Index Design R&D Team Manager, Director
S&P Global · New York, New York, United States
About the Role:
Grade Level (for internal use):
13The Team
S&P Dow Jones Indices is seeking an R&D Team Manager to lead a team of R&D experts responsible for delivering high‑quality index research, design, analysis and scalable capabilities within the Equities & Digital Assets value stream. Reporting to the Head of Equities & Digital Assets Index Design, this role is accountable for translating value stream priorities into an executable team backlog and ensuring consistent, timely delivery of index concepts, while offering invaluable subject matter expertise in support of the team’s work.
The R&D Team Manager is first and foremost a people leader - responsible for hiring, developing, coaching, and performance‑managing team members while fostering a high‑performance culture grounded in disciplined execution, collaboration, and client centrism. By balancing hands‑on technical/domain expertise with strong leadership, this role ensures that the team operates effectively, adopts agreed operating standards and agile practices, and continuously improves delivery quality.
Working closely with Product Management, Commercial, Index Engineering, and other functional partners, the R&D Team Manager enables effective cross‑functional collaboration and contributes technical expertise to internal and external engagements. Through strong backlog ownership and team leadership, this role plays a critical part in executing the value stream strategy and strengthening S&P DJI’s ability to deliver differentiated, client‑focused index solutions.
Responsibilities:
Research & Design:
- Lead and contribute to the conceptualization, design and analysis of new indices and/or scalable capabilities that power them, personally driving the highest‑complexity or highest‑risk work while coaching team members to deliver the majority of execution
- Act as the team’s technical escalation point and methodology coach, setting a high bar for analytical quality and innovation through reviews, mentoring, and selective hands‑on contribution
- Proactively seek customer feedback to learn and better understand their needs and requirements and ensure end-to-end delivery of features
- Ensures team‑level adoption of agreed operating standards and agile practices as defined at the value stream level
- Build relationships across R&D, Product and functional teams to ensure ongoing collaboration and success, including identification and support of cross-product opportunities
- Partner with Commercial team to develop and deepen relationships with clients and internal/external stakeholders through R&D designs, capabilities, innovation, and best practices.
- Own resolution of complex technical challenges and unblock delivery via expert analysis, design reviews, and hands‑on problem solving where the work requires the highest domain competency
Team and People Management:
- Hiring, onboarding and performance management of team members
- Develop team members to acquire and grow the skills and capabilities needed for efficient and effective performance
- Adopt the day-to-day backlog prioritization and delivery process as defined by the Head of [Asset Class] Index Design
- Own team backlog (planning, prioritization, refinement) translating value stream priorities into clear, executable work while ensuring alignment with key stakeholders
- Inspire and empower team to deliver business outcomes against priorities and OKR’s
- Set targets for development and growth and lead performance assessment of team members supporting ongoing professional development
- Participates in value stream performance calibration to ensure consistency, fairness, and alignment with enterprise standards
Stakeholder & External Engagement
- Contribute technical expertise to internal and external engagements (including client discussions on specific projects) in support of value stream objectives
Compensation/Benefits Information: (This section is only applicable to US candidates)
S&P Global states that the anticipated base salary range for this position is $149,031 to $223,204. Final base salary for this role will be based on the individual’s geographic location, as well as experience level, skill set, training, licenses and certifications.
In addition to base compensation, this role is eligible for an annual incentive plan.
What we are looking for:
Basic Qualifications:
- 8+ years of experience in R&D, portfolio/index design, or related technical roles
- Three plus years’ experience directly managing and developing people
- Extensive industry knowledge about most impactful trends and future direction of the core index, asset, wealth, and capital market industries
- Experience owning team backlogs and leading delivery in an agile or iterative operating model
- Experience supporting client or stakeholder engagements through technical expertise
Preferred Qualifications:
- Advanced degree, MBA or equivalent experience required
- CFA or PhD desirable
We require all external candidates who reach the final stage of our interview process to attend at least one in-person interview, which is ordinarily at your nearest S&P Global office. This must be completed before we can proceed to an offer.
About S&P Global Dow Jones Indices
At S&P Dow Jones Indices, we provide iconic and innovative index solutions backed by unparalleled expertise across the asset-class spectrum. By bringing transparency to the global capital markets, we empower investors everywhere to make decisions with conviction. We’re the largest global resource for index-based concepts, data and research, and home to iconic financial market indicators, such as the S&P 500® and the Dow Jones Industrial Average®. More assets are invested in products based upon our indices than any other index provider in the world. With over USD 7.4 trillion in passively managed assets linked to our indices and over USD 11.3 trillion benchmarked to our indices, our solutions are widely considered indispensable in tracking market performance, evaluating portfolios and developing investment strategies.
S&P Dow Jones Indices is a division of S&P Global (NYSE: SPGI). S&P Global is the world’s foremost provider of credit ratings, benchmarks, analytics and workflow solutions in the global capital, commodity and automotive markets. With every one of our offerings, we help many of the world’s leading organizations navigate the economic landscape so they can plan for tomorrow, today. For more information, visit www.spglobal.com/spdji.
What’s In It For You?
Our Mission:
Advancing Essential Intelligence.
Our People:
We're more than 35,000 strong worldwide—so we're able to understand nuances while having a broad perspective. Our team is driven by curiosity and a shared belief that Essential Intelligence can help build a more prosperous future for us all.From finding new ways to measure sustainability to analyzing energy transition across the supply chain to building workflow solutions that make it easy to tap into insight and apply it. We are changing the way people see things and empowering them to make an impact on the world we live in. We’re committed to a more equitable future and to helping our customers find new, sustainable ways of doing business. Join us and help create the critical insights that truly make a difference.
Our Values:
Integrity, Discovery, Partnership
Throughout our history, the world's leading organizations have relied on us for the Essential Intelligence they need to make confident decisions about the road ahead. We start with a foundation of integrity in all we do, bring a spirit of discovery to our work, and collaborate in close partnership with each other and our customers to achieve shared goals.
Benefits:
We take care of you, so you can take care of business. We care about our people. That’s why we provide everything you—and your career—need to thrive at S&P Global.
Our benefits include:
- Health & Wellness: Health care coverage designed for