Director of Software Engineering

Director of Software Engineering

Location:

Chicago, IL (Hybrid-4 days in Office)

We are looking for a Director of Software Engineering to lead the technology teams building Morningstar's Plan Advantage and Fiduciary Services platforms. In this role, you'll own the engineering strategy, execution, and talent development for two of the most critical product lines within our Retirement business unit - directly shaping how retirement plan providers, broker dealers, and advisors deliver better outcomes to millions of plan participants.

You’ll report to the Head of Product and Technology and partner closely with the Director of Product Management to translate product vision into scalable, secure, and increasingly AI‑powered technology. This is a leadership role that demands both strong technical judgment and the ability to build and develop high‑performing engineering teams.

Morningstar is in the middle of a significant AI transformation - on the product side, we're bringing new AI‑driven capabilities to market that change how advisors and plan providers interact with our platform. On the engineering side, we're embedding AI‑powered tooling into our development workflows to accelerate delivery and raise quality. The person in this role will be a driving force on both fronts.

• Set and execute the engineering strategy and roadmap for Morningstar Plan Advantage and Fiduciary Services technology, ensuring alignment with product and business goals
• Lead, mentor, and grow a global engineering organization spanning onshore and offshore teams, with a focus on hiring, retention, and developing senior technical talent
• Partner with the Director of Product Management to define and prioritize the product and technology roadmap, balancing near‑time delivery with long‑term platform investment
• Drive the adoption of AI across both product capabilities and internal engineering workflows - championing AI‑assisted development practices (code review, testing, documentation) and delivering AI‑powered product features to market
• Own technical architecture decisions for the platform, ensuring systems are scalable, secure, reliable, and built on modern cloud‑first principles
• Establish and maintain engineering standards, development practices, and quality benchmarks across the organization
• Champion a security‑first engineering culture, ensuring secure development practices, code quality standards, and proactive vulnerability management are embedded into the development lifecycle
• Oversee the full development lifecycle – from design and architecture through deployment, monitoring, and operational excellence
• Collaborate cross‑functionally with design, research, methodology, client service, sales, and compliance to deliver integrated solutions
• Manage engineering capacity, budgets, and vendor relationships, making trade‑off decisions that optimize for both velocity and sustainability
• Represent engineering in client‑facing contexts as needed, including product demonstrations, technical due diligence, and strategic conversations with prospects and partners

• 10+ years of progressive experience in technology/software engineering, with at least 4 years in engineering leadership roles managing teams and managers
• Demonstrated ability to build and operate scalable, enterprise‑grade software systems – ideally in a cloud‑first environment (AWS preferred)
• Deep technical foundation: fluency in modern backend technologies (Java, Spring Boot, or equivalent), RESTful API design, distributed systems, and relational databases
• Genuine curiosity about and experience with Artificial Intelligence – whether through shipping AI‑powered product features, adopting AI development tools, or both. This is not a check‑the‑box requirement; we want someone who is actively learning and building with AI
• A passion for developing people – you've built teams, grown engineers into leaders, and created cultures of ownership and continuous improvement
• Strong understanding of Agile development practices and the judgment to adapt process to context rather than follow it rigidly
• Excellent communication skills – you can translate between technical depth and…