Software Engineer II - Technical Leadership Track

McMaster-Carr; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 185,000 - 230,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Relocation stipend

Signing bonus

Mentorship

Employee resource groups

Premium medical/dental/vision plans

Job summary

McMaster-Carr seeks a software engineer to help power our high‑scale e‑commerce platform, from customer‑facing features to distribution center automation. You’ll design and evolve critical systems that deliver orders quickly and reliably.

This growth‑track role emphasizes leadership and mentorship, with opportunities to shape major projects and drive better decisions. We offer a competitive total compensation package, relocation stipend, signing bonus, and comprehensive benefits.

Qualifications

• Experience working on large-scale, service-oriented systems.
• Strong proficiency in compiled languages such as C#, Java, C++, or Rust.
• A thoughtful, analytical approach to problem-solving and software design.
• Clear, confident communication skills across technical and non-technical audiences.
• Interest in growing as a mentor, coach, and leader.

Responsibilities

• Build High-Quality Systems: Implement features spanning multiple layers of the tech stack.
• Solve Problems, Not Just Tasks: Tackle assignments with customer and business impact.
• Coach and Collaborate: Participate in code reviews and mentor junior engineers.
• Own Your Development: Develop domain expertise and explore new technologies.

Skills

C#

Java

C++

Rust

Job description

McMaster-Carr is a leading e-commerce company that industrial customers have trusted for over 120 years. Our products help them get manufacturing lines back up quickly, keep operations running smoothly, and prototype the next generation of innovative solutions. We earn and keep that trust by offering the right products, making them easy to find, and delivering them fast, so our customers can solve problems with greater speed, precision, and ease.

Our industry-leading e-commerce experience, indispensable product selection, and world-class service bring hundreds of thousands of customers to our site each day. But we’re never standing still. Our curious, exceptional people are at the heart of our evolution. They turn new challenges and disruptive technologies into opportunities to refine our operations, expand our offering, and deliver a better experience for every customer.

How You'll Make An Impact

As part of our software engineering team, you'll contribute to the high-scale production software that powers our e-commerce experience and our world-class operations. From customer-facing web features to distribution center automation, we design and scale critical systems that enable McMaster-Carr to deliver same-day or next-day orders reliably and efficiently. This role is a growth-track to technical leadership or people management, with progress driven by the impact of your work.

As a software engineer, you'll work on projects like:

• Improve how customers find what they need on our website -Design and test new features that make our site faster, smarter, and easier to use—so customers can enjoyably find the products they need.
• Apply AI to real-world operation - Use tools like generative AI to streamline customer service, create better product descriptions and visuals, and automate internal workflows.
• Make fulfillment smarter and help us plan ahead - Design systems that improve how we pick, pack, and ship orders so thousands of customers each day get what they need, faster.
• Design tools that free up teammates to focus on what matters - Automate routine tasks—like data entry or resource gathering—so people can spend more time solving complex, meaningful problems. Accelerate our ability to add new products to our website, directly enabling company growth.
• Help the business see what's working—and act quickly when it's not - Create dashboards and tracking tools that surface key insights and guide faster, better decisions. Build systems that capture feedback and route it to the right teams for action.

What You'll Do

Our technology teams design and build the systems that power McMaster-Carr's industry-leading e-commerce experience and drive our long-term growth. You'll have the opportunity to work across a wide range of technologies and business areas—delivering solutions that make a real difference for our customers and our company. Day-to-day, you'll:

• Build High-Quality Systems: Implement features that span multiple layers of our tech stack, applying best practices and minimizing risk.
• Solve Problems, Not Just Tasks: Tackle assignments that require thoughtful solutions and a deep understanding of the customer benefit or business need, not just execution.
• Coach and Collaborate: Participate in code reviews, mentor more junior engineers, and contribute to team-wide engineering quality.
• Own Your Development: Develop domain expertise, explore new technologies, and bring new perspectives to the challenges your team is tackling.

Over time, you'll grow into a technology leader who plays a key role shaping high-impact projects.

Cash Compensation

• Total cash compensation is generally around $185,000 to $230,000 and includes a profit sharing based on company profitability.
• You will also receive a relocation stipend and signing bonus.
• Informal and formal mentorship
• Employee resource groups
• Medical, dental, pharmacy, and vision plans with no monthly premiums

Family & Future

• Paid parental leave for all new parents
• Adoption and surrogacy assistance
• First-time home buyer assistance
• Industry-leading company-funded retirement accounts

Time Off

• Paid vacation and personal time

Who You Are

We're looking for curious, driven engineers who thrive in collaborative environments and love solving hard problems. Ideal candidates will have:

• Experience working on large-scale, service-oriented systems.
• Strong proficiency in compiled languages such as C#, Java, C++, or Rust.
• A thoughtful, analytical approach to problem-solving and software design.
• Clear, confident communication skills across technical and non-technical audiences.
• Interest in growing as a mentor, coach, and leader.

Equal Opportunity Employer

We are proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer and dedicated to providing employees a workplace with reasonable accommodations and free of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation. At McMaster-Carr, we do not make employment decisions based on age, ethnicity, citizenship status, military status, gender identity and expression, race, religion, disability status, marital status, sexual orientation, protected veteran status, or any other legally protected group.

This position is not eligible for work authorization sponsorship by McMaster-Carr