Principal Software Engineer

Morningstar • Chicago, IL

10d • Hybrid

About The Position

Architect and lead the development of scalable AI and cloud-native Agentic solutions using OpenAI, Azure, and AWS to enhance financial data acquisition and automation capabilities; spearhead the design and implementation of AI-powered transcription platforms, driving significant improvements in speed and efficiency (10%). Design, code, debug, maintain, and upgrade high-performance software systems, ensuring system performance, reliability, and maintainability (10%). Provide technical leadership across multiple engineering teams, guiding day-to-day development activities and architectural decision-making (10%). Lead cross-functional collaboration with Application Architects, Systems Engineers, DevOps/SRE, and business stakeholders to ensure alignment between technical solutions and business objectives (10%). Advocate and enforce global best practices for product performance, reliability, scalability, security, and code reusability (5%). Conduct architectural design and system planning, ensuring scalable solutions that balance technical excellence with financial sector business needs (20%). Enforce coding standards and software engineering best practices for applications across development teams (10%). Lead DevOps efforts with Docker, Kubernetes, and AWS Fargate; implemented CI/CD pipelines with SonarQube and automated infrastructure deployments (10%). Make strategic infrastructure decisions, monitor operational costs, and implement optimizations to reduce spend and improve system efficiency (10%). Attend team meetings to facilitate brainstorming, problem-solving, and project updates, fostering a culture of innovation and technical rigor (5%). Remote work requests will be considered consistent with company’s remote work policy.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Information Technology, or a technology-related filed or foreign equivalent and 8 years of software engineering experience in Lead, Principal, Senior, Associate Software Engineer, Developer, or related position; or a Master’s degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Information Technology, or a technology-related filed or foreign equivalent and 6 years of software engineering experience in Lead, Principal, Senior, Associate Software Engineer, Developer, or related position.
• 5 years of experience in designing scalable AI and cloud-native solutions using AWS, Azure OpenAI or similar Cloud platforms.
• 5 years of experience developing commercial quality software products and solutions particularly focused on distributed and real-time systems.
• 5 years of experience with a variety of technology components and stacks, including Python and Java.
• 5 years of experience with performance, reliability, scalability, security, and reusability tactics and strategies.
• 5 years of experience defining, refining, and maintaining application architectures for sophisticated end-user software products.
• 5 years of experience with troubleshooting and debugging skills.
• 3 years of experience mentoring and leading engineering teams.
• 3 years of experience in machine learning, including model development and deployment in production environments.
• 3 years of experience building and delivering proof-of-concepts (POCs) to validate technical solutions.
• 3 years of experience with AWS cloud platforms and SaaS architectures.
• 3 years of experience DevOps, implementing CI/CD pipelines, containerizing using Docker and orchestration using Kubernetes/AWS Fargate.
• 3 years of experience in agile development practices including scrum and scaled agile.
• Must possess unrestricted right to work in the U.S. in this position.

Nice To Haves

• Will accept any suitable combination of education, training, and experience.

Responsibilities

• Architect and lead the development of scalable AI and cloud-native Agentic solutions using OpenAI, Azure, and AWS to enhance financial data acquisition and automation capabilities; spearhead the design and implementation of AI-powered transcription platforms, driving significant improvements in speed and efficiency (10%).
• Design, code, debug, maintain, and upgrade high-performance software systems, ensuring system performance, reliability, and maintainability (10%).
• Provide technical leadership across multiple engineering teams, guiding day-to-day development activities and architectural decision-making (10%).
• Lead cross-functional collaboration with Application Architects, Systems Engineers, DevOps/SRE, and business stakeholders to ensure alignment between technical solutions and business objectives (10%).
• Advocate and enforce global best practices for product performance, reliability, scalability, security, and code reusability (5%).
• Conduct architectural design and system planning, ensuring scalable solutions that balance technical excellence with financial sector business needs (20%).
• Enforce coding standards and software engineering best practices for applications across development teams (10%).
• Lead DevOps efforts with Docker, Kubernetes, and AWS Fargate; implemented CI/CD pipelines with SonarQube and automated infrastructure deployments (10%).
• Make strategic infrastructure decisions, monitor operational costs, and implement optimizations to reduce spend and improve system efficiency (10%).
• Attend team meetings to facilitate brainstorming, problem-solving, and project updates, fostering a culture of innovation and technical rigor (5%).

Benefits

• 100% 401k match up to 6% of salary
• Stock Ownership Potential
• Company provided life insurance - 1x salary + commission
• 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
• 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
• Charitable Matching Gifts program
• Dollars for Doers volunteer program
• Paid volunteering days
• 15+ Employee Resource & Affinity Groups

What This Job Offers

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