Senior CMBS Ratings Lead & Committee Chair

Morningstar DBRS; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 187,000 - 294,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401k match

Stock ownership potential

Life insurance

Health benefits

HSA contributions

Disability insurance

Paid time off

Sabbatical program

Parental leave

Job summary

Morningstar DBRS in Chicago seeks a senior transaction lead for the North American Commercial Real Estate team. You will oversee CMBS ratings, mentor junior professionals, and chair rating committees, applying rigorous credit analysis and Morningstar DBRS standards.

You will drive complex analyses, manage client relationships, and contribute to market research while guiding a team of analysts in a fast-paced environment.

Qualifications

• Minimum of 20 years of progressive CRE credit experience, with substantial exposure to rating agency, lending, or private credit platforms.
• Deep CMBS, structured credit, or securitized real estate knowledge.
• Ability to exercise independent credit judgment and defend recommendations before senior committees.

Responsibilities

• Provide senior leadership and oversight for CMBS transactions across SASB, Conduit, CRE-CLO, and esoteric CRE debt.
• Serve as primary lead analyst and senior credit decision-maker on complex transactions.
• Evaluate credit risk via property-level, loan-level, and cash flow analyses with stress testing.
• Oversee credit rating discussions and committees, ensuring compliance and publishing standards.
• Chair NA CMBS ratings committees and mentor a team of analysts.
• Lead client interactions with issuers, lenders, and investors, including speaking engagements.
• Develop topical research for market publication and approve presale and final rating reports.
• Refine methodologies and contribute to new processes.

Skills

CMBS expertise

Credit risk analysis

Team leadership

Excel modelling

Communication

Travel 20%

Education

Bachelor's in Finance/Real Estate/Accounting

Advanced degree preferred

Tools

Excel

Financial modeling tools

Job description

Morningstar DBRS in Chicago seeks a senior transaction lead for the North American Commercial Real Estate team. You will oversee CMBS ratings, mentor junior professionals, and chair rating committees, applying rigorous credit analysis and Morningstar DBRS standards.

You will drive complex analyses, manage client relationships, and contribute to market research while guiding a team of analysts in a fast-paced environment.