Sr Staff Software Engineer- CIM Team

Grainger; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 135,000 - 226,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision, and life—day

PTO & holidays: 18 days + 6 holidays

401(k) with 6% company match

Employee discounts & tuition support

Parental leave programs

Job summary

Grainger in Chicago, IL is seeking a Senior Staff Software Engineer to serve as a technical authority across the CIM domain, designing and evolving highly scalable, secure software systems while partnering with product and engineering leadership to shape architecture and deliver impact.

This role is hybrid (2 days/week in Chicago, with remote candidates willing to travel for onboarding). Hands-on coding, architecture leadership, and emphasis on observability are key.

Qualifications

• 7+ years building large-scale distributed software systems.
• Partner with product to translate needs into technical solutions.
• Strong architectural and coding leadership capabilities.

Responsibilities

• Design, architect, and implement scalable software systems.
• Collaborate with product and engineering leadership to guide technical direction.
• Ensure code quality, security, and reliability via reviews and CI/CD.
• Mentor engineers and raise engineering capability across teams.

Skills

Distributed systems design

Software architecture

CI/CD and automation

Mentoring engineers

Security and reliability

Observability and monitoring

Tools

CI/CD tooling

Cloud platforms

Security practices

Job description

About Grainger

W.W. Grainger, Inc. is a leading broad line distributor with operations primarily in North America and Japan. At Grainger, We Keep the World Working® by serving more than 4.6 million customers worldwide with maintenance, repair and operating (MRO) products and value-added solutions delivered through innovative technology and deep customer expertise. Known for its commitment to service and purpose-driven culture, the Company reported 2025 revenue of $17.9 billion. For more information, visitwww.grainger.com.

Work Location Type

Hybrid

Req Number 333324

About Grainger

W.W. Grainger, Inc. is a leading broad line distributor with operations primarily in North America and Japan. At Grainger, We Keep the World Working® by serving more than 4.6 million customers worldwide with maintenance, repair and operating (MRO) products and value-added solutions delivered through innovative technology and deep customer expertise. Known for its commitment to service and purpose-driven culture, the Company reported 2025 revenue of $17.9 billion. For more information, visitwww.grainger.com.

Compensation

The anticipated base pay compensation range for this position is $135,400.00 – $225,600.00. This role is eligible for an incentive target of up to 20 % , based on the achievement of individual and company performance objectives in accordance with the current terms of the incentive program which are subject to change.

Sponsorship

This position is not eligible for any form of sponsorship now or in the future. Individuals requiring sponsorship (e.g. OPT or H1B visa status) should not apply. Only individuals authorized to work in the United States now and for the foreseeable future will be considered for this position.

Rewards And Benefits

• Medical, dental, vision, and life insurance plans with coverage starting on day one of employment and 6 free sessions each year with a licensed therapist to support your emotional wellbeing.
• 18 paid time off (PTO) days annually for full-time employees (accrual prorated based on employment start date) and 6 company holidays per year.
• 6% company contribution to a 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan each pay period, no employee contribution required.
• Employee discounts, tuition reimbursement, student loan refinancing and free access to financial counseling, education, and tools.
• Maternity support programs, nursing benefits, and up to 14 weeks paid leave for birth parents and up to 4 weeks paid leave for non-birth parents.

Grainger Benefits

The pay range provided above is not a guarantee of compensation. The range reflects the potential base pay for this role at the time of this posting based on the job grade for this position. Individual base pay compensation will depend, in part, on factors such as geographic work location and relevant experience and skills.

The anticipated compensation range described above is subject to change and the compensation ultimately paid may be higher or lower than the range described above.

Grainger reserves the right to amend, modify, or terminate its compensation and benefit programs in its sole discretion at any time, consistent with applicable law.

Position Details

The Senior Staff Software Engineer is a highly experienced individual contributor who serves as a technical authority and thought leader across the Customer Information Management (CIM) domain. This role is responsible for designing, developing, and evolving highly scalable, reliable, and secure software solutions that have broad organizational impact, including the software that establishes a transactional context for every user who interacts with Grainger on behalf of a customer. Software Engineer V partners closely with architects, product leaders, and engineering leadership to shape technical direction, influence architecture, and drive engineering excellence across teams, while remaining hands on in critical areas of design and implementation.

Chicago, IL is the preferred location with a hybrid work environment (2 days per week in the Merchandise Mart office). We will also consider highly qualified remote candidates who are willing to travel to Chicago for onboarding and occasional team meetings. Onsite onboarding will be required.

You Will

• Design, architect, and implement complex software systems and platforms aligned to business strategy, engineering standards, and long term scalability goals. Influence system architecture decisions across teams and domains.
• Partner with product managers, architects, engineering managers, and stakeholders to translate complex business needs into high quality technical solutions and ensure alignment throughout delivery.
• Ensure high standards of code quality, security, performance, and reliability through design reviews, code reviews, automated testing, and continuous integration/continuous delivery (CI/CD) practices. Lead efforts to improve system observability and operational resilience.
• Mentor and coach engineers across levels, providing guidance on design, coding practices, and problem solving. Act as a trusted technical advisor and raise the overall engineering capability of the organization.

You Have

• 7+ years experience designing, building, and supporting large scale, distributed software systems in a modern engineering environment.
• Experience partnering with product to frame tradeoffs and help shape the work for iterative value delivery.
• Deep expertise in at least one major technical domain or platform, with the ability to quickly learn and influence adjacent domains.
• Strong understanding of system architecture, data structures, algorithms, and distributed system design.
• Proven ability to lead technical initiatives, influence without authority, and collaborate effectively across organizational boundaries.
• Demonstrated ability to improve engineering practices across teams.

Preferred

• Experience working with user identity concerns (authentication and authorization).
• Experience working with critical enterprise APIs.

We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity or expression, protected veteran status or any other protected characteristic under federal, state, or local law. We are proud to be an equal opportunity workplace.

We are committed to fostering an inclusive, accessible work environment that includes both providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities during the application and hiring process as well as throughout the course of one’s employment, should you need a reasonable accommodation during the application and selection process, including, but not limited to use of our website, any part of the application, interview or hiring process, please advise us so that we can provide appropriate assistance.