Engineering Director

The Engineering Director has overall responsibility for implementing/modernizing and owning the technology that enables our Life, Health and Annuities new business, underwriting, client communications management, transactional content/workflow, and payments. They are responsible for developing the strategic roadmap for each of the capabilities they support and work to empower teams to drive outcomes in support of business and technology objectives. The Engineering Director collaborates and builds strong relationships with divisional leaders and business partners and is accountable for delivering optimized technology solutions.

As a leader, this director will help define and drive the engineering culture for the team and will create a strong sense of ownership and stakeholder collaboration, in accordance with the Product Operating Model. This leader will proactively explore industry leading technology and practices to create business opportunities while promoting continuous improvement, a customer focused approach, and an ongoing learning mindset across the team.

This can be a remote position within the US.

DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES:

Designing Solutions

• Sets the vision for the teams and empowers the teams to design solutions.
• Reviews the overall / high level design and provides feedback to the team.
• Helps the team to understand the architecture strategy for the given product groups and how it fits in the overall enterprise architecture.
• Innovative thinker and problem solver who challenges status quo in designing solutions that exceeds internal and external stakeholder expectations.
  
  

Learning and applying new techniques

• Influences the team to use modern techniques and shares technical insights to the team.
• Continuously seeks innovative techniques and solutions to solve the business problems / initiatives.
  
  

Foster Cross-Team Collaboration

• Promotes collaboration and provides opportunities to recognize and celebrate successes.
• Regularly engages in product group sprint demos to understand capabilities delivered and outcomes achieved; Provides constructive feedback to drive continuous improvement.
• Encourages engagement across product groups to share learnings and leverage best practices.
• Understands the enterprise’s broader technology ecosystem and how their product groups contribute to the organization’s outcomes.
• Breaks down product group barriers that impedes team delivery and continuous improvement.
  
  

Establish Strong Relationships

• Builds relationships across the organization and across business and technology disciplines.
• Brings teams together to partner in solving the most strategic and complex problems for the organization and deliver new capabilities collaboratively.
• Creates a common understanding and alignment on goals and strategies for the enterprise as well as for the technology organization.
• Influences peer leaders and senior stakeholders across the enterprise.
• Provides senior leadership visibility to accomplishments of teams.
  
  

Setting product/platform technology strategy

• Partners with product management to set the platform / product technology vision and outcome.
• Provides mentorship and motivation to the team to select and execute on the technology strategy that supports the organization growth and sustainability.
  
  

Defining Engineering standards/patterns

• Promoting engineering practices and continuous improvement such as devops and observability.
• Supports the development lifecycle processes and operational model guidelines.
• Ensures that operational health for the area is well articulated and supports continuous improvement.
• Supports the organizational rollout of new DevOps capabilities and version updates across the teams.
  
  

Selecting & Managing Technology Vendors

• Owns the overall technology solutions, platforms for the product groups and associated vendor relationships.
• Provide direction and feedback to select the right technology vendors.
• Evaluates buy vs build options for new and existing capabilities.
  
  

Coaching Engineers

• Holds regular 1:1s with direct reports and periodic skip levels and team meetings.
• Provides opportunities and develops framework for career growth.
• Gives constructive feedback, providing guidance and coaching to help engineering managers grow their skills and experience.
  
  

Recruiting/building talent

• Plans in advance for future people needs for the product groups, collaborates with the other teams on the recruitment process.
• Drives the hiring process for engineering managers and engineers and participates in the recruitment process for the product area.
• Engages in the tech community to build the Thrivent technology brand and position as the employer of choice in the market.
• Recruits, develops, and sustains a high-performing team while promoting a culture of shared accountability, operational excellence, and partnership across the organization.
• Models Thrivent’s leadership competencies – courage, collaboration, and commitment by demonstrating resiliency, working together to make the best decisions, and holding yourself and others accountable.
• Supports and/or develops an environment in which Thrivent employees and colleagues are focused on continuous improvement, exceptional employee engagement, and an unwavering commitment to our clients. Shapes and/or supports a culture that represents the Thrivent purpose, promise and values, ensuring that Thrivent’s trust and reputation remain strong with its clients.
  
  

Required Experience:

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or other technical field or equivalent work experience.
• 10+ years of progressively responsible positions in Information Technology including 5+ years management/supervisory experience in specific IT functional area discipline.
• A track record of building scalable platforms to automate and digitize the insurance acquisition experience.
• Experience in delivering outcomes an agile development/product operating model.
• Demonstrated experience in creating, leading, and implementing large scale strategic deliverables.
• Strong communication, relationship building and interpersonal skills.
• Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively with executive leadership, lines of business stakeholders, and technology staff across the organization.
  
  

Preferred Experience:

• Experience in IT planning and business relationship management.
• Experience working in a matrix management organization.
• Experience with product development and management.
• Experience working in financial services and supporting insurance operations platforms.
• Strong leader with a demonstrated track record recruiting and developing talent.
  
  

Pay Transparency

Thrivent’s long-term growth depends on attracting, rewarding, and retaining people who are committed to helping others thrive with purpose. We accomplish this by offering a wide variety of market competitive compensation programs to attract, reward, and retain top talent. The applicable salary or hourly wage range for this full-time role is $170,238.00 - $230,323.00 per year, which factors in various geographic regions. The base pay actually offered will be determined by a variety of factors including, but not limited to, location, relevant experience, skills, and knowledge, business needs, market demand, and other factors Thrivent deems important.

Thrivent is unique in our commitment to helping people to be wise with money and live balanced and generous lives. That extends to our benefits.

The following benefits may be offered: various bonuses (including, for example, annual or long-term incentives); medical, dental, and vision insurance; health savings account; flexible spending account; 401k; pension; life and accidental death and dismemberment insurance; disability insurance; supplemental protection insurance; 20 days of Paid Time Off each year; Sick and Safe Time; 10 paid company holidays; Volunteer Time Off; paid parental leave; EAP; well-being benefits, and other employee benefits. Eligibility for receipt of these benefits is subject to the applicable plan/policy documents. Thrivent’s plans/policies are subject to change at any time at Thrivent’s discretion.

Thrivent provides Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) without regard to race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, pregnancy, national origin, age, disability, marital status, citizenship status, military or veteran status, genetic information, or any other status protected by applicable local, state, or federal law. This policy applies to all employees and job applicants.

Thrivent is committed to providing reasonable accommodation to individuals with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation, please let us know by sending an email to human.resources@thrivent.com or call 800-847-4836 and request Human Resources.