Design Manager, Credit Software Product Design

Morningstar DBRS; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 94,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

Join a forward-thinking company as a Design Manager in Chicago, where you will lead a talented team of designers in a hybrid work environment. This role emphasizes collaboration and creativity, focusing on visual communication and user experience. You'll manage projects from conception to completion, ensuring high standards and fostering a culture of growth and teamwork. The organization values transparency and employee well-being, offering competitive compensation, a robust benefits package, and opportunities for professional development. If you're passionate about design and leadership, this is the perfect opportunity to make an impact.

Benefits

401k Match

Stock Ownership Potential

Comprehensive Health Benefits

Paid Sabbatical Program

Tuition Reimbursement

Paid Volunteering Days

Leadership Coaching

Charitable Matching Gifts

Flexible Work Environment

Annual Education Stipend

Qualifications

• 10+ years of design management experience required.
• Strong design portfolio emphasizing UX and visual communication.

Responsibilities

• Develop a deep understanding of user base and design operations.
• Coach and manage a team of designers effectively.

Skills

Visual Communication

Graphic Design

Project Management

Leadership

Critical Thinking

Education

Bachelor's Degree

Tools

Asana

Job description

The Company:

Morningstar DBRS is a leading provider of independent rating services and opinions for corporate and sovereign entities, financial institutions, and project and structured finance instruments globally. Rating more than 4,000 issuers and 60,000 securities, it is one of the top four credit rating agencies in the world.

Morningstar DBRS empowers investor success by bringing more transparency and a much-needed diversity of opinion in the credit rating industry. Our approach and size allow us to be nimble enough to respond to customers' needs in their local markets, but large enough to provide the necessary expertise and resources they require. Market innovators choose to work with us because of our agility, tech-forward approach, and exceptional customer service.

Morningstar DBRS is the next generation of credit ratings.

The Role

We are looking to hire a design manager who is highly collaborative, has an excellent understanding of typography and visual composition, detail oriented, and self-directed to join the Morningstar DBRS team based in Chicago. As a Design Manager, you will manage a small team of designers in a highly collaborative environment that includes designers, product managers, technologists, editors, and analysts.

Our ideal candidate has a strong background in visual communication and graphic design with a keen eye for detail and experience working in a variety of mediums across print, digital, and environmental. We are looking for an individual that embraces a growth mindset, has a strong work ethic and critical thinking skills, and manages projects with a sense of curiosity, professionalism, kindness, and fun. You should have experience owning, planning, and driving projects to completion as well as managing, mentoring, and coaching early career designers.

The role will collaborate very closely with corporate design and Morningstar DBRS product leaders in developing, executing, and maintaining our visual brand standards and producing highly engaging work with a standard of excellence.

This position is based in Chicago and is a hybrid role which requires working 3 days in the office.

Responsibilities:

Primary Focus

• Develop an in-depth understanding of our user base, business processes, design operations, creative process, and corporate systems.
• Guide complex problems of diverse scope, requiring in-depth analysis of multiple factors with a high degree of variability.
• Solve complex design problems and support team alignment, strategy, and prioritization creatively and effectively.

Leadership & Management

• Coach designers on tactics to clarify problem spaces, business goals, customer needs, career growth, personal development, etc.
• Responsible for the people management responsibilities of a small team of designers along with supervising their daily work.
• Provide creative direction that encompasses visual design and user experience.
• Nurture the individuals on your team, helping them realize their potential. You provide career guidance, and candor when critiquing individual's work and encourage them to improve.
• Cultivate a culture of team collaboration along with open and honest communication.

Qualifications:

• A bachelor's degree is required.
• Prior design management experience, 10+ years.
• A strong design portfolio with an emphasis on UX, typography, color, and visual communication
• A demonstrated ability to manage multiple complex projects concurrently.
• Proven success in and flexibility to facilitate global team collaboration.
• Strong leadership, communication, time management, problem solving, and analytical skills.
• Ability to influence decision-making processes and foster an environment of healthy team debate.
• Comfortable dealing with ambiguity and can keep a team on track.
• Effective at coaching teams and providing feedback to stakeholders/executives.
• Possess strong active listening skills.
• Experience with traditional and agile project-management frameworks is a plus.
• Hands-on experience or willingness to learn online project management software, Asana.

Our Employee Experience

You're joining an organization that demonstrates and values transparency, independence, and long-term thinking. Sustainability and fairness are embedded in our investing analysis, operational decisions, people practices, and community engagement.

Individual flexibility - including when and where we work - and the ability to make choices that support work-life integration are central to our culture and operational practices. You will be supported by equitable systems, processes, decisions, and actions.

Your health and quality of life are important, supported and protected. Our Total Rewards package includes competitive compensation with above-market bonus opportunities, an industry-leading employee stock ownership program, and access to the same investment research and planning tools we offer our clients. We also provide an annual education stipend and industry-leading tuition reimbursement program. Our sabbaticals, where employees receive up to six weeks to refresh and recharge every four years, are available across the globe.

Beyond the Job

We build products and offer services that connect people to investing information and tools. Across our offices worldwide, we've invested in fostering a community where your voice is heard, your ideas matter, and your contributions are rewarded.

About Us

Morningstar DBRS is a leading provider of independent rating services and opinions for corporate and sovereign entities, financial institutions, and project and structured finance instruments globally. Rating more than 4,000 issuers and 60,000 securities, it is one of the top four credit rating agencies in the world.

Morningstar DBRS empowers investor success by bringing more transparency and a much-needed diversity of opinion in the credit rating industry. Our approach and size allow us to be nimble enough to respond to customers' needs in their local markets, but large enough to provide the necessary expertise and resources they require. Market innovators choose to work with us because of our agility, tech-forward approach, and exceptional customer service.

Morningstar DBRS is the next generation of credit ratings.

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 & 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

Base Salary Compensation Range

$94,280.00 - 169,720.00 USD Annual

Total Cash Compensation Range

$117,850.00 - 212,150.00 USD Annual

If you receive and accept an offer from us, we require that personal and any related investments be disclosed confidentially to our Compliance team (days vary by region). These investments will be reviewed to ensure they meet the Code of Ethics requirements. If any conflicts of interest are identified, then you will be required to liquidate those holdings immediately. In addition, depending on your department and location of work, certain employee accounts must be held with an approved broker (for example, all U.S. employee accounts). If this applies and your account(s) are not with an approved broker, you will be required to move your holdings to an approved broker.

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.