Lead Software Engineer - Tech Incubation Team

Wellmark, Inc.•Des Moines, IA

17h•Hybrid

About The Position

Leads system design and hands-on development for Wellmark’s Technology Incubation initiatives—turning ambiguous ideas into working prototypes and MVPs at speed. Operates as a builder and technical catalyst, rapidly experimenting, iterating, and shipping proof-of-value solutions that explore new capabilities (including agentic and AI-enabled development) and unlock future business outcomes. Partners closely with product, design, architecture, security, and business stakeholders to shape concepts, validate assumptions, and translate opportunities into scalable paths forward. Serves as a subject matter expert and mentor to other engineers, establishing lightweight patterns and guardrails that maintain quality and security while enabling “build fast, learn faster” delivery.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, MIS, or related field of study and at least 5 years of development experience (ex. Angular, NodeJS, Python, C++, .NET, Java, SQL) OR 9 years of related and applicable experience.
Strong analytical problem-solving skills.
Accuracy and high attention to detail.
Previous experience troubleshooting and developing creative technical solutions.
Ability to provide innovative solutions to complex issues.
Demonstrated experience in software development lifecycle methodologies.
Demonstrated ability to communicate with and coach/mentor team members, while setting an example in maintaining a positive attitude, staying calm under pressure, being approachable, and respectful and taking responsibility for failures.
Big picture thinker with the ability to translate the value of the Wellmark as a Service (WaaS) strategy to company strategy when making design and development decisions.
Demonstrated, strong ability to gather information, perform necessary research needed for root cause analysis, problem definition and formulation, recommend solution implementation, verification, and ongoing optimization, using data to support recommendations.
Demonstrated ability to build relationships to reach outcomes that gain the support and acceptance of all parties.
Ability to communicate key information in a timely manner to the appropriate stakeholder audience with the ability to adjust communication style that will best suit the audience.
Ability to thrive in fast-paced environment with changing priorities.
Excellent organizational skills.
Strong time management skills with the ability to set and meet established timeframes with little direction, while assuring data and information integrity.
Eagerness to learn and stay current on industry trends and have a continuous learning mindset.
Ability to collaborate and work as a team to accomplish goals and/or solve problems.
Ability to earn trust and respect from peers, leadership, and stakeholders.
Ability to learn by actively listening and applying coaching feedback.
Ability to lead, support and work within a diverse development team model including global staffing, crowd sourcing, etc.

Nice To Haves

Demonstrated experience in innovation, incubation, or rapid prototyping environments, delivering prototypes/MVPs quickly and iterating based on feedback.
Proven ability to take ambiguous problems from concept to working solution—shaping hypotheses, building proof-of-value demos, and communicating learnings to stakeholders.
Strong hands-on development experience with Node.js/TypeScript building APIs, services, and lightweight front-end or full-stack prototypes.
Experience designing and deploying workloads in AWS and/or Azure, including core services for compute, storage, networking, identity, and serverless patterns.
Experience building with AI/LLM tools and services, such as prompt engineering, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), orchestration/agent frameworks, and integrating AI capabilities into products.
Familiarity with ML Ops / LLM Ops concepts (evaluation, monitoring, safety guardrails, versioning, and cost/performance tradeoffs).
Experience delivering production-minded prototypes using modern practices (CI/CD, IaC, observability basics, automated testing, security-first patterns).
Comfort presenting demos, facilitating workshops, and influencing cross-functional partners (product, architecture, security, business) through clear storytelling and working software.

Responsibilities

Lead system development and engineering for highly complex programs.
Coordinate the preparation, coding, testing, and debugging of complex programs; including the analysis and development of workflows that utilize emerging technology and meet and exceed Wellmark’s evolving business needs.
Serve as subject matter expert in the implementation of innovative and cost-effective business solutions for multiple applications and systems utilizing information technology, business, and industry trends.
Provide leadership, training, and guidance to others on the team in the gathering of information, necessary research needed for root cause analysis, problem definition and formulation, solution implementation, verification, and ongoing optimization.
Ensure analysis of defects to find root cause and guide others in the identification of potential improvement opportunities.
Mentor, guide and problem-solve with other technology areas in the development and implementation of solutions, including how to use new or enhanced software/applications.
Coordinate with company resources to accomplish integration of products and processes and complex solutions.
Provide timely and accurate results, and exceptional customer service.
Utilize established relationships with Wellmark leaders and acts as a primary consultant on business status, issues, process improvements and technology enhancements or capabilities.
Participate in project proposals, estimates and proof-of-concept activities as needed.
Maintain awareness of industry’s best practices and standards and proactively participates in industry/knowledge reference groups relative to role.
Provide direction for enterprise standards.
Conduct code reviews and monitor standard adherence.
Other duties as assigned.