Assistant Director - Product Management

What You'll Do

We’re seeking an Assistant Director of Product Management to join our Benefits & Protection team, where you’ll lead a high-performing product team focused on Workplace Benefits and Life & Disability Insurance billing and payment product families. In this role, you'll harness market and customer insights to shape strategy, drive innovation, and influence transformative change across product lines. You’ll play a critical role in developing a shared vision, setting strategic direction, and building roadmaps that align with business goals—all while helping our organization deliver exceptional value to customers and stay ahead in a competitive industry.

You’ll have the opportunity to:

• Create and evangelize a product family strategy for a critical product set our customers and business rely on, collaborating with partners, product teams, and other cross-functional areas to gain clarity and alignment
• Lead and develop a team of product managers, empowering them to build their own product strategy, leverage OKRs, and implement an effective discovery and delivery cycle that will help us continuously evolve to meet the business and customer outcomes we are after
• Leverage industry insights and data to influence strategic decision-making and guide the product strategy and roadmap
• Advance our product management practices by championing product mindset, integrating continuous discovery practices, promoting a culture of curiosity and customer-obsession, and fostering strong cross-functional collaboration
• Set and iterate on OKRs that clearly connect day-to-day work to important business and customer outcomes, helping teams stay aligned and purposeful
• Champion a culture of experimentation, continuously testing, learning, and adapting
• Partner across product families and business units, working closely with other product leaders to drive alignment, integration, and innovation

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

• 8 years of business, technology, or product management experience; or equivalent demonstrated through the following: work experience, military experience, or education
• 5 years working in a highly collaborative, fast-paced product environment
• 2 years of informal or formal leadership experience, coaching and mentoring team members
• Experience partnering with teams in a matrixed environment and supporting technology products through an agile environment
• Experience resolving solutions to complicated problems using good judgment and positive relationships to assess risk, and lay-out your argument in a well-structured, data-informed narrative
• Excellent communication skills including the ability to influence and negotiate with partners at all levels of the company while advising on complex expectations
• Proven understanding of techniques and methods of modern product discovery and product delivery and the ability to coach that in others; Understands various approaches and tools for research, synthesis, ideation, and testing in a dynamic dual track discovery and delivery loop

Skills that will help you stand out

• Product Management experience in platform products
• Experience with billing and/or payment platforms
• Lead change management initiatives for product domain
• Demonstrated ability to lead and grow a Product organization
• Experience creating clarity from highly complex and ambiguous situations

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)

$123000 - $167000 / 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
Additional Information

Work Environments

This role offers an in-office and hybrid (blending at least three office days in a typical workweek) work arrangement in Des Moines, IA.

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

4/25/2025
Most Recently Posted Date

4/28/2025

LinkedIn Hashtag

#LI-EW1

Salary : $123,000 - $167,000