Java Ai Developer Jobs in Des Moines, IA (NOW HIRING)

What You'll Do

We’re looking for a Senior Data Engineer to join our Retirement Modernization Data Enablement team. In this role, you’ll sit at the center of our retirement modernization effort, leading how critical transaction data moves from source systems to enterprise analytics, ensuring it’s trusted, wellgoverned, and ready to drive insight at scale.

You’ll have the opportunity to

• Design and influence data integration and movement patterns across multiple platforms, aligning teams to shared standards and best practices
• Serve as a thought leader in data engineering and architecture, influencing decisions without direct authority in a highly collaborative, matrixed environment
• Partner closely with upstream transaction teams and downstream analytics teams to ensure data is modeled, governed, and delivered in ways that support analytics, reporting, and AI use cases
• Enable the endtoend flow of retirement source and transactional data through to the Enterprise Data Platform
• Establish and promote best practices for data pipelines, orchestration, and data governance in a modernized data ecosystem
• Balance hands-on engineering with architectural design, stepping into pipeline development when needed while maintaining a broader solution-focused lens
• Play a key role in transforming how data is enabled across the Retirement technology domain

As Principal continues to modernize its systems, this role will offer you an exciting opportunity to build solutions that will directly impact our long-term strategy and tech stack, all while ensuring that our products are robust, scalable, and secure!

Operating at the intersection of financial services and technology, Principal builds financial tools that help our customers live better lives. We take pride in being a purpose-led firm, motivated by our mission to make financial security accessible to all. Our mission, integrity, and customer focus have made us a trusted leader for more than 140 years.

Who You Are

• Bachelor's degree plus 8+ years related work experience or a Master's in related field plus 4+ years related work experience
• Proven experience delivering largescale data engineering solutions, including data ingestion, transformation, modeling, and storage to support analytics, reporting, and advanced data use cases, with exposure to data mesh principles in modern data platform environments
• Demonstrated ability to shape data architecture and influence technical strategy across teams, establishing patterns, standards, and best practices while engaging handson when needed
• Trusted technical leader with strong communication and collaboration skills who can influence across teams and business units, facilitate architectural discussions, and navigate ambiguity in modernizing data environments
• Experience elevating the people around you – coaching, mentoring, and helping others grow through thoughtful feedback and knowledge sharing
• Proven experience working across the full data lifecycle, from sourcealigned ingestion and foundational data preparation through to analyticsready datasets, with an understanding of how upstream design decisions enable downstream analytics and data products
• Strong technical foundation working handson with data and data stores, including advanced SQL, data pipeline development, including programming experience in languages such as Python and Java
• Experience optimizing data pipelines and processing systems for highvolume, complex datasets
• Experience implementing data quality management across the data lifecycle, including validation, reconciliation, and mastering, with an emphasis on observability, monitoring, and operational readiness

Skills That Will Help You Stand Out

• Hands-on experience with Snowflake
• Hands-on experience with Ataccama Data Quality
• Hands-on experience with Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud
• Experience with source and/or transactional data modeling, including normalized schemas (e.g., 3NF) and strong data integrity practices

Salary Range Information
Salary ranges below reflect targeted base salaries. Non-sales positions have the opportunity to participate in a bonus program. Sales positions are eligible for sales incentives, and in some instances a bonus plan, whereby total compensation may far exceed base salary depending on individual performance. Actual compensation for all roles will be based upon geographic location, work experience, education, licensure requirements and/or skill level and will be finalized at the time of offer.
Salary Range (Non-Exempt expressed as hourly; Exempt expressed as yearly)
$130000 - $170000 / year
Time Off Program
Flexible Time Off (FTO) is provided to salaried (exempt) employees and provides the opportunity to take time away from the office with pay for vacation, personal or short-term illness. Employees don't accrue a bank of time off under FTO and there is no set number of days provided.
Pension Eligible
Yes Hours

This role operates within core Central Standard Time business hours, so flexibility to work within that time frame is required.

Work Environments

This role offers in-office, hybrid (blending at least three office days in a typical workweek), and remote work arrangements (only if residing more than 30 miles from Des Moines, IA, or Charlotte, NC). You’ll work with your leader to figure out which option may align best based on several factors.

Work Authorization/Sponsorship

At this time, we're not considering applicants that need any type of immigration sponsorship (additional work authorization or permanent work authorization) now or in the future to work in the United States. This includes, but IS NOT LIMITED TO: F1-OPT, F1-CPT, H-1B, TN, L-1, J-1, etc. For additional information around work authorization needs please use the following links.

Nonimmigrant Workers and Green Card for Employment-Based Immigrants

Investment Code of Ethics

For Principal Asset Management positions, you’ll need to follow an Investment Code of Ethics related to personal and business conduct as well as personal trading activities for you and members of your household. These same requirements may also apply to other positions across the organization.

Experience Principal

At Principal, we value connecting on both a personal and professional level. Together, we’re imagining a more purpose-led future for financial services – and that starts with you. Our success depends on the unique experiences, backgrounds, and talents of our employees. And we support our employees the same way we support our customers: with comprehensive, competitive benefit offerings crafted to protect their physical, financial, and social well-being. Check out our careers site to learn more about our purpose, values and benefits.

Principal is an Equal Opportunity Employer

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or veteran status.

Posting Window
We will accept applications for 3 full days following the Original Posting Date, after which the posting may remain open or be removed based upon applications received. If we choose to post the job again, we will accept additional applications for at least 1 full day following the Most Recently Posted Date. Please submit applications in a timely manner as there is no guarantee the posting will be available beyond the applicable deadline.
Original Posting Date
5/1/2026
Most Recently Posted Date
5/27/2026

Principal uses artificial intelligence tools to assist in reviewing and evaluating job applications, fraud prevention, and candidate matching and comparisons. These AI tools support our human recruiters in the initial review process but do not make final hiring decisions without human involvement. By submitting your application, you acknowledge this use of AI in our recruitment process. Please review our Workforce (U.S.) Privacy Notice for more details on our practices and your data privacy rights.

LinkedIn Remote Hashtag

#LI-Remote

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#LI-EW1Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree plus 8+ years related work experience or a Master's in related field plus 4+ years related work experience
• Proven experience delivering largescale data engineering solutions, including data ingestion, transformation, modeling, and storage to support analytics, reporting, and advanced data use cases, with exposure to data mesh principles in modern data platform environments
• Demonstrated ability to shape data architecture and influence technical strategy across teams, establishing patterns, standards, and best practices while engaging handson when needed
• Trusted technical leader with strong communication and collaboration skills who can influence across teams and business units, facilitate architectural discussions, and navigate ambiguity in modernizing data environments
• Experience elevating the people around you – coaching, mentoring, and helping others grow through thoughtful feedback and knowledge sharing
• Proven experience working across the full data lifecycle, from sourcealigned ingestion and foundational data preparation through to analyticsready datasets, with an understanding of how upstream design decisions enable downstream analytics and data products
• Strong technical foundation working handson with data and data stores, including advanced SQL, data pipeline development, including programming experience in languages such as Python and Java
• Experience optimizing data pipelines and processing systems for highvolume, complex datasets
• Experience implementing data quality management across the data lifecycle, including validation, reconciliation, and mastering, with an emphasis on observability, monitoring, and operational readiness

Skills That Will Help You Stand Out

• Hands-on experience with Snowflake
• Hands-on experience with Ataccama Data Quality
• Hands-on experience with Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud
• Experience with source and/or transactional data modeling, including normalized schemas (e.g., 3NF) and strong data integrity practices

Education:UNAVAILABLEEmployment Type: FULL_TIME