Associate Software Engineer, Credit Tech

Morningstar • Chicago, IL

1d • Hybrid

About The Position

Responsibilities GEO/SEO: Leverage GEO engineering best practices to help ensure Morningstar DBRS Content is indexed by top AI assistants such that people use popular AI assistants like ChatGPT/Gemini etc. and search for credit ratings related content or data, these tools should surface Morningstar DBRS content and refer users to dbrs.morningstar.com website. Prompt Engineering: The practice of designing, refining, and optimizing input prompts to guide AI models (such as large language models, e.g., GPT-4) toward generating high-quality, relevant, and accurate outputs. Cutting Edge AI Development: Use latest AI techniques and tools like computer use to drive to power accelerated Insights, Discovery and Action. Backend & Data Development: Support the design and development of backend services to handle data processing, publication, and delivery to downstream applications. Assist in developing APIs and cloud-native components using AWS services. Application Maintenance & Modernization: Help maintain, refactor, and migrate existing applications and services to modern, scalable AWS-based architectures. Collaboration: Work closely with senior engineers, product teams, data engineers, and DevOps/SRE partners to align backend and cloud solutions with business needs. Engineering Practices: Write clean, maintainable, and testable code. Participate in code reviews and adhere to modern engineering standards. Learning & Growth: Stay up to date on AWS cloud technologies and AI-assisted development tools. Demonstrate curiosity about applying AI and automation to improve engineering productivity and system efficiency.

Requirements

• Problem-Solving: Ability to analyze technical challenges, propose solutions, and deliver reliable results with guidance.
• Methodology: Familiarity with Agile/Scrum practices and modern software development methodologies.
• Security Awareness: Basic understanding of secure service design, API security concepts, and AWS security best practices.
• Education: Bachelor’s degree in computer science or related field, or equivalent practical experience.
• Experience: 0–2 years of professional software development experience, with exposure to backend development and cloud-based systems.
• Experience building or consuming REST APIs; familiarity with event-driven patterns is a plus.
• Hands-on exposure to AWS services such as Bedrock, Lambda, SQS, SNS, API Gateway, S3, and RDS; basic understanding of serverless patterns is preferred.
• Experience with SQL/NoSQL databases and basic data workflows (plus).
• Scripting experience with Python for automation, small data tasks, or AI experimentation (plus).
• Frontend exposure to Vue.js or other modern JavaScript frameworks (plus).
• AI/ML Exposure: Interest or basic experience with AI-assisted development tools (e.g., GitHub Copilot), prompt engineering, or integrating simple AI APIs.
• Understanding how AI can support automation, testing, or data workflows is a strong plus.
• Analytical thinking to break down complex tasks into clear instructions.
• Understanding of AI model strengths, limitations, and context windows.
• Experimentation with prompt phrasing for improved results.

Responsibilities

• Leverage GEO engineering best practices to help ensure Morningstar DBRS Content is indexed by top AI assistants
• Design, refine, and optimize input prompts to guide AI models toward generating high-quality, relevant, and accurate outputs
• Use latest AI techniques and tools like computer use to drive to power accelerated Insights, Discovery and Action
• Support the design and development of backend services to handle data processing, publication, and delivery to downstream applications
• Assist in developing APIs and cloud-native components using AWS services
• Help maintain, refactor, and migrate existing applications and services to modern, scalable AWS-based architectures
• Work closely with senior engineers, product teams, data engineers, and DevOps/SRE partners to align backend and cloud solutions with business needs
• Write clean, maintainable, and testable code
• Participate in code reviews and adhere to modern engineering standards
• Stay up to date on AWS cloud technologies and AI-assisted development tools
• Demonstrate curiosity about applying AI and automation to improve engineering productivity and system efficiency

Benefits

• Financial Health 100% 401k match up to 6% of salary Stock Ownership Potential Company provided life insurance - 1x salary + commission
• Physical Health Comprehensive health benefits (medical/dental/vision) including potential premium discounts and company-provided HSA contributions (up to $500-$2,000 annually) for specific plans and coverages Additional medical Wellness Incentives - up to $300-$600 annual Company-provided long- and short-term disability insurance
• Emotional Health Trust-Based Time Off 6-week Paid Sabbatical Program 6-Week Paid Family Caregiving Leave Competitive 8-24 Week Paid Parental Leave Adoption Assistance Leadership Coaching & Formal Mentorship Opportunities Annual Flex Stipend - $1000 annually to cover personal education & well-being expenses Tuition Reimbursement
• Social Health Charitable Matching Gifts program Dollars for Doers volunteer program Paid volunteering days 15+ Employee Resource & Affinity Groups
• Total Cash Compensation Range $70,825.00 - 120,425.00 USD Annual Inclusive of annual base salary and target incentive
• Morningstar's hybrid work environment gives you the opportunity to collaborate in-person each week as we've found that we're at our best when we're purposely together on a regular basis. In most of our locations, our hybrid work model is four days in-office each week. A range of other benefits are also available to enhance flexibility as needs change. No matter where you are, you'll have tools and resources to engage meaningfully with your global colleagues.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level