Northwestern Mutual · 14 hours ago
Assistant Director of Engineering
Milwaukee, WI
Full-time
Hybrid
Mid, Senior Level
$154K/yr - $286K/yr
6+ years expNorthwestern Mutual is seeking an Assistant Director of Engineering to lead their Wealth Engineering organization. This role involves shaping technology strategies, managing engineering teams, and ensuring operational excellence to enhance client experiences.
FinanceConsultingHuman ResourcesProperty & Casualty InsuranceProfessional ServicesHealth InsuranceAdviceEmployee BenefitsFinancial ServicesInsuranceLife InsuranceWealth Management
Responsibilities
Lead and Develop High-Performing Teams: Provide technical and leadership guidance to engineering teams, fostering an environment where engineers thrive, learn continuously, and deliver their best work
Drive Technical Excellence: Establish and champion engineering standards, best practices, and architectural patterns across teams, ensuring high-quality, scalable, and maintainable solutions
Enable Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner effectively with product managers, business stakeholders, and other engineering leaders to translate business objectives into technical strategies and deliverable roadmaps
Build and Scale Teams: Recruit, hire, and onboard top engineering talent, creating diverse teams with the right mix of skills and experiences to meet evolving business needs
Mentor and Grow Future Leaders: Guide and coach engineers in both technical skills and leadership capabilities, providing actionable feedback and creating opportunities for career advancement
Ensure Operational Excellence: Own production stability, monitoring, incident response, and root cause analysis for your teams' products, driving continuous improvement in reliability and performance
Champion Innovation: Foster a culture of experimentation and calculated risk-taking, encouraging teams to challenge the status quo and pursue innovative solutions that enhance client value
Manage Resources Strategically: Oversee team structure, headcount planning, and budget allocation to optimize team effectiveness and deliver on business priorities
Lead Through Change: Provide context and vision during organizational changes, helping teams understand the 'why' behind decisions and supporting them through transitions
Promote Enterprise Thinking: Encourage knowledge sharing and collaboration across teams and departments, breaking down silos to create solutions that benefit Northwestern Mutual as a whole
Drive Agile Delivery: Lead teams in adopting and refining agile practices, ensuring iterative delivery of value while maintaining focus on strategic objectives
Cultivate Inclusive Culture: Create an environment where diverse perspectives are valued, all voices are heard, and every team member feels empowered to contribute ideas and challenge convention
Qualification
Required
Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field, or equivalent practical experience
6-8+ years of professional experience in software engineering and technology leadership roles
4-5+ years of hands-on experience with modern engineering practices, including cloud technologies, API design, microservices architecture, CI/CD pipelines, and contemporary programming languages and frameworks
2-5+ years of direct experience leading and managing engineering teams, with demonstrated success in growing technical capabilities and engineering skill sets in others
Developing and promoting future engineering leaders
Providing direct, actionable feedback and conducting performance reviews
Building psychologically safe environments where teams can take calculated risks
History of successfully designing and delivering significant, high-impact technology solutions that solve real business problems and create measurable value
Deep experience developing and leading solution delivery using agile methodologies, with ability to adapt practices to fit team and organizational needs
Solid understanding of financial services, wealth management, or related business domains, with ability to quickly learn Northwestern Mutual's specific business functions and client needs
Exceptional ability to communicate complex technical concepts to diverse audiences, from engineers to executives, adapting style and detail level appropriately for the audience
Proven capability to translate between product, engineering, and business perspectives, fostering alignment and shared understanding across functions
Natural ability to lead teams toward collective goals, promoting collaboration, shared ownership, and enterprise thinking over individual or team silos
Ability to balance immediate tactical needs with long-term strategic objectives, making sound decisions despite ambiguity and competing priorities
Passion for understanding how technology decisions impact end clients and commitment to driving exceptional client experiences through every aspect of engineering work
Comfort operating in a dynamic, fast-paced environment with evolving priorities and the ability to lead teams through change with clarity and confidence
Benefits
Flexible work schedules
Concierge service
Comprehensive benefits
Employee resource groups
Company
Northwestern Mutual
Northwestern Mutual delivers financial security to millions with life, disability income and long-term care insurance, and investments.
5001-10000 employees
H1B Sponsorship
Northwestern Mutual has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships. Please note that this does not
guarantee sponsorship for this specific role. Below presents additional info for your
reference. (Data Powered by US Department of Labor)
Distribution of Different Job Fields Receiving Sponsorship
Represents job field similar to this job
Trends of Total Sponsorships
2020 (1)
Funding
Current Stage
Late StageLeadership Team
Timothy Gerend
Chairman, President and CEO
Phil Odella
COO/CFO
Recent News
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2026-02-06
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