There’s lots to enjoy about the Principal® hub in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Steve Watts favors the location. Naga Bhimavarapu is thankful for the facilities. But it’s the culture that stands out to both. “It’s different here than at other firms,” Watts says. “We’ve always had a focus on flexibility. We work really hard to be cognizant of individual needs.”
Watts, director of engineering, and Bhimavarapu, assistant director of engineering, are part of a small but growing technology team in Charlotte. Both joined the office in 2019; several dozen of the 200 or so employees in the Principal Charlotte office are engineers, working on programming and customer experiences.
While the culture stands out, the collaboration does, too. “I’ve worked in places where it felt like the engineers were behind a wall, but here you have direct contact and dialogue,” Watts says. “You work through pain points, you’re iterative, and you have ongoing discussions.”
Bigger often equals more bureaucracy, Bhimavarapu says, but that hasn’t been his experience, even with the global footprint of Principal. “Internally, I’ve found we’re pretty tech savvy and have a speed-to-market others don’t have,” he says. “We truly put the customer at the center of what we do.”
Growth is very much on the mind of the Charlotte office. “Right now, we’re this burgeoning tech hub, and we want to grow over time,” Watts says. “It’s a creative environment to work in.”
The facilities—a repeat of many of the amenities found in the global headquarters in Des Moines, Iowa—don’t hurt, nor does the vibe of Charlotte, with its temperate climate and mix of history and culture. “It’s one of those places with the best of both worlds,” Watts says. “It has everything from pro football to a symphony, with a vibrant university scene, too.”
Both Watts and Bhimavarapu have lived in the Charlotte area for decades and have plenty of experience with tech employers. But working for Principal is different. “I saw a vast difference when I moved to Principal of how much more time I’m able to spend time with my family,” Bhimavarapu says. “I’ve seen personally how Principal invests in their people and understands their lives. We’re not as well known in the area, but we’re trying to change that and be our own best ambassadors for Principal.”
1. It’s the eighth fastest growing U.S. city[1] and eighth best place to live in the U.S.[2], with nearly 900,000 people living in the city limits alone (and over 2 million if you count the surrounding area).
2. Charlotte is second only to New York City as a U.S. banking center.[3]
3. Charlotte is home to three pro sports teams—the Carolina Panthers (NFL), Charlotte Hornets (NBA), and Charlotte FC (MLS)—as well as the Charlotte Motor Speedway (NASCAR).
4. It’s the locale for five universities and colleges, including the University of North Carolina at Charlotte with 25,000 students.
5. Charlotte is considered the birthplace of NASCAR and home to the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
6. The central business in Charlotte isn’t called downtown, but uptown (it’s slightly elevated, thus the name).
