Principal Software Engineer

Morningstar Credit Ratings, LLC; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 117,957 - 123,010; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401(k) match

Stock ownership potential

Life insurance

Medical/dental/vision benefits

HSA contributions

Sabbatical program

Parental leave

Tuition reimbursement

Volunteer program

Mentorship opportunities

Flexible stipends for education/well‑b

Job summary

Morningstar Credit Ratings, LLC is seeking a senior software engineering leader to architect and drive scalable AI and cloud-native solutions across AWS, Azure, and OpenAI. You will design AI-powered transcription platforms and guide cross‑functional teams to align technical efforts with business goals.

With 8+ years in software engineering and 3+ years mentoring, you will advance performance, reliability, and security while fostering innovation in a hybrid work environment that blends in‑office

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Information Technology, or related field, or a Master’s degree with equivalent experience.
• 8 years of software engineering experience in a Lead, Principal, Senior, Associate Software Engineer, Developer, or related role (6 years with a Master’s degree).
• 5 years of experience designing scalable AI and cloud‑native solutions using AWS, Azure, OpenAI or similar cloud platforms.
• 5 years of experience developing commercial‑quality software products focused on distributed and real‑time systems.
• 5 years of experience with Python and Java, and performance, reliability, scalability, security, and reusability tactics.
• 5 years of experience defining, refining, and maintaining application architectures for sophisticated end‑user products.
• 5 years of troubleshooting and debugging skills.
• 3 years of mentoring and leading engineering teams.
• 3 years of experience in machine learning, including model development and deployment in production environments.
• 3 years of experience building and delivering proof‑of‑concepts (POCs) to validate technical solutions.
• 3 years of experience with AWS cloud platforms and SaaS architectures.
• 3 years of experience in DevOps, implementing CI/CD pipelines, containerizing with Docker, and orchestrating with Kubernetes/AWS Fargate.
• 3 years in agile development practices (scrum and scaled agile).
• Unrestricted right to work in the U.S.

Responsibilities

• Architect and lead scalable AI and cloud‑native solutions using AWS, Azure, and OpenAI.
• Design AI‑powered transcription platforms, driving improvements in speed and efficiency.
• Design, code, debug, maintain, and upgrade high‑performance software systems, ensuring performance, reliability and maintainability.
• Provide technical leadership across multiple engineering teams, guiding day‑to‑day development activities and architectural decision‑making.
• Lead cross‑functional collaboration with Application Architects, Systems Engineers, DevOps/SRE, and business stakeholders to align technical solutions with business objectives.
• Advocate and enforce global best practices for product performance, reliability, scalability, security, and code reusability.
• Conduct architectural design and system planning, ensuring scalable solutions that meet technical excellence and financial sector business needs.
• Enforce coding standards and software engineering best practices across development teams.
• Lead DevOps efforts with Docker, Kubernetes, and AWS Fargate; implemented CI/CD pipelines with SonarQube and automated infrastructure deployments.
• Make strategic infrastructure decisions, monitor operational costs, and implement optimizations to reduce spend and improve system efficiency.
• Facilitate team meetings to foster innovation and technical rigor.

Skills

Python

Java

Machine Learning

DevOps

Cloud architectures

Distributed systems

Leadership

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science/Engineering/IT

Master’s degree with equivalent experience

Tools

AWS

Azure

OpenAI

Docker

Kubernetes

AWS Fargate

CI/CD

SonarQube

Job description

Responsibilities

• Architect and lead the development of scalable AI and cloud‑native Agentic solutions using OpenAI, Azure, and AWS to enhance financial data acquisition and automation capabilities.
• Design and implement AI‑powered transcription platforms, driving significant improvements in speed and efficiency.
• Design, code, debug, maintain, and upgrade high‑performance software systems, ensuring performance, reliability and maintainability.
• Provide technical leadership across multiple engineering teams, guiding day‑to‑day development activities and architectural decision‑making.
• Lead cross‑functional collaboration with Application Architects, Systems Engineers, DevOps/SRE, and business stakeholders to align technical solutions with business objectives.
• Advocate and enforce global best practices for product performance, reliability, scalability, security, and code reusability.
• Conduct architectural design and system planning, ensuring scalable solutions that meet technical excellence and financial sector business needs.
• Enforce coding standards and software engineering best practices across development teams.
• Lead DevOps efforts with Docker, Kubernetes, and AWS Fargate; implemented CI/CD pipelines with SonarQube and automated infrastructure deployments.
• Make strategic infrastructure decisions, monitor operational costs, and implement optimizations to reduce spend and improve system efficiency.
• Facilitate team meetings to foster innovation and technical rigor.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Information Technology, or related field, or a Master’s degree with equivalent experience.
• 8 years of software engineering experience in a Lead, Principal, Senior, Associate Software Engineer, Developer, or related role (6 years with a Master’s degree).
• 5 years of experience designing scalable AI and cloud‑native solutions using AWS, Azure, OpenAI or similar cloud platforms.
• 5 years of experience developing commercial‑quality software products focused on distributed and real‑time systems.
• 5 years of experience with Python and Java, and performance, reliability, scalability, security, and reusability tactics.
• 5 years of experience defining, refining, and maintaining application architectures for sophisticated end‑user products.
• 5 years of troubleshooting and debugging skills.
• 3 years of mentoring and leading engineering teams.
• 3 years of experience in machine learning, including model development and deployment in production environments.
• 3 years of experience building and delivering proof‑of‑concepts (POCs) to validate technical solutions.
• 3 years of experience with AWS cloud platforms and SaaS architectures.
• 3 years of experience in DevOps, implementing CI/CD pipelines, containerizing with Docker, and orchestrating with Kubernetes/AWS Fargate.
• 3 years in agile development practices (scrum and scaled agile).
• Unrestricted right to work in the U.S.

Remote work requests will be considered in accordance with the company’s remote work policy.

Base Salary Compensation

$117,957 – $123,010 per year.

Benefits

• Financial Health: 100% 401(k) match up to 6% of salary.
• Stock ownership potential.
• Company‑provided life insurance—1× salary + commission.
• Physical Health: comprehensive medical/dental/vision benefits, potential premium discounts and company‑provided HSA contributions (up to$500‑$2,000 annually).
• Wellness incentives: up to$300‑$600 annually.
• Long‑term and short‑term disability insurance.
• Emotional Health support.
• Trust‑Based Time Off: 6‑week paid sabbatical program.
• Paid family caregiving leave.
• Competitive 8‑24week paid parental leave.
• Adoption assistance.
• Leadership coaching and formal mentorship opportunities.
• Annual flex stipend—$1,000 to cover education and well‑being expenses.
• Tuition reimbursement.
• Social health – charitable matching gifts program.
• Dollars for Doers volunteer program and paid volunteering days (15+).
• Employee resource and affinity groups.

Work Environment

Morningstar’s hybrid work environment encourages collaboration in person each week; the typical hybrid model includes four in‑office days per week, with additional flexibility as needed.

Equal Opportunity & Accommodations

Morningstar is an equal‑opportunity employer and is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities. We participate in the E‑Verify program and comply with all applicable EEO laws.