What are the responsibilities and job description for the Automation & AI Platform Engineer I (Hybrid - Des Moines, IA) position at Principal Financial Group?
What You'll Do
We’re looking for an Automation and AI Platform Engineer to join our Colleague Experience Engineering team to help deliver rapid, agentless resolution through an intelligent digital front door, self-service automation, and AI-augmented support operations. You’ll partner with engineers and IT service operations leaders to improve the end-to-end experience and incrementally expand automation that reduces effort and accelerates outcomes.
Who You Are
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)
$62000 - $84000 / 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
Work Environments
This role offers a hybrid work environment in our Global Headquarters located in Des Moines, Iowa (blending at least three office days in a typical workweek).
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
5/29/2026
Most Recently Posted Date
5/29/2026
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
We’re looking for an Automation and AI Platform Engineer to join our Colleague Experience Engineering team to help deliver rapid, agentless resolution through an intelligent digital front door, self-service automation, and AI-augmented support operations. You’ll partner with engineers and IT service operations leaders to improve the end-to-end experience and incrementally expand automation that reduces effort and accelerates outcomes.
- With guidance, learn and support colleague-facing platforms that enable the digital front door (web and chat) and self-service journeys.
- Help deliver “solve, not submit” experiences by supporting automated request fulfillment and resolution flows for common needs.
- Support workflow and integration changes (low-code/no-code and light scripting) ensuring safe deployments and clear documentation.
- Help improve resolver-team efficiency through automation enablement (routing, categorization, escalation support) and AI-assisted troubleshooting.
- Use basic experience and operations signals (e.g., containment/deflection, Customer Effort Score, incident trends) to identify opportunities for incremental improvement.
- Communicate status, risks, and issues clearly to teammates and partners; escalate appropriately when impact or risk increases.
- Provide input to the team as you learn the services and capabilities the team is accountable to maintain.
- Stay current on relevant industry trends and bring forward opportunities for operational improvement.
- Perform other job-related duties or special projects as assigned.
Who You Are
- Associate's or bachelor's degree (preference in a computer science, technology, engineering or math-related field) or equivalent experience
- Foundational understanding of IT operations and application/platform support concepts (incidents, requests, monitoring, releases)
- Strong learning mindset and curiosity about digital experience, automation, Agentic AI applications, and how systems integrate end-to-end
- Comfort following standards, runbooks, and change procedures to deliver reliable, repeatable outcomes
- Clear written and verbal communication, including documenting steps taken and sharing concise status updates
- Ability to collaborate across IT and non-IT partners and translate needs/issues into actionable work
- Ability to maintain accuracy and confidentiality when working with colleague data and operational processes
- Experience supporting digital workplace or enterprise service platforms (e.g., ServiceNow ITSM/Employee Center Pro, Moveworks, Microsoft Copilot, Microsoft Power Platform)
- Exposure to knowledge automation/content intelligence, conversational AI, or virtual agent experiences
- Familiarity with workflow and runbook/remediation automation (routing, categorization, orchestration across tools)
- Basic understanding of observability/telemetry signals and how to use them to improve reliability and reduce manual handoffs
- Comfort working with experience and service metrics (e.g., containment/deflection, Customer Effort Score, MTTR) to identify improvement opportunities
- Knowledge of insurance and financial services products
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)
$62000 - $84000 / 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
Work Environments
This role offers a hybrid work environment in our Global Headquarters located in Des Moines, Iowa (blending at least three office days in a typical workweek).
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
5/29/2026
Most Recently Posted Date
5/29/2026
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
Salary : $62,000 - $84,000