Getting started in software development is easier if you’re in a city with lots of tech employers. Chicago offers just that, with opportunities in public safety software, fintech, cloud computing, consulting and quantitative trading. The following companies are actively hiring junior software engineers in their Windy City offices to build production systems while learning on the job alongside experienced development teams.
Industry: Public Safety, Enterprise Software
What they do: Headquartered in Chicago, Motorola Solutions develops software for emergency response platforms, emergency dispatch systems and video management for public safety. Its entry-level software developers help build cloud services and real-time mobile applications while improving edge video processing technology used by first responders.
Industry: Cloud networks, cybersecurity
What they do: Cisco’s Chicago office focuses on its Meraki division, where engineers manage network devices in the cloud as well as security hardware. Young developers there write backend services, full-stack dashboard functions and network telemetry software in Scala, Ruby on Rails, C++ and Python.
Industry: Software development, technology consulting
What they do: PwC helps many of the world’s largest companies modernize their legacy systems by migrating to the cloud and developing customized business software. With hundreds of thousands of customers in more than 130 countries, its early-career software engineering employees write full-stack code using Java, Python, React, and AWS and Azure cloud platforms for custom SaaS applications, automated financial workflows, and AI integrations.
Industry: Insurance technology
What they do: Applied Systems produces cloud software designed to process policy and claims workflows for the global insurance industry. Their Associate Software Engineer program places new hires – with just zero to two years of experience – on teams tasked with redesigning core SaaS platforms using C#, .NET, React, and Google Cloud Platform.
Industry: Financial technology, online lending
What they do: Chicago-based Enova International builds data-driven financial platforms that provide online lending and financing to consumers and small businesses. The company regularly hires software developers for full-stack and backend positions where junior developers write production code using Java, Python, Go, and React while supporting microservices, API integrations, and analytics engines.
Industry: Proprietary trading
What they do: Akuna Capital operates its global options market-making business from its headquarters in Chicago. Founded in 2011, the homegrown company recruits new graduates directly into dedicated C++ and Python degree programs, where junior engineers develop low-latency trading engines, concurrent data ingestion pipelines, exchange connectivity systems and algorithmic execution models.
Industry: Enterprise software, cloud infrastructure
What they do: More than 90 percent of the Fortune 500 use IBM’s technology in some form, from AI software to hybrid cloud infrastructure. Its team of Chicago-based software developers contribute to products such as Red Hat OpenShift and Watsonx, where entry-level professionals help build the backend systems and developer tools behind these platforms.
Industry: Financial technology
What they do: Morningstar is headquartered in Chicago, where software engineers develop the investment research platforms that cover more than 40,000 public companies and five million private companies. Associate Software Engineers build customer-facing applications and financial data pipelines using C#/.NET, TypeScript and AWS.
Industry: Software consulting
What they do: Chicago serves as a major U.S. base for Thoughtworks, a consulting firm that specializes in custom software development and legacy codebase refactoring. Before taking on customer-facing roles, entry-level developers must complete an intensive, year-long onboarding program that covers things like test-driven development and continuous delivery across different technology stacks.
Industry: Proprietary trading
What they do: Old Mission Capital is a quantitative trading firm headquartered in Chicago that develops low latency market making software. The company’s development program teaches junior software developers core infrastructure roles writing production C++ and Python for exchange connectivity, network hardware acceleration and real-time data analysis.
https://www.builtinchicago.org/articles/companies-hiring-early-career-software-engineers-chicago
