Associate QA Automation Engineer

The Role

At Morningstar, helping investors is what brings us together and drives our work. We are looking for an Associate QA Automation Engineer to join our Investment Management Technology team in Chicago.

In this role, you will help ensure the delivery of high-quality software by designing, developing, and executing automated testing solutions across modern web, API, cloud, and AI-enabled applications. You will partner closely with software engineers, product managers, and fellow quality engineers to validate functionality, improve test coverage, identify risks, and enhance software quality throughout the development lifecycle.

The ideal candidate combines a strong quality mindset with coding and automation skills, is curious about how systems work, and enjoys solving complex technical problems. As our platforms continue to evolve with cloud technologies and Generative AI capabilities, you will have opportunities to contribute to the testing and quality assurance of innovative AI-powered solutions.

This position is based in our Chicago office.

Responsibilities

- Design, develop, and maintain automated tests for web applications, APIs, backend services, and end-to-end business workflows.
- Create and execute functional, integration, regression, and end-to-end test plans based on business and technical requirements.
- Partner with engineers and product teams to identify quality risks early in the software development lifecycle.
- Develop and enhance reusable test automation frameworks and supporting utilities.
- Perform exploratory and manual testing when appropriate and identify opportunities to automate repetitive testing activities.
- Validate REST APIs, data integrations, cloud-native applications, and asynchronous workflows.
- Contribute to CI/CD quality controls by integrating automated tests into deployment pipelines.
- Investigate, document, and communicate defects while collaborating with development teams to identify root causes and resolutions.
- Participate in code reviews and continuously improve testing, automation, and engineering best practices.
- Work with cloud-based technologies, including AWS services, to support testing and troubleshooting efforts.
- Support the validation of AI-powered applications, including large language model (LLM) integrations, AI agents, and intelligent automation solutions.
- Develop test approaches for AI-enabled systems, evaluating areas such as response quality, accuracy, reliability, grounding, and workflow effectiveness.
- Explore emerging AI-assisted engineering and testing tools to improve automation efficiency, quality, and productivity.
- Stay current with industry trends and advancements in quality engineering, automation, cloud technologies, and AI.

Qualifications:

Required

- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Information Technology, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.
- 1-2 years of experience in QA Automation, Software Engineering, SDET, or a related technical role.
- Understanding of software quality assurance principles, testing methodologies, and software development best practices.
- Experience programming in at least one language such as Java, Python, C#, JavaScript, or TypeScript.
- Experience building and maintaining automated tests using tools such as Selenium, Playwright, Cypress, TestNG, JUnit, or similar frameworks.
- Experience testing APIs, web applications, and backend services.
- Familiarity with source control systems such as Git and modern CI/CD practices.
- Exposure to cloud platforms such as AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud Platform.
- Strong analytical, troubleshooting, and problem-solving skills.
- Effective verbal and written communication skills with the ability to collaborate across technical and non-technical teams.
- A continuous learning mindset and curiosity for emerging technologies.

Preferred

- Experience working with AWS-based applications and services.
- Exposure to Generative AI, machine learning, or AI-enabled software applications.
- Familiarity with AI development platforms such as Amazon Bedrock, Azure OpenAI, OpenAI APIs, or similar technologies.
- Experience validating AI applications involving prompts, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), tool calling, AI agents, or knowledge-based systems.
- Experience with AI-assisted development and testing tools.
- Personal or professional projects demonstrating the practical application of Generative AI technologies.

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
$59,900.00-87,850.00
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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