Lead Software Engineer

About Morningstar Retirement
At Morningstar Retirement Group, we're all in for investors. Our mission is to empower individuals to achieve better retirement outcomes through personalized, data-driven guidance. We build innovative tools that adapt to each investor's unique financial situation.
Our teams combine strong product thinking, close cross-functional collaboration, and thoughtful application of AI to solve complex problems and deliver high-impact solutions.
Location: Chicago, IL (Hybrid - 4 days in office)
The Role
In this role, you'll split your time evenly between technical team leadership and individual contributor.
As the leader of a cross-functional squad, you'll collaborate closely with stakeholders to drive timely delivery of projects. Your responsibilities will encompass end-to-end ownership of components, with a focus on maintaining quality, stability, and driving technical enhancements. You will form strong relationships with stakeholders to ensure alignment and success. Additionally, you will have the opportunity to learn and adapt to emerging technologies, as we strive to innovate and refine our business.
As an engineer, you'll primarily work with modern JavaScript/TypeScript frameworks such as Vue3, Nuxt, and NestJS, while contributing to backend systems built with C#/.NET and SQL.
Job Responsibilities:

• Lead technical discussions and contribute to architectural decisions for new features and services
• Design, implement, and maintain scalable, reliable, secure, and high-quality software solutions
• Mentor engineers to uphold code standards and to contribute to the team's technical growth
• Continuously learn and adapt to new technologies and processes
• Participate in the on-call rotation for production support every two months

AI-Driven Engineering
We are actively integrating AI across the software development lifecycle to improve speed, quality, and scalability. This includes:

• AI-assisted development to accelerate implementation
• Automated code reviews to improve consistency and maintainability
• Intelligent issue triage and prioritization
• Workflow automation to reduce manual overhead
• Exploration of emerging capabilities such as autonomous agents, Model Context Protocol (MCP), and AI-generated testing

We're looking for engineers who are excited to experiment with and apply these technologies in real-world scenarios.
Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience building production-grade applications
• Strong proficiency in JavaScript and TypeScript
• Experience with modern frontend frameworks (e.g., Vue.js or React)
• Solid understanding of browser technologies, HTML, and CSS
• Experience building backend services using frameworks such as Nuxt or NestJS
• Strong understanding of fundamental software concepts including Design Patterns, Object-Oriented Programming, HTTP(S), RESTful API, SSO, security, unit testing, and databases.
• Possesses Agile and project management skills to contribute effectively to team workflows
• Strong communication, collaboration, and leadership skills.
• Experience using AI tools (e.g., GitHub Copilot, Claude, CLI-based agents) to enhance development workflows

Why Join Us

• Work on meaningful problems that directly impact investors' financial futures
• Collaborate in a highly cross-functional, product-driven environment
• Gain hands-on experience with cutting-edge AI tools and workflows
• Build modern, full-stack applications with real ownership and impact

Total Cash Compensation Range
$114,100.00 - 193,975.00 USD Annual
Inclusive of annual base salary and target incentive
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

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.