Senior Principal Software Engineer

About the role:
Are you passionate about building high-performing applications that shape the future of investing? We are looking for a Senior Principal Engineer to be a hands-on force behind Morningstar's Direct Advisory Suite, a flagship application on the Direct Platform. This suite empowers thousands of financial advisors by streamlining their workflows-from investment research and portfolio analysis to personalized financial planning and client reporting. You will play a critical role in designing, coding, and delivering the scalable, secure, and resilient systems that power the future of financial advice. This role requires a proven builder with deep expertise in modern software engineering and distributed SaaS systems. The ideal candidate has a strong track record of writing high-quality code, making pragmatic design decisions, and shipping enterprise-grade applications at scale. We are looking for someone execution-driven who thrives in solving complex technical challenges, can evaluate and adopt emerging technologies, and consistently drives delivery excellence. Extensive exposure to AI solutions is a must have. Experience in integrating with data providers, and expertise in Authentication and Authorization are desirable.
This role is based in our Chicago office and follows a hybrid schedule of at least 4 days onsite per week.
Responsibilities:
Hands-on Engineering & Delivery

• Design, implement, and ship critical features of Direct Advisory Suite that support advisor workflows such as research, portfolio analysis, proposal generation, and reporting.
• Write production-quality code across the stack, with a strong emphasis on reliability, scalability, and performance.
• Drive technical solutions from design through deployment, ensuring delivery timelines are met without compromising quality.
• Conduct design and code reviews, ensuring adherence to best practices, performance requirements, and security standards.
• Partner with QA and DevOps teams to build automated testing, deployment, and monitoring pipelines that ensure high system availability.

System Design & Architecture

• Translate business requirements and product vision into scalable, maintainable technical designs.
• Build and evolve cloud-native, microservices-based systems that integrate with shared platform services.
• Optimize data-intensive workflows by collaborating with data engineering teams on data modeling, pipelines, and query performance.
• Make pragmatic trade-offs between speed of delivery, technical debt, and long-term scalability.

Performance, Security & Compliance

• Embed privacy, data security, and compliance requirements into code and system design.
• Profile, tune, and improve application performance for both front-end and back-end components.
• Proactively identify and mitigate risks related to scalability, security, and system reliability.

Technical Thought Leadership

• Serve as a role model of engineering excellence by consistently delivering high-quality software.
• Drive innovation by prototyping new technologies, frameworks, and AI-driven solutions that enhance advisor workflows.
• Mentor engineers through code reviews, pair programming, and hands-on technical guidance.
• Contribute to defining engineering best practices, coding standards, and reusable components across teams.

Collaboration

• Work closely with product managers, UX designers, and other engineers to ensure technical solutions align with advisor needs and business goals.
• Partner with enterprise architecture, security, and data teams to ensure seamless integration with Morningstar's broader platform.
• Influence and contribute across multiple engineering squads while remaining a strong hands-on contributor.

Qualifications:

• 15+ years of professional software engineering experience, with a proven track record of delivering large-scale SaaS applications.
• Expert-level coding ability in one or more modern programming languages (e.g., Java, C#, Python, TypeScript/JavaScript).
• Deep expertise in cloud-native architectures (AWS preferred), microservices, APIs, containers, and event-driven systems.
• Hands-on experience with data-intensive and performance-sensitive applications.
• Strong knowledge of CI/CD pipelines, DevOps practices, monitoring, and infrastructure-as-code.
• Experience embedding security, privacy, and compliance (e.g., GDPR, CCPA) into applications.
• Exposure to financial services, wealth management, or other regulated industries a plus; genuine curiosity in the advisor/investment space expected.
• Strong problem-solving skills and ability to drive solutions from concept to production.
• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field; or equivalent professional experience.

Compensation and Benefits
At Morningstar we believe people are at their best when they are at their healthiest. That's why we champion your wellness through a wide-range of programs that support all stages of your personal and professional life. Here are some examples of the offerings we provide:

• Financial Health
  • 75% 401k match up to 7%
  • 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 Bonding Leave
  • Adoption Assistance
  • Leadership Coaching & Formal Mentorship Opportunities
  • Annual Education Stipend
  • 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
$143,250.00 - 257,850.00 USD Annual
Inclusive of annual base salary and target incentive
Morningstar's hybrid work environment gives you the opportunity to work remotely and collaborate in-person each week. While some positions are available as fully remote, we've found that we're at our best when we're purposely together on a regular basis, typically three days 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.
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