Executive Director, Research

Your Team Responsibilities

MSCI, Inc. seeks Executive Director, Research in San Francisco, CA to work with the Multi-Asset Class Research team to develop cutting-edge research methodologies combining financial and economic theory with empirical analysis and modern data science.

Your Key Responsibilities

Conduct research focusing on Artificial Intelligence techniques applied to multi-asset class factor modeling and risk analysis, which sit at the frontiers of investing and for which MSCI has pioneered industry-leading quantitative models. Lead employee career and skill development for the research team, including individual development plans, technical coaching, structured feedback, and growth pathways aligned to strategic research goals. Collaborate with colleagues to implement innovative research ideas and publish research-based content. Research and develop models spanning the world’s markets and asset classes, which are used in the investment process of asset owners, asset managers, banks, and hedge funds. Develop agentic AI systems for delivering insights to clients using these models. Supervise multiple researchers in conducting a long-running research program at the frontier of modern AI and risk analytics. Evaluate third-party AI providers and platforms for suitability and integration into research and client-facing products, including pilot testing and formal recommendations. Present and explain complex agentic AI systems and model architectures to clients to support sales efforts from a research/technical perspective and gather structured feedback. Build AI-powered workflows to automate or semi-automate the migration of legacy analytics code and pipelines to modern frameworks with verification, testing, and performance benchmarking. Develop an AI-enabled literature scouting and signal-triage framework that continuously surveys quantitative-finance research for candidate signals and performs preliminary plausibility and statistical checks for prioritization. Lead programs to increase AI proficiency within the research organization by evaluating tools and methods, documenting and sharing best practices, delivering trainings, and maintaining centralized guidance.

Your skills and experience that will help you excel

REQUIREMENTS: Master’s degree or foreign equivalent in Financial Engineering, Data Science, or a related field and seven (7) years of experience in the job offered or related occupation: working with natural language and machine learning techniques including embeddings and cluster analysis; performing financial modeling including factor analysis, bond pricing, and risk statistics; building software systems using Python and cloud databases; developing data analysis and visualization systems to monitor model performance metrics across large-scale financial datasets; designing and implementing automated data quality assurance systems using multivariate statistical analysis and machine learning techniques; developing automated model validation and backtesting systems to assess statistical robustness, predictive accuracy, and economic consistency of quantitative financial models. Three (3) years of experience must include: architecting solutions employing natural language and Machine Learning (ML) in a production setting including using MLOps and modern software lifecycle management skills. Telecommuting and/or working from home may be permissible pursuant to company policies. When not telecommuting, must report to work site. Offered salary is between $240,000 and $263,300 per year. 40 hours per week.

QUALIFIED APPLICANTS: Please email resume to Marie.Stech@msci.com and indicate job code MR030526WEB. NO CALLS.EOE.

About MSCI

What we offer you

• Transparent compensation schemes and comprehensive employee benefits, tailored to your location, ensuring your financial security, health, and overall wellbeing.

• Flexible working arrangements, advanced technology, and collaborative workspaces.

• A culture of high performance and innovation where we experiment with new ideas and take responsibility for achieving results.

• A global network of talented colleagues, who inspire, support, and share their expertise to innovate and deliver for our clients.

• Global Orientation program to kickstart your journey, followed by access to our Learning@MSCI platform, AI Learning Center , LinkedIn Learning Pro and tailored learning opportunities for ongoing skills development.

• Multi-directional career paths that offer professional growth and development through new challenges, internal mobility and expanded roles.

• We actively nurture an environment that builds a sense of inclusion belonging and connection, including eight Employee Resource Groups. All Abilities, Asian Support Network, Black Leadership Network, Climate Action Network, Hola! MSCI, Pride & Allies, Women in Tech, and Women’s Leadership Forum.

At MSCI we are passionate about what we do, and we are inspired by our vision – to power better decisions. You’ll be part of an industry-leading network of creative, curious, and entrepreneurial pioneers. This is a space where you can challenge yourself, set new standards and perform beyond expectations for yourself, our clients, and our industry.

MSCI strengthens global markets by connecting participants across the financial ecosystem with a common language. Our research-based data, analytics and indexes, supported by advanced technology, set standards for global investors and help our clients understand risks and opportunities so they can make better decisions and unlock innovation. We serve asset managers and owners, private-market sponsors and investors, hedge funds, wealth managers, banks, insurers and corporates.

MSCI Inc. is an equal opportunity employer. It is the policy of the firm to ensure equal employment opportunity without discrimination or harassment on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, age, sex, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, citizenship, disability, marital and civil partnership/union status, pregnancy (including unlawful discrimination on the basis of a legally protected parental leave), veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. MSCI is also committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities. If you are an individual with a disability and would like to request a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application process, please email Disability.Assistance@msci.com and indicate the specifics of the assistance needed. Please note, this e-mail is intended only for individuals who are requesting a reasonable workplace accommodation; it is not intended for other inquiries.

To all recruitment agencies

MSCI does not accept unsolicited CVs/Resumes. Please do not forward CVs/Resumes to any MSCI employee, location, or website. MSCI is not responsible for any fees related to unsolicited CVs/Resumes.

Note on recruitment scams

We are aware of recruitment scams where fraudsters impersonating MSCI personnel may try and elicit personal information from job seekers. Read our full note on careers.msci.com