Software Engineer Jobs in Chicago, IL
Software engineers in the Chicago metro earn a median of about $134,380 a year, and hiring runs from bank tech teams on Wacker Drive to trading firms and Grainger's engineers at the Merchandise Mart. Here are the current openings, followed by who is hiring and how to break in.
Current software engineer Openings in Chicago, IL
Listings marked External are sponsored openings provided by the Jobs2Careers network.
Software Engineer Work in Chicago
Chicago's software jobs sit inside companies that are not pure tech firms. Banks, asset managers, trading shops, distributors and consultancies run large engineering teams downtown, so a lot of the work is building trading platforms, payment and card systems, e-commerce for industrial buyers and internal tools for finance. Capital One staffs engineers at 77 W. Wacker in the Loop, BlackRock hires React developers for its Chicago office, and Grainger, the Lake Forest industrial distributor, runs software teams out of the Merchandise Mart.
Most of these roles are hybrid, usually two to four days a week in the office, and the downtown offices are an L or Metra ride rather than a drive down the Kennedy. Because Illinois requires employers with 15 or more workers to post a pay range, nearly every Chicago software posting tells you the salary band before you apply, which makes it easy to compare a trading firm offer with a bank or consulting offer.
Top Chicago Employers Hiring Software Engineers
These employers have posted software engineering roles in Chicago on their own careers sites:
- Capital One - the bank hires full-stack engineers for its office at 77 W. Wacker Drive in the Loop.
- Grainger - the industrial distributor hires Java and React software engineers at the Merchandise Mart on a hybrid schedule.
- BlackRock - the asset manager hires frontend software engineers for its Chicago office, four days a week in person.
- Geneva Trading - the Chicago trading firm hires front-end platform developers with a base salary plus bonus.
- Rewards Network - the company hires front end engineers on a hybrid schedule for its downtown office near the Metra stations.
- Inspire11 - the Chicago consulting firm hires full-stack JavaScript and React engineers who work on client projects.
Software Engineer Salaries in Chicago
- Entry level: about $84,000 to $105,000 a year for new graduates and junior engineers.
- Experienced: roughly $105,000 to $168,000 a year for mid-level and senior engineers.
- Senior: $168,000 to $203,000 or more for staff and lead engineers, before bonus or stock.
These are estimates based on federal wage data for the Chicago metro and ranges in local postings. Recent examples include $102,000 to $140,000 at Inspire11, $120,000 to $148,000 plus bonus for an associate frontend role at BlackRock, $112,900 to $188,100 for a senior engineer at Grainger and $179,400 to $204,700 for a Full-stack Engineer 4 role at Capital One. Trading firms and banks usually add an annual bonus, and specialized skills in cloud or data push pay higher.
How to Become a Software Engineer in Chicago
Most employers ask for a bachelor's degree in computer science or a related field, though many will accept equivalent experience and a strong portfolio. DePaul University's Jarvis College of Computing and Digital Media in the Loop offers a BS in Computer Science with a software development concentration. City Colleges of Chicago offers a Web Development associate degree at Daley, Malcolm X, Olive-Harvey and Wright, and a Web Development basic certificate at all seven campuses, a lower-cost way to start coding. Malcolm X College's free continuing education classes include AWS Cloud Foundations. Illinois has no state license for software engineers, so employers judge you on your degree, your code and your interviews.
What the Job Involves
Software engineers design, write, test and maintain code for applications and services. A typical day includes building features from a ticket, reviewing teammates' pull requests, writing automated tests, fixing bugs found in production and joining short planning meetings with product managers and designers. Engineers also deploy code through build pipelines, monitor how it runs in the cloud and document how their systems work.
Skills Employers Look For
- Strong programming in Java, Python, JavaScript or TypeScript
- Front-end frameworks such as React
- REST APIs, SQL and relational databases
- Cloud platforms such as AWS or Azure
- Git, code review and automated testing
- Clear communication with product and business partners
Career Path and Advancement
Many Chicago engineers start as associate or junior developers at a bank, distributor or consulting firm, move to software engineer and senior engineer within three to five years, and then choose between a technical track to lead, staff and principal engineer or a management track to engineering manager. Consulting work at a firm such as Inspire11 is a common way to see many codebases early, and the trading firms around the Loop hire platform developers with bonus pay on top of base salary.
Related Careers in Chicago
If software engineering interests you, these related Chicago roles are close matches:
Frequently Asked Questions
How much do software engineers make in Chicago?
The median for software developers in the Chicago metro is about $134,380 a year. Entry-level engineers generally start between $84,000 and $105,000, and senior engineers at banks, trading firms and distributors often earn $168,000 or more before bonus.
Do you need a license to be a software engineer in Illinois?
No. Illinois does not license software engineers. Employers look at your degree or experience, your portfolio and how you do in technical interviews.
Do I need a computer science degree to get hired in Chicago?
Many postings ask for a bachelor's degree in computer science or a related field, but several Chicago employers accept equivalent experience. A City Colleges Web Development certificate or associate degree plus a solid portfolio can get you into junior developer roles.
Are Chicago software engineering jobs remote?
Most are hybrid. Grainger and Rewards Network post two days a week in the office, while BlackRock asks for four, so check each posting's schedule before you apply.
Which Chicago employers pay software engineers the most?
Banks, asset managers and trading firms near the Loop pay at the top of the market. Capital One has posted a full-stack engineer role paying up to $204,700, and trading firms such as Geneva Trading add bonuses on top of base pay.
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