Permanent Insurance Software Developer Jobs in Illinois

Looking for more than just a job? You’ve found it. 

At Pekin Insurance, you’re not a number—you’re part of something bigger. For over 100 years, we’ve built a community where people are valued, supported, and empowered to grow. Here, you’ll find a workplace where collaboration is real, ideas are welcome, and the work you do truly matters. We’re proud to help people through life’s toughest moments—and it’s our people who make that possible. 

From day one, you’ll be encouraged to bring your whole self to work, take on meaningful challenges, and grow in ways that matter to you.  

This is your opportunity to belong, thrive, and make a difference—right here at Pekin Insurance.  Learn more about Pekin Insurance Here!

Position Overview

The Software Engineer is responsible for working collaboratively with product and platform teams to create and support rich, interactive applications that help end users manage their data and processes. Software Engineer designs, codes, tests, implements, scales and (in some cases) supports application software and systems, usually as part of an Agile Development Team.

Software Engineer works closely with Analysts, Product Owners, and Product Managers to understand business requirements and translate these into product or platform features, user stories, and/or components. Software Engineer drives the analysis and physical design of technical solutions related to a product or platform and is expected to effectively write new programs as well as support upgrades, maintenance or issue resolution for existing applications and systems. The Software Engineer uses DevOps and Agile processes to deliver desired functionality quickly and effectively, while iterating to continue development. Software Engineer owns all aspects of development, from user experience (UX) planning to deployment.

The Software Engineer contributes to the development of the team backlog and architectural runway, management of work in process (WIP) levels, and support of engineering aspects of program and solution Kanban. Software Engineer may also participate in program increment planning, pre- and- post planning, system, and solution demos, and inspect and adapt events.

Essential Job Functions

• Participates and plays an active role in all Agile Team activities and is accountable for regularly producing product increments that effectively contribute to solution features and/or components
• Participates in release events as required

• Works closely with product teams to define the requirements and associated features and user stories of the application

• Understands design elements and visually customizes components to fit the application

• Performs physical design

• Consistently promotes reuse, flexibility, and efficiency in solution design

• Applies advanced techniques such as design thinking or journey mapping to improve user experience (UX)

• Leads the development/builds, installation, initial configuration, and test of solutions

• Produces high-quality production-ready software in small increments

• Responsible for code integrity and organization

• Contributes to end-to-end delivery workflows, even those outside area of expertise or explicit responsibility

• Leads the evaluation of existing applications and platforms and provides recommendations for improving application performance by conducting gap analysis, identifying feasible alternative solutions, and assisting in the scope of modifications

• Constructively works with architecture/integration experts to improve own work and knowledge

• Guides team to adhere to security requirements and use appropriate security frameworks and tools

• Ensures the troubleshooting, diagnoses, documentation, and resolution of escalated support problems

• Applies operation break fixes and other proactive maintenance activities until permanent solutions can be implemented

• Ensures support of innovative efforts by driving creativity, acting with agility, and thinking outside current boundaries

• Evaluates services provided by vendors and may recommend changes

• Uses technology to implement automation and orchestration

• Performs other duties as assigned

Education & Experience

 Required

• 10+ years of experience within mainframe development
• Experience with incident triage and troubleshooting 
• Must be highly proficient in each of the following… 
•  
  • COBOL 
   
  • Easytrieve 
   
  • JCL 
   
  • CICS 
   
  • TSO 
   
  • Production Incident Support (both batch and real-time) 

 Preferred

• Bachelor’s degree in IT Engineering, Computer Science, Business Management, Mathematics, Information Technology, Computer Engineering, or Information Sciences preferred, or equivalent experience
• Experience in an agile environment strongly preferred
• Would prefer experience/proficiency in each of the following… 
•  
  • Jira 
   
  • ISPW/Topaz 
   
  • Agile Methodology 
   
  • Life Insurance experience 

Certifications & Licenses

• Relevant certification is a plus

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

Expert ability to:

• Work across multiple environments including cloud and on-premises, and multiple operating systems

• Use modern web development technologies and techniques (e.g., HTML5, CSS, Java Script, etc.)

• Perform design (e.g., prototype, user interface (UI) design, user experience (UX) design, interaction design)

• Develop solutions for both mobile and desktop

• Collaborate with both business and IT stakeholders and develop constructive working relationships with team and non-team members

• Use judgment to form conclusions that may challenge conventional wisdom

• Consistently apply original thinking to produce new ideas and innovate

Expert understanding of:

• How components throughout the technology “stack” interact

• Front and back-end programming languages/tools

Expert knowledge of: 

• Continuous integration / continuous delivery (CI/CD), Agile, and automated deployment best practices

• Databases and database interaction

• Code versioning tools

• Use cases for architectural components and how to apply them

Applicants must be authorized to work in the U.S. without sponsorship now or in the future. 

Salary Range:  $108,000-$148,000  per year  

• This range is based on the expected level of experience and skills for this position. Final compensation will depend on individual qualifications.

 Benefits:  

• Health, Dental and Vision Insurance
• Generous 401(k) with company match
• Paid Time Off (PTO) with Paid Holidays
• Flexible/Hybrid Work Schedule
• Paid Volunteer Program

For more information about the benefits we offer, please visit our Careers Page.