Lead Software Engineer Jobs in Minnesota

Lead Software Engineer jobs in Minnesota concentrate heavily in financial technology, healthcare IT, retail technology, and enterprise software, with the Twin Cities metro anchoring most of the demand and a growing cluster of roles in Rochester and St. Cloud. Major employers with lasting Minnesota footprints including Target, UnitedHealth Group, and Cargill hire lead engineers to own large-scale distributed systems, cloud infrastructure, and platform architecture. The most in-demand specialties are cloud-native development, backend platform engineering, and data engineering leadership. Find a role that fits below and apply directly.

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Overview

Open roles15
Top employerThomson Reuters
Top cityEagan, MN
Cities hiring7
Work type77% Hybrid
Top industryManufacturing

Showing 4 of 15+ Lead Software Engineer jobs

Thomson Reuters
Lead Software Engineer Mobile App
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Thomson Reuters
Added 1d ago
Lead Software Engineer Mobile App
Thomson Reuters
Eagan, Minnesota
Business Operations
Business Strategy
Consulting & Professional Services
$118k - $253k/yr
Hybrid
10,000+

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Target
Lead Engineer - Cloud Security (Software Engineering)
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Target
Added 4d ago
Lead Engineer - Cloud Security (Software Engineering)
Target
Brooklyn Park, Minnesota
AI (Artificial Intelligence)
Data Science
ML (Machine Learning)
$132k - $238k/yr
Bachelor's degree
10,000+

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Danfoss
Lead Autonomous Systems Software Engineer
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Danfoss
Added 1w ago
Lead Autonomous Systems Software Engineer
Danfoss
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Quality Assurance & Testing (QA Testing)
Software Engineering
Technical Program Management
$100k - $150k/yr
Hybrid
Bachelor's degree in engineering
10,000+

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Thomson Reuters
Lead Software Engineer, AI
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Thomson Reuters
Added 2w ago
Lead Software Engineer, AI
Thomson Reuters
Eagan, Minnesota
Business Operations
Business Strategy
Consulting & Professional Services
$127k - $237k/yr
Hybrid
10,000+

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See All 15 Lead Software Engineer Jobs in Minnesota

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Lead Software Engineer Jobs by City in Minnesota

Where Minnesota roles are concentrated, by current openings.

Eagan
5 jobs
Minneapolis
3 jobs
Eden Prairie
3 jobs
Plymouth
1 job
Minnetonka
1 job
Maple Grove
1 job
Brooklyn Park
1 job

Lead Software Engineer Job Market in Minnesota

A snapshot from current Minnesota openings, updated as new roles post.

Who's Hiring

Thomson Reuters
Thomson Reuters5 open roles
Optum
Optum3 open roles
Eaton
Eaton1 open role

Top Industries Hiring

  • Manufacturing
  • Consulting & Professional Services

What Minnesota Employers Look For

The qualifications that appear most often in lead software engineer jobs across Minnesota.

  • Bachelor's degree in computer science, software engineering, or a closely related technical field
  • Seven or more years of professional software engineering experience with at least two in a leadership role
  • Demonstrated proficiency in one or more of Java, Python, Go, or TypeScript at production scale
  • Experience designing and delivering distributed systems or microservices architectures in cloud environments
  • Proven ability to mentor engineers, conduct code reviews, and drive team technical decisions
  • Strong cross-functional collaboration skills working alongside product managers and platform stakeholders

Lead Software Engineer Jobs in Minnesota: Frequently Asked Questions

How do you become a lead software engineer in Minnesota?

Lead software engineer roles in Minnesota do not require a state-issued license or board registration. The typical path starts with a bachelor's degree in computer science or a related engineering discipline, followed by several years of hands-on software development experience. Minnesota employers, particularly in financial services and healthcare IT, weight demonstrated technical depth and a history of driving architectural decisions over formal credentials alone. Holding a cloud certification from AWS, Google, or Microsoft strengthens candidacy significantly with Twin Cities employers.

How much do lead software engineers make in Minnesota?

Lead software engineers in Minnesota earn a median of about $130,050 a year, based on May 2025 Bureau of Labor Statistics wage data, ranging from around $79,900 for the lowest 10% to over $169,810 for the top 10%. Pay rises with experience, specialty, and employer.

Which companies hire lead software engineers in Minnesota?

Minnesota lead software engineer roles are posted by Thomson Reuters, Optum, and Eaton and others right now, based on current listings on Migrate Mate as of August 2026. Minnesota's concentration of Fortune 500 headquarters in retail, healthcare, and financial services means many of these roles involve leading engineering teams that build products used at national or global scale.

Which Minnesota cities have the most lead software engineer jobs?

Eagan, Minneapolis, and Eden Prairie have the most lead software engineer openings in Minnesota. The Minneapolis-St. Paul metro drives the majority of demand, anchored by major corporate headquarters in retail technology, financial services, and healthcare IT, while Rochester benefits from the large medical technology and health systems presence there, and suburban hubs like Minnetonka and Eden Prairie add volume from established software and insurance companies.

Are there remote lead software engineer jobs in Minnesota?

Yes, and more than most fields. About 92% of lead software engineer openings tied to Minnesota are remote or hybrid as of August 2026, reflecting how naturally this work translates to distributed environments. The portions of the role most likely to stay fully remote are backend platform development and cloud infrastructure leadership, while roles that require hands-on proximity to hardware teams or regulated on-site systems tend to remain hybrid or in-office.

How can I get hired as a lead software engineer in Minnesota with little or no experience?

The most realistic path is to build toward a senior individual contributor role first, then move into lead scope. Target, UnitedHealth Group, and Optum run structured early-career engineering programs in Minnesota that place candidates into teams where lead mentorship is part of the design. Moving from a senior software engineer or staff engineer role into a lead title is the most common internal path. Building a portfolio of system design work and contributing to open-source projects in cloud or data engineering strengthens external applications.

Where can I find and apply to lead software engineer jobs in Minnesota?

You can find and apply to lead software engineer jobs in Minnesota on Migrate Mate, which lists current Minnesota openings across the Twin Cities metro and the broader state. Find roles that fit your experience and apply directly from the listings.

See All 15 Lead Software Engineer Jobs in Minnesota

Find roles in Minnesota that match your experience and apply in just a few clicks.

Find Lead Software Engineer Jobs