Manager of Platform Services

Morningstar; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 148,000 - 226,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401k match

Stock ownership

Health benefits

Job summary

Morningstar is seeking a Manager of Platform Services to lead a team responsible for strategy, delivery, reliability, and evolution of core platform services. You will shape roadmaps, ensure dependable services, and collaborate with engineering, product, and vendor teams.

The role requires strong leadership, technical credibility, and the ability to drive high-impact initiatives from planning through delivery. Hybrid work model with in-office collaboration is supported.

Qualifications

• Experience leading engineering teams with goal-setting and career growth support.
• Strong background in software/platform engineering, infra, cloud services, or related discipline.
• Experience building or supporting highly available, scalable services in production (SaaS or self-hosted in AWS).
• Understanding of APIs, distributed systems, CI/CD, observability, security, and developer tooling.
• Proven ability to lead complex technical projects across teams and deliver measurable results.
• Excellent communication for technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Bachelor’s degree in CS/Engineering or equivalent practical experience.

Responsibilities

• Lead and coach a small team of platform engineers, fostering ownership and technical excellence.
• Own delivery, health, and lifecycle of a portfolio of platform services (e.g., source control, code quality tooling, internal developer portal).
• Define and execute service roadmaps aligned with platform priorities and consumer needs.
• Provide technical direction on architecture, scalability, reliability, security, observability, and DX.
• Collaborate with engineers, product managers, architects, and stakeholders to prioritize work and communicate plans.

Skills

Team leadership

Communication

Platform engineering

Cloud services

Observability

Reliability engineering

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field

Tools

Kubernetes

AWS

RDS

CI/CD

Observability tools

Job description

The Team

Central Tech Platform Engineering builds and operates the shared capabilities that make it easier for engineering teams to develop, deploy, and run reliable software. Our developer-focused platform provides core services, tooling, and standards that help teams move quickly while maintaining security, scalability, and operational excellence.

The Team

Central Tech Platform Engineering builds and operates the shared capabilities that make it easier for engineering teams to develop, deploy, and run reliable software. Our developer-focused platform provides core services, tooling, and standards that help teams move quickly while maintaining security, scalability, and operational excellence.

The Platform Services team owns a portfolio of foundational platform services that are critical to the developer experience and the broader technology ecosystem. We are a small, global, highly collaborative team that combines strong engineering judgment with a service-oriented mindset.

The Role

We are seeking a Manager of Platform Services to lead a team responsible for the strategy, delivery, reliability, and ongoing evolution of key platform services.

This leader will balance people management, technical leadership, and execution. You will help shape the roadmap for a set of services within a larger developer platform, ensure those services are dependable and easy to consume, and work closely with engineering teams, product partners, infrastructure teams, external software vendors, and emerging AI capabilities. The ideal candidate is technically credible, communicates clearly with both technical and non-technical stakeholders, and can lead high-impact initiatives from planning through delivery.

Responsibilities

• Lead, coach, and develop a small team of platform engineers, fostering a culture of ownership, collaboration, technical excellence, and continuous improvement.
• Own the delivery, operational health, and lifecycle management of a portfolio of platform services used by internal engineering teams (source control system, code quality tooling, internal developer portal, etc.).
• Define and execute service roadmaps that align with Central Tech Platform Engineering priorities and the needs of platform consumers.
• Provide technical direction on service architecture, scalability, reliability, security, observability, and developer experience.
• Partner with engineers, product managers, architects, and other stakeholders to understand needs, prioritize work, and communicate plans, tradeoffs, and outcomes.
• Lead execution for critical projects, including cross-functional initiatives with complex dependencies, tight timelines, and significant operational impact.
• Establish and improve operating practices for service reliability, incident response, change management, performance monitoring, and continuous delivery.
• Identify practical opportunities to apply AI-enabled developer tools and platform capabilities to improve engineering productivity, service operations, and developer experience.
• Build productive relationships with external software vendors, including evaluating capabilities, managing technical integrations, resolving issues, and influencing product roadmaps where appropriate.
• Translate technical complexity into clear, actionable communication for leadership, customers, and partner teams.
• Contribute to the broader developer platform strategy by identifying opportunities to simplify workflows, improve adoption, and reduce friction for engineering teams.

Requirements

• Experience leading engineering teams, including setting goals, managing priorities, and supporting career growth.
• Strong technical background in software engineering, platform engineering, infrastructure, cloud services, or a related discipline.
• Experience building, operating, or supporting highly available, scalable services in a production environment. Some will be SaaS platforms, while others will be self-hosted/self-managed in AWS using Kubernetes, RDS and modern cloud native technologies.
• Demonstrated understanding of modern platform concepts, such as APIs, distributed systems, CI/CD, observability, reliability engineering, security, and developer tooling.
• Proven ability to lead complex technical projects across multiple teams and deliver measurable results.
• Strong communication and stakeholder-management skills, with the ability to explain technical decisions clearly to varied audiences.
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.

Preferences

• 1-2 years of direct management experience
• Experience working with third-party software vendors, including technical evaluation, implementation, support escalation, and relationship management.
• Knowledge of current AI capabilities and developer-focused AI tooling, including LLM gateways, agent runtimes and code-gen workflows.

Morningstar is an equal opportunity employer.

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
  • 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

Total Cash Compensation Range

$147,550.00-226,233.33

Inclusive of annual base salary and target incentive

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.

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