Looking to gain hands-on software engineering experience with a leading global industrial supply company? Grainger is hiring a Software Engineer Intern in Chicago, offering an opportunity to work alongside experienced technology professionals, contribute to real-world projects, and build valuable skills in software development. The role offers $36 per hour and is an excellent opportunity for students pursuing a career in technology and software engineering.
Job Overview
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Company Name | Grainger |
| Role | Software Engineer Intern |
| Qualification | Currently pursuing a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related field |
| Job Location | Chicago, Illinois, USA |
| Salary | $36 per hour |
| Work Type | On-site / Hybrid |
| Job Type | Internship |
| Job Level | Internship / Entry Level |
| Industry | Industrial Distribution / Technology |
Job Description
As a Software Engineer Intern, you will help design, build, test, and deliver software that supports Grainger’s customers, team members, suppliers, and internal operations. You’ll gain an understanding of the tradeoffs involved in building software that is scalable, reliable, secure, and useful to real users.
This role is ideal for someone who enjoys solving problems, learning new technologies, collaborating with others, and thinking beyond the code to understand what to build and why. You may work across areas such as digital commerce, platforms, automation, data products, internal tools, cloud services, or enterprise systems.
You Will
- Contribute to the design, development, testing, and delivery of software that supports customer experiences, internal operations, or enterprise technology platforms.
- Work with your assigned team to build features, improve existing functionality, fix defects, and participate in code reviews with guidance from experienced engineers.
- Gain hands-on experience with modern engineering practices such as Agile delivery, version control, automated testing, CI/CD, observability, and secure-by-design thinking.
- Partner with product managers, designers, engineers, and business stakeholders to understand user needs, business context, and the purpose behind the work.
- Explore appropriate use of AI-enabled tools to prototype, learn, debug, or increase delivery speed while validating outputs and understanding tradeoffs.
- Communicate progress clearly, document technical work, ask thoughtful questions, and collaborate in ways that help the broader team move efficiently.
- Build new learning foundations by working across unfamiliar code, tools, systems, and business contexts with curiosity and ownership.
- Present your work, impact, and key learnings to technology leaders at the end of the internship.
You Have
- Expected graduation with a bachelor’s degree between December 2027 and June 2028.
- Pursuing a degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Software Engineering, Information Systems, a related technical field, or equivalent practical experience.
- Experience with at least one programming language and the ability to explain how you approach learning new languages, frameworks, or tools.
- Evidence of curiosity and self-directed learning such as previous internships, class or personal projects, GitHub contributions, hackathons, open-source work, technical clubs, work experience, or other hands-on experimentation.
- Interest in product-minded engineering: understanding user or customer needs, framing problems, comparing options, and building practical solutions.
- Thoughtful AI tool literacy, including the ability to describe how you use technical tools, compare tradeoffs, and validate generated output rather than simply relying on it.
- Strong collaboration, communication, adaptability, and ownership in environments where priorities and technology continue to evolve.
- Cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher.
- Does not require sponsorship.
Selection Process
- Application submission
- Resume screening
- Recruiter/HR screening
- Technical or skills-based assessment, if applicable
- Interview with the hiring team
- Final selection
- Internship offer and onboarding
How to Apply
- Visit Grainger’s official careers website.
- Search for “Software Engineer Intern” in Chicago.
- Review the job requirements and qualifications.
- Prepare your updated resume highlighting software development, programming, projects, and relevant coursework.
- Complete the online application form.
- Submit your application and wait for further communication from the recruitment team.
