Senior Manager of Software Engineering

Morningstar • Chicago, IL

1d • $147,550 - $226,233 • Hybrid

About The Position

Morningstar's mission is to create products that help investors achieve their financial goals. For the Retirement group, that means building products and solutions that help employers maximize the value of their workplace retirement plans and put individuals on the path to better retirement outcomes. Retirement is a high-growth area for Morningstar offering a diverse suite of technology and investment-based solutions. Our unique client base includes retirement plan providers, sponsors, advisors, consultants, and participants.

Requirements

• 8+ years of software engineering experience, including 5+ years leading engineering teams with direct people management responsibility.
• Strong technical depth in distributed systems, including service architecture, API design, data consistency, resiliency, and performance, with the ability to review designs and identify scalability and operational risks.
• Hands-on proficiency with Java, Spring Boot, REST APIs, and cloud-native development on AWS, with enough front-end depth in modern component-based JavaScript/TypeScript frameworks to review full-stack designs end to end, and the ability to review architecture, designs, and code and provide technical guidance to engineering teams.
• Demonstrated experience delivering complex initiatives spanning multiple engineering teams and applications, driving execution, managing dependencies, and resolving cross-team technical challenges.
• Experience adopting AI-assisted engineering practices including coding agents, AI-assisted code reviews, testing, and documentation with the ability to establish appropriate guardrails, verification practices, and engineering standards while maintaining high standards for quality, security, and engineering judgment.
• Working knowledge of modern software engineering practices, including CI/CD, automated testing, observability, SLOs, secure SDLC, and cloud-native operational practices.
• Experience developing engineers and technical leads with a track record of growing individuals into broader technical and leadership responsibilities.
• Demonstrated ability to build collaborative engineering teams and foster a culture of ownership, accountability, continuous improvement, and direct cross-functional communication.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to influence technical decisions, navigate ambiguity, and build trusted partnerships across groups.
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.

Responsibilities

• Lead the North America engineering teams supporting Morningstar Plan Advantage and Fiduciary Services.
• Hire, coach, and develop technical leads and engineers while fostering a culture of ownership, accountability, and continuous learning.
• Provide technical leadership by establishing clear ownership, decision-making practices, architecture and design review standards, and consistent engineering expectations while enabling technical leads and teams to operate independently and deliver predictably.
• Continuously improve how engineering teams build and operate software by adopting modern development practices, automation, and operational excellence.
• Lead teams through the shift from AI-assisted to agentic engineering — engineers set direction, build the context and guardrails agents work within, and verify outcomes rather than producing the implementation themselves.
• Own the engineering environment that makes agent-authored work trustworthy: context, standards enforced through automated checks, and feedback that catches defects before human review. Accountability for what ships stays with engineers — AI-generated work doesn't reduce or transfer it.
• Measure whether it's working — cycle time across the full delivery lifecycle rather than coding alone, rework rate on agent-authored work, and no compromise in quality, security, compliance, or accessibility.
• Own successful execution of initiatives that span multiple applications and engineering teams by driving alignment, managing dependencies, removing blockers, and maintaining delivery momentum.
• Partner closely with Product Management to shape roadmaps, clarify priorities, and balance near-term needs with platform modernization.
• Build strong working relationships across engineering and product organizations, encouraging direct communication, shared ownership, and collaborative problem solving.

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: Senior