Director - Quantitative Research and New Product Development

Director of Quantitative Research, New Product Development

Responsibilities:

Strategic Leadership & Product Ownership

• Own and lead the end‑to‑end new index development lifecycle, from idea origination and investment thesis to index design, back‑testing, validation, and launch readiness.

• Shape the strategic direction of index innovation, identifying opportunities across strategic beta, sustainability, income, factor, and outcome‑oriented solutions.

• Partner closely with Product Management, Commercial, and Client Solutions teams to ensure new indexes align with market demand, client use cases, and commercial objectives.

• Collaborate effectively with the broader Morningstar research organization including equity, quantitative, manager or sustainability research teams, and product management to develop novel thematic and smart beta indexes that leverage Morningstar IP.

Quantitative Research & Index Design

• Provide hands‑on leadership in portfolio construction, factor research, and methodological design, ensuring academic rigor and practical investability.

• Set research standards for data sourcing, back‑testing frameworks, performance attribution, and risk analysis.

• Help develop new tools and capabilities to perform portfolio construction or analytics independently, including the use of statistical and machine learning techniques

• Review, challenge, and approve index methodologies to ensure robustness, transparency, and consistency with Morningstar’s IP and governance principles.

People & Culture

• Lead, mentor, and develop a high‑performing global team of quantitative researchers and managers, fostering intellectual curiosity, ownership, and execution excellence.

• Build a strong research culture that balances innovation, discipline, and repeatability, while supporting career growth and succession planning.

Stakeholder & Thought Leadership

• Act as a senior quantitative representative of Morningstar Indexes in client meetings, product reviews, and strategic partnerships.

• Collaborate with internal research groups (equity, sustainability, asset allocation, private markets) to leverage and extend Morningstar’s proprietary insights.

• Contribute to external thought leadership through white papers, methodology presentations, and industry engagement, where appropriate.

Requirements: 

• Advanced degree (Master’s or PhD) in Finance, Economics, Statistics, Mathematics, Engineering, or a related quantitative discipline. CFA or MBA preferred.

• Significant experience (typically 10+ years) in quantitative research, index construction, or systematic investment strategies, with demonstrated leadership at a senior or director level.

• Deep expertise in rules‑based portfolio construction, factor models, performance and risk analytics, and large‑scale back‑testing. Knowledge of institutional investing, modern portfolio theory and index construction processes  

• Strong programming capability (Python, R, or similar), along with experience working with large financial and market data sets.

• Proven ability to lead teams, manage complex research programs, and communicate sophisticated investment concepts to both technical and non‑technical stakeholders.

• Ability to communicate effectively with global clients and internally
  
  Morningstar is an equal opportunity employer.

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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Experience Level

Executive Level