The Mission

Financial advisors rely heavily on Morningstar’s Direct Advisory Suite and when software breaks, they need instant resolution. Our Delight team transforms support from cost center into competitive advantage by combining hardcore production engineering with AI-enhanced diagnosis to deliver service excellence competitors can’t replicate.

Role Summary

As a Lead Software Engineer for Customer Experience & Reliability, you are a technical leader and customer advocate responsible for driving the resolution of complex, cross-system production issues.

This role offers a unique mix of technical leadership and hands-on engagement, allowing you to influence outcomes while staying close to the technology. You’ll partner closely with a Senior Engineering Manager to ensure:

The right problems are prioritized and addressed
Engagement within the team
Root causes are clearly identified
Follow-up actions are effectively executed

You will remain technically engaged in reading code, analyzing logs, and troubleshooting issues, but your primary impact will come through ownership, coordination, and sound technical judgement.

Location: Chicago, IL (4 days onsite, Monday - Thursday)

What You’ll Do

Lead Production Issue Ownership

Coordinate & Facilitate Technical Problem Solving

Lead cross-functional debugging sessions across Engineering, Customer Success Managers, Operations, and Support.
Help teams converge on root causes by asking the right technical questions.
Support during incidents by tracking decisions, risks, and next steps.
Translate between customer impact and system behavior.

Technical Troubleshooting & Guidance

Maintain deep technical fluency to:

Read and reason about C#, .NET / .NET Core, and JavaScript code
Analyze logs, metrics, and traces (e.g., Splunk, New Relic, APM tools)
Reproduce issues at a conceptual or functional level
Review proposed fixes and designs with a focus on reliability, operability, and customer impact.

Proactive Customer Experience & Reliability Improvements

Manually reproduce customer issues, isolate root causes, and deploy fixes under time pressure while partnering with L1/L2 support teams to resolve high-priority advisor tickets.
Recognize recurring issue patterns and provide feedback to feature development teams to drive systemic improvements.
Identify systemic weaknesses and partner with engineering teams to improve observability, diagnostics, and operational readiness.
Support and influence emerging automation or AI-assisted diagnostic workflows.

Mentorship & Leadership

Model strong ownership, calm decision-making, and accountability during production incidents.
Mentor engineers and support teams on effective incident handling and production readiness.
Reinforce a culture where customer experience is an engineering responsibility.

Required Qualifications

8+ years experience in software engineering, production support, reliability, or tech-lead roles
Hands-on experience with C#, .NET / .NET Core
Practical familiarity with JavaScript / web application behavior
Experience working with distributed systems in production
Familiarity with AWS-hosted systems and cloud-based architectures
Proven ability to lead incidents and cross-team technical problem solving
Strong communication skills across technical and non-technical audiences

What Success Looks Like

Ownership & Accountability – You take end-to-end responsibility for production issues and follow through until resolution and prevention are confirmed.
Cross-Functional Collaboration – You work across engineering, operations, support, and customer success to align on priorities and drive outcomes.
Technical Curiosity – You stay close to the code, the logs, and the systems—not to write every line, but to ask the right questions and spot incomplete solutions.
Customer-First Mindset – Every technical decision is evaluated through the lens of advisor impact and experience quality.
Calm Under Pressure – You lead incidents with composure, clear communication, and structured decision-making.
Continuous Improvement – You identify patterns, advocate for systemic fixes, and raise the bar on operational readiness across teams.

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

$114,100.00-167,350.00

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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How to Apply for a Job at Morningstar

Step 1

When you find a position you're interested in, click the 'Apply' button. Please fill out this form completely, attaching your resume and cover letter in the approved format. Read the job requirements carefully and make sure to attach writing or design samples as required. Applicants must submit their resume and other information through our corporate website to be considered for a job at Morningstar. No phone calls, please.

Step 2

You will receive an email notification to confirm that we've received your application.

Step 3

If you are called in for an interview, a representative from Morningstar will contact you to set up a date, time, and location. Be prepared for a rigorous interview process. To make sure you're a good fit for Morningstar and we're a good fit for you, we'll schedule time for you to meet with multiple staff members at all levels of the company. Expect to return for multiple interviews as part of the process. A representative from Morningstar will contact you with the results of your interview—either with a job offer or to let you know our plans for the position.

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Morningstar is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodation to individuals with disabilities. If, because of a medical condition or disability, you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the employment process, please call +1 312 384-3900 and let us know the nature of your request and your contact information.

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US Applicants: Morningstar is an E-Verify program participant.

Learn more:

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Lead Software Engineer

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