Full Stack Software Engineer - VP

We are seeking a hands-on Full Stack Engineer at Vice President level to join the London-based EDT Technology team at Morgan Stanley, building and modernizing mission-critical platforms for Equity Derivatives and Structured Products businesses. You will design and deliver scalable systems across front-office trading, trade capture, post-trade processing, and lifecycle management workflows, partnering directly with Trading, Sales, Operations, Risk, Strats, and Technology partners across London, New York, and other global locations.

The ideal candidate pairs deep Java and Angular engineering with strong distributed-systems design and a proven ability to leverage AI-assisted development to accelerate delivery. This is a senior, hands-on technical leadership role for an engineer who enjoys solving complex business and technical problems while shaping architecture, engineering standards, and platform strategy, and mentoring and guiding other engineers.

In the Technology division, we leverage innovation to build the connections and capabilities that power our Firm, enabling our clients and colleagues to redefine markets and shape the future of our communities.

This is a Lead Software Engineering] position at VP level, which is part of the job family responsible for developing and maintaining software solutions that support business needs.

Since 1935, Morgan Stanley is known as a global leader in financial services, continuously evolving and innovating to better serve our clients and our communities in more than 40 countries around the world.

• Own end-to-end technical delivery for complex initiatives, from requirements analysis and architecture through implementation, testing, production rollout, and ongoing support.
• Design, build, and maintain scalable enterprise applications, APIs, and user interfaces using Java, Spring Boot, and Angular across front-office and post-trade workflows.
• Develop high-performance distributed systems that process large volumes of business-critical transactions, and lead architecture and design reviews across strategic platforms.
• Drive modernization of legacy applications toward microservices, event-driven, and modern platform architectures, improving resiliency, scalability, and observability.
• Apply AI-assisted development tools responsibly across the SDLC, including coding, testing, documentation, code review, troubleshooting, and workflow automation.
• Translate business needs from Trading, Sales, Operations, Risk, and Compliance into robust technical solutions and deliver strategic and regulatory commitments.
• Provide technical leadership and mentorship to engineers, set engineering standards, and collaborate with global teams and senior stakeholders to align priorities and delivery across regions.
• Provide technical leadership during production incidents, troubleshoot complex distributed-systems issues, and drive continuous improvement in monitoring and stability.

• You will play a key role in evolving the Morgan Stanley Structured Products technology platform, solving complex engineering challenges at scale, influencing strategic technology decisions, and working with a team that is actively adopting What You Will Bring
• Bachelor degree or higher in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, or a related discipline.
• 7+ years of professional software development experience, including leading technical delivery and mentoring engineers.
• Extensive hands-on Java development and strong experience building modern web applications with Angular and TypeScript.
• Proven experience designing and supporting large-scale distributed systems, RESTful services, and microservice architectures.
• Strong domain knowledge in Equity Derivatives and/or Structured Products, with hands-on experience in one or more of: Front-Office Trading Systems, Lifecycle Management, Trade Processing, Risk Management, or Investment Banking Technology.
• Commitment to engineering excellence, including clean design, high-quality code, automated testing, code reviews, documentation, and continuous improvement of development practices.
• Solid grounding in data structures, algorithms, software design, relational databases, and SQL.
• Track record of delivery in Agile environments, with strong analytical skills, clear communication across technical and business audiences, and a strong ownership mindset.
• Ability to operate independently in a fast-paced front-office environment, balancing delivery speed, system resiliency, production stability, and risk/control awareness.

AI-Assisted Engineering

Our team is investing heavily in AI-assisted engineering, and we place particular value on engineers who bring:

• Applied use of generative AI tools to improve software engineering productivity, quality, and delivery outcomes.
• Practical experience with prompt engineering and workflow automation that improves engineering effectiveness.
• Curiosity and a strong willingness to adopt emerging technologies that enhance software engineering.

Tech Stack

• Backend: Java 11+, Spring / Spring Boot, REST APIs, microservices, messaging / event-driven architectures, distributed systems
• Frontend: Angular, TypeScript, HTML5, CSS, modern UI frameworks
• Platform: Kafka or similar messaging, containerization & orchestration, cloud platforms, observability & monitoring
• Engineering Excellence: Git, CI/CD pipelines, automated testing & test automation, code review, performance optimization

If this role is deemed a Certified role and may require the role holder to hold mandatory regulatory qualifications or the minimum qualifications to meet internal company benchmarks.

Flexible work statement

Interested in flexible working opportunities? Morgan Stanley empowers employees to have greater freedom of choice through flexible working arrangements. Speak to our recruitment team to find out more.

Morgan Stanley is an equal opportunity employer committed to building and maintaining a workforce that is diverse in experience and background. Our recruiting efforts reflect our strong commitment to a culture of inclusion, where individuals are hired, developed, and advanced based on their skills and talents.

Our workforce reflects a broad cross-section of the global communities in which we operate, bringing a variety of backgrounds, talents, perspectives, and experiences.

For more information, please visit: https://www.morganstanley.com/people-opportunities/eeo.

At Morgan Stanley, we raise, manage and allocate capital for our clients – helping them reach their goals. We do it in a way that’s differentiated – and we’ve done that for 90 years. Our values - putting clients first, doing the right thing, leading with exceptional ideas, committing to diversity and inclusion, and giving back - aren’t just beliefs, they guide the decisions we make every day to do what's best for our clients, communities and more than 80,000 employees in 1,200 offices across 42 countries. At Morgan Stanley, you’ll find an opportunity to work alongside the best and the brightest, in an environment where you are supported and empowered. Our teams are relentless collaborators and creative thinkers, fueled by their diverse backgrounds and experiences. We are proud to support our employees and their families at every point along their work-life journey, offering some of the most attractive and comprehensive employee benefits and perks in the industry. There’s also ample opportunity to move about the business for those who show passion and grit in their work.

To learn more about our offices across the globe, please copy and paste https://www.morganstanley.com/about-us/global-offices into your browser.