Director of Product Operations, Indexes

Morningstar; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 166,000 - 299,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401(k) match

Stock ownership potential

Life insurance

Health benefits (medical/dental/vision

Sabbatical program

Parental leave

Tuition reimbursement

Volunteer program

Job summary

Morningstar seeks a Director of Product Operations to bring structure, rigor, and commercial discipline to the Product organization. This role owns pricing strategy and governance, leads roadmap prioritization, and drives practical AI use to boost efficiency and monetize opportunities.

Based in Chicago, the role collaborates with Product, Operations, Technology, Legal & Compliance, and Sales, reporting to the Global Head of Product and Research, Indexes.

Qualifications

• 10+ years in product management, product operations, or commercial strategy roles.
• Experience building or running a pricing framework with packaging, tiering, and discount governance.
• Experience designing and operating a prioritization process for a product roadmap.
• Experience partnering with operations and engineering/technology leadership as a peer in a matrix organization.
• Familiarity with the index lifecycle and ETF ecosystem strongly preferred.
• Experience with AI or data-driven initiatives for efficiency and monetization.
• Strong quantitative and analytical skills; ability to defend a business case with data.
• Excellent cross-functional communication and comfort presenting to senior stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Design and operate a structured prioritization framework for the product roadmap, tied to commercial impact and strategic fit.
• Partner with Operations and Technology leadership to translate product priorities into an actionable delivery queue.
• Own BI requirements for the Indexes product organization: define core metrics and dashboards for leadership and sales.
• Identify and evaluate new commercial opportunities enabled by AI, including new delivery channels and monetization models.
• Establish and run an annual pricing review process tied to launches, renewals, and market changes.
• Identify and drive practical AI use cases to improve efficiency across product and index workflows.
• Collaborate with Product, Operations, Technology, Legal & Compliance, and Sales to ensure governance and scalability.

Skills

Experience ≥10 yrs

Pricing framework

Roadmap prioritization

Cross-functional collaboration

AI / data initiatives

Quantitative analysis

Stakeholder presentation

Data-driven decision making

Education

Bachelor's Degree

Job description

The Group

Morningstar's mission is to empower investor success. Morningstar Indexes was created to meet the evolving needs of investors and to be a strong advocate for them. With our rich history as a transparent, investor-focused leader in data and research, we are uniquely positioned to help individuals, institutions, wealth managers, and advisors navigate investment opportunities across all asset classes, styles, and strategies. Whether assessing risk and return through traditional benchmarks or assisting investors in integrating ESG goals, our diverse range of index solutions addresses the complex questions investors face today, helping them achieve their long-term goals.

The Role

Morningstar Indexes is seeking a Director of Product Operations to bring structure, rigor, and commercial discipline to our Product organization. This senior individual contributor role owns pricing strategy and governance, leads a structured prioritization process across the roadmap, partners closely with Operations & Technology to align delivery with commercial priorities, and drives the practical use of AI — both to improve internal efficiency and to identify new commercial opportunities. This cross-functional role will work with the Morningstar Indexes product managers to support commercial growth across each of our asset classes. This role reports to the Global Head of Product and Research, Indexes, and must be based in our Chicago office. Morningstar does require employees to be in the office four days a week. This role may involve occasional travel to other Morningstar locations.

Responsibilities

Design and operate a structured prioritization framework for the product roadmap, so investment is tied to commercial impact and strategic fit rather than ad hoc requests. Partner with Operations and Technology leadership as a peer to translate product priorities into an actionable delivery queue, balancing commercial priorities, client demand, platform constraints, and technical debt. Own business intelligence requirements for the Indexes product organization: define the core metrics and KPIs specify the reporting needed to track them, and partner with Data, Finance, and Sales Operations to deliver dashboards that give Product Leadership and Commercial teams a single trusted view of performance. Identify and evaluate new commercial opportunities enabled by AI, including new product delivery channels, and AI-specific pricing or monetization models. Establish and run an annual pricing review process tied to product launches, renewals, and market changes, and track wins and losses tied to pricing decisions. Identify and drive practical AI use cases that improve efficiency across product and index workflows, from concept through implementation. Bring together best practices across the Morningstar organization. Tie major product investments to a business case — revenue impact, margin impact, payback period — and hold initiatives accountable until post-launch. Work cross-functionally with Product, Operations, Technology, Legal & Compliance, and Sales to ensure new products meet scalability, data integrity, and governance standards before entering the roadmap. Present findings, trade-offs, and recommendations to senior stakeholders, including Product Leadership and Commercial teams.

The Requirements

10+ years in product management, product operations, or commercial strategy roles, ideally in indexing, asset management, or financial data. Proven experience building or running a pricing framework, including packaging, tiering, and discount governance. Experience designing and operating a prioritization process for a product roadmap. Experience partnering with operations and engineering/technology leadership as a peer in a matrix organization. Familiarity with the index lifecycle and ETF ecosystem strongly preferred. Experience with AI or data-driven initiatives, including practical use cases for both efficiency and new monetization. Strong quantitative and analytical skills; comfort building and defending a business case with data. Excellent cross-functional communication skills and comfort presenting to senior stakeholders. Comfortable driving difficult trade-off decisions based on data.

Bachelor's Degree

Compensation

Total Cash Compensation (Base + Incentive) Range: $165, 875.00- $298,575

Benefits

• Financial Health 100% 401k match up to 6% of salary
• 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 Leave Adoption Assistance
• Leadership Coaching & Formal Mentorship Opportunities
• Annual Flex Stipend - $1000 annually to cover personal education & well-being expenses
• Tuition Reimbursement
• Social Health Charitable Matching Gifts program
• Dollars for Doers volunteer program
• Paid volunteering days 15+
• Employee Resource & Affinity Groups

Morningstar's hybrid work environment gives you the opportunity to collaborate in-person each week as we've found that we're at our best when we're purposely together on a regular basis. In most of our locations, our hybrid work model is four days in-office 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.

Morningstar is a global independent investment research and financial data company. Here, you'll help uncover what’s hidden, simplify what’s complex, and create insights that empower investor success.

Company Overview

Morningstar Development Program

Equal Opportunity Statement

Morningstar is strongly committed to creating and preserving equal opportunity for all employees and applicants. We make all employment decisions—including recruitment, hiring, compensation, training, promotion, transfer, discipline, termination, and other personnel matters—without regard to race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, protected veteran status, marital status, sexual orientation, genetic information, citizenship, gender identity and expression, parental status, or other legally protected characteristics or conduct.