• Experience serving as the primary technical partner to vendor engineering teams (for example, a platform or system-of-record vendor).
• Familiarity with DTCC transaction networks and processes (for example, Replacement Processing / RPL, Attachment API, Carrier-to-Carrier replacement, scheduled releases) a strong plus.
• Experience with eApp / point-of-sale platforms for annuities (for example, Firelight, AnnuityNet) a strong plus.
• Experience partnering with a Business Systems Analyst on the technical accuracy of requirements.
• Working knowledge of full-stack, cloud-native architecture (TypeScript / React, REST integration, SQL / data, AWS) sufficient to guide design decisions and speak credibly with engineers and vendors, even if you are not writing production code day-to-day.
• Insurance, annuity, retirement, or custodial / transfer-of-assets domain experience strongly preferred: familiarity with firm and advisor onboarding, eApp submission, and DTCC-based settlement and replacement processing.
• Comfort collaborating directly with external vendor and distributor engineering teams as a technical peer.
• Experience operating within a scaled agile or product / platform operating model (for example, SAFe or a similar Portfolio → Product/Platform → Team flow structure) a plus.
• Financial services or other regulated-industry experience preferred.

Why Choose Security Benefit?

When you join our team, you’re not just getting a paycheck — you’re getting a career path full of growth opportunities, plus a robust benefits package that puts your well-being first. Here’s what you can expect as a full-time Security Benefit associate:

• Competitive salary and annual incentive bonuses to reward your contributions.
• 33 days of paid time off (including PTO, holidays, Volunteer Day, and days of significance).
• Paid parental leave after 90 days of service.
• Comprehensive medical, dental & vision insurance.
• 401(k) with company match, plus Profit Sharing & Savings Plan.
• Short- and Long-Term Disability Insurance to give you peace of mind.
• Flexible Spending Accounts for medical and dependent care.
• Life Insurance to protect your loved ones.
• Educational assistance to support your career development.
• Associate assistance programs for your personal and professional well-being.

Security Benefit is an Equal Opportunity Employer.