Associate Director of Data Science

About the Role: Morningstar’s Investment Services group collects and maintains high-quality data on equities, managed investments, fixed income, and alternative investments. Morningstar is one of the largest independent sources of manager, equity, and credit data and research in the world. We transform data into insights that investors can use to reach their financial goals. 
 
The Role: As the Associate Director of Data Science, Investment Services, you will lead a team of data scientists globally to enable improvements in data collection analyst productivity, quality, and speed-to-market for new datasets. This role will collaborate with Data Science Product Management and Engineering to build solutions that will be implemented in our collections applications.  This role has multiple stakeholders as this group will provide solutions for Managed Investment Data Collections, Public Equity Collections, Reference Data, and 3rd party data integrations. 
 
This position requires intellectual curiosity and willingness to expand your knowledge of financial data, an openness to experimentation with emerging technologies including NLP and ML techniques, LLMs, agents, etc., and an orientation towards implementation and practical application of data science for the businesses our data supports. 
 
To foster continuous collaboration, we follow a hybrid policy of a minimum of 3 days in our Chicago office.

 

Job Responsibilities:  

Conduct R&D: 

• Lead efforts to develop collection solutions across a range of investment types in equities, fixed income, and managed products including alternative products such as annuities or private funds. 
• Formulate and evaluate data science approaches for collection and operational needs including use of LLMs, fine-tuning of models, and use of agents for tasks, automation, collaboration, and orchestration. 
• Keep pace with trends in financial industry, as well as Data Science and Financial Research industries. Can apply data science techniques to relevant and meaningful financial industry client needs. When making decisions, considers the impact a solution will have on both a data analyst and an end-client level. 

People Management: 

• Lead a research team – set clear goals, develop investment and analytics skills, encourage constructive feedback, and support senior management. 
• Mentor the people below you – develop their skills and position them for success. 

Build Bridges: 

• Partner with Data Collections Technology and Product Management to organize and implement data science to improve Morningstar’s systems for our analysts, and improve our data for clients 
• Work with Software teams, Research, and business units to develop analytics and align research roadmaps to product delivery 
• Partner with the Data Analyst teams to design solutions that delight analysts and provide the highest quality for specific types of financial data 
• Drive operational improvements across the team 

Project Management: 

• Utilize and advocate for Agile project management practices to track projects, coordinate with internal groups, and resolve conflicts. 

 

Qualifications: 

• 10+ years of hands-on investment experience with 5+ years of management experience 
• Graduate degree education preferred, particularly an MBA or CFA designation 
• Expert knowledge of statistical methods 
• Strong familiarity and curiosity with NLP, LLMs, and agentic solutions 
• Significant experience with Python, AWS and various data storage, big data technology and streaming data processing. 
• Excellent attention to detail and impeccable accuracy in running and proofing analyses and algorithms. 
• Ability to interface and project confidence and clarity directly with senior leaders both internally at Morningstar and externally with institutional clients. 
• Ability to convert strategic plans into actionable programs and projects. 
• Ability to create and promote a culture of technology excellence and innovation. 
• Experience with agile principles including test-driven development, continuous integration and test automation. 
• Ability to work both collaboratively and independently 
• Demonstrated effectiveness in leading an investment team as a manager 
• Ability to educate, train, and communicate with early career employees 
• Ability to improve and scale existing programs 

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
  • 75% 401k match up to 7%
  • 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 Bonding Leave
  • Adoption Assistance
  • Leadership Coaching & Formal Mentorship Opportunities
  • Annual Education Stipend
  • Tuition Reimbursement

• Social Health 
  • Charitable Matching Gifts program
  • Dollars for Doers volunteer program
  • Paid volunteering days
  • 15+ Employee Resource & Affinity Groups

Base Salary Compensation Range

$140,667.00 - 253,204.00 USD Annual

Total Cash Compensation Range

$189,900.00 - 341,825.00 USD Annual

Morningstar’s hybrid work environment gives you the opportunity to work remotely and collaborate in-person each week. While some positions are available as fully remote, we’ve found that we’re at our best when we’re purposely together on a regular basis, typically three days 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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