What is a Software Engineer at American National Insurance?

At American National Insurance, the role of a Software Engineer is pivotal to maintaining the financial strength and operational integrity of a company that has served clients since 1905. Whether you are working within the Service Oriented Architecture Team building modern APIs or ensuring the stability of critical Mainframe systems, your work directly supports the promise of security we provide to policyholders.

You will step into an environment that balances long-standing stability with a drive for modernization. Engineers here are not just coders; they are guardians of enterprise data and architects of digital transformation. Depending on your specific team, you might be modernizing legacy systems using IBM ACE/IIB to create seamless integration workflows, or you might be the expert keeping our z/OS environments robust and efficient.

This position offers a unique opportunity to work on high-impact projects—from designing scalable RESTful APIs to managing complex storage administration on enterprise-grade hardware. You will collaborate across infrastructure, QA, and operations teams to solve complex issues, ensuring that our technology stack remains agile, secure, and ready for future generations.

Common Interview Questions

Getting Ready for Your Interviews

Preparation is key to navigating our interview process. We look for candidates who possess not only technical depth but also a commitment to our core values: Financial Strength, Integrity, Respect, Service, and Teamwork (FIRST). You should approach your preparation by focusing on how your technical skills can solve real business problems while maintaining system stability.

We evaluate candidates based on the following key criteria:

Technical Expertise & Domain Knowledge We assess your hands-on proficiency with the specific tools relevant to the role, whether that is IBM Integration Bus (IIB) and Java, or z/OS systems programming and storage administration. You must demonstrate a deep understanding of the underlying architecture, not just the syntax of a language.

Operational Maturity & Problem Solving In an insurance environment, uptime and reliability are non-negotiable. We evaluate how you approach troubleshooting, incident management (using tools like ServiceNow), and root cause analysis. We look for engineers who can remain calm under pressure, especially when dealing with production escalations.

Collaboration & Cultural Alignment (ACE) Our culture thrives on Agility, Collaboration, and Engagement (ACE). Interviewers will look for evidence of how you work within cross-functional teams, how you communicate technical concepts to non-technical partners, and how you contribute to a positive, inclusive work environment.

Adaptability & Continuous Improvement Technology at American National is evolving. We value self-starters who are eager to learn new tools, participate in Agile ceremonies, and drive improvements in legacy processes. We want to know how you stay current and how you apply new knowledge to improve existing systems.

Interview Process Overview

The interview process at American National Insurance is designed to be thorough yet efficient, ensuring we find the right technical and cultural match. Generally, the process begins with an initial screening by a recruiter to verify your background and alignment with the role's logistics (such as location and salary expectations).

Following the screen, you can expect a series of technical interviews. For Software Engineer roles, this often involves a deep dive into your specific domain—be it Mainframe logic or API development. You will likely speak with a hiring manager and potentially a panel of peers. These sessions are conversational but rigorous; expect to discuss your past projects in detail, explain your architectural choices, and walk through how you handle technical challenges.

Our process emphasizes a holistic view of the candidate. While technical skills are paramount, we place significant weight on behavioral questions to ensure you align with our collaborative culture. We want to see how you handle mentorship, conflict, and project management within an Agile framework.

The timeline above illustrates the typical stages you will navigate. Use this to pace your preparation: focus on high-level behavioral stories for the initial screens, and shift to deep technical review and system design concepts as you progress to the panel rounds. Note that specific technical assessments may vary depending on whether you are interviewing for the Mainframe or Integration track.

Deep Dive into Evaluation Areas

To succeed, you must demonstrate competence in the specific technical stack of the role you applied for. Below are the primary evaluation areas based on our current engineering needs.

Enterprise Integration (IBM ACE/IIB Track)

If you are interviewing for the integration developer role, expect a heavy focus on middleware and API strategy. You need to show how you connect disparate systems securely and efficiently.

Be ready to go over:

• IBM Integration Bus (IIB) & App Connect Enterprise (ACE) – Deep knowledge of message flows, nodes, and troubleshooting within the IBM ecosystem.
• API Development – Designing and securing RESTful and SOAP-based APIs using IBM API Connect.
• Data Transformation – Expertise in mapping and transforming data formats like XML and JSON, including encryption and validation logic.
• Programming Languages – proficiency in Java, Go, or JavaScript for building custom connectors and orchestration components.

Example questions or scenarios:

• "Describe a complex integration workflow you designed using IBM ACE. How did you handle error handling and rollback?"
• "How do you secure a REST API exposed to external partners? Walk us through the authentication flow."
• "Explain a scenario where you had to transform a legacy SOAP service into a modern JSON-based REST API."

Mainframe Systems Programming (z/OS Track)

For the systems programmer role, the focus shifts to stability, storage, and operating system internals. You must demonstrate that you can manage the "heavy lifting" of our infrastructure.

Be ready to go over:

• Storage Administration – Managing allocation, backup, and recovery using SMS, HSM, and tape services.
• System Maintenance – Experience with z/OS upgrades, third-party software tuning, and performance investigations.
• Tooling – Familiarity with tools like FDR, DS8000, and TS7700.
• Incident Management – Prioritizing and resolving support tickets via ServiceNow.

Example questions or scenarios:

• "How do you approach tuning a z/OS environment that is experiencing I/O latency?"
• "Walk us through your process for planning and executing a major third-party software upgrade on the mainframe."
• "Describe a critical production incident you resolved related to storage allocation failure."

Agile & DevOps Practices

Regardless of the specific tech stack, all engineers are expected to work within modern delivery frameworks.

Be ready to go over:

• CI/CD Pipelines – Designing pipelines for deployment with traceability (especially for cloud-native roles).
• Agile Ceremonies – Contributing to sprint planning, retrospectives, and backlog grooming.
• Collaboration – Working with QA to validate flows and ensure smooth environment transitions.