300+ Engineering & Science Jobs in Chicago, IL

Government wage data says Chicago architecture and engineering roles paid a $99,560 median in 2025, with a $78,440 25th percentile and $126,240 75th percentile; life, physical, and social science roles paid an $84,700 median, with a $65,000 25th percentile and $123,560 75th percentile. In contrast, current posted salary ranges in the local sample center on about $125k to $180k, which is a newer but more selective postings-based signal rather than a market-wide wage median.

Full September 2026 market report

Advertised pay

Across the 257 openings that disclose pay, the advertised range midpoint runs $85,000 at the 25th percentile, $117,500 at the median and $145,000 at the 75th. These are advertised ranges, not earned pay.

Active openings as of October 17, 2026

Senior roles | Entry level | Remote | Posted this week

Live from the Callings.ai index of over 13 million postings, refreshed hourly and re-checked here nightly. Roles that close are dropped at the next refresh.

Showing 30 of 250+ openings.

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What our analysts see this month

Competitive market | next 3-6 months

Chicago is a usable but selective market for Engineering & Scientific, not an easy one. Illinois engineering and scientific employment was up 3.2% year-over-year and active postings were up 23.4% statewide in September 2026, even as Chicago metro unemployment reached 5.2% in August and the local sample skewed heavily toward senior and lead roles. Opportunities are spread across more than 550 companies and more than 1,200 recent postings, with strong presence in consulting, construction, software-linked engineering, and manufacturing-related work. That means strong candidates can still land well-paying roles, but the market rewards specialization, proof of tools, and flexibility on work arrangement much more than broad "engineer" branding.

Best positioned: Candidates with 5+ years of experience who can pair domain depth with Python, AutoCAD/Revit, project delivery, or cloud-adjacent skills have the best odds right now.

Main caution: The biggest trap is assuming the high posted pay band reflects the whole market; those ranges skew toward senior, specialized roles, while local government medians are much lower.

From the September 2026 market report

Who is hiring here

Counted across all 313 openings in this market. 10 of the employers below are hiring for more than one role right now.

1. Sargent & Lundy: 16 open roles
2. Farnsworth Group: 13 open roles
3. Burns & McDonnell: 10 open roles
4. OTTO Engineering, Inc: 9 open roles
5. AbbVie Inc.: 8 open roles
6. Jacobs Engineering Group: 6 open roles
7. S&K Technologies, Inc.: 6 open roles
8. AECOM Corporation: 5 open roles
9. Alignerr Corp.: 4 open roles
10. ASBMR: 4 open roles

Where the openings are

• Chicago: 139
• Downers Grove: 12
• Lisle: 11
• North Chicago: 10
• Naperville: 10
• Carpentersville: 9
• Oak Brook: 8
• Palatine: 6

Work arrangement

on-site 200 (64%), hybrid 101 (32%), remote 10 (3%)

Where the demand is

Real opportunity is spread across several Chicago clusters rather than one dominant employer. In the recent postings sample, the most-active industries were IT services and consulting at about 20%, construction about 15%, business consulting about 15%, software development about 10%, and civil engineering about 10%, while hiring stayed fragmented across more than 550 companies. That helps because you are not dependent on one company, but it also means you need a vertically tailored search instead of a one-size-fits-all resume. The macro backdrop points to the same mix. Chicago-area Professional and Business Services employment was 820.2 thousand in August 2026, up 0.3794% year-over-year, and manufacturing was 410.3 thousand, up 0.7860%. Add in locally active employers such as AbbVie, Sargent & Lundy, Northrop Grumman, Deloitte, and Burns & McDonnell, and the practical takeaway is to focus on life sciences and product development, energy and infrastructure design, defense-adjacent systems work, and consulting-linked technical roles.

• AEC / civil / structural / BIM (high): Construction accounts for about 15% of local Engineering & Scientific postings and civil engineering about 10%, while AutoCAD and Revit each appear in about 10% of requested skills and the PE license is the most common explicit certification.
• Manufacturing / systems / automation (high): Chicago manufacturing employment was 410.3 thousand in August 2026, up 0.7860% year-over-year, and recent local investments from Voortman and Ability Engineering Technology point to ongoing mechanical, systems, and fabrication-related work.
• Life sciences / product development (high): AbbVie is the single most active named employer in the local sample with more than 50 postings, and Sanner's September Chicago expansion added human-factors testing, 3D printing, and electromechanical prototyping signals.
• Consulting / cloud-adjacent technical roles (moderate): IT services and consulting account for about 20% of postings and business consulting about 15%, while Python, AWS, Azure, and solution architecture all appear in local skill requests.

Where to focus: Pick one of three lanes—AEC/BIM, manufacturing/systems, or life science/product development—and tailor your proof of work to that lane instead of applying across every engineering title.

Roles worth searching next

• BIM coordinator: Reasonable for civil, structural, and architecture-adjacent candidates because construction is about 15% of local postings, civil engineering about 10%, Revit is requested in about 10% of roles, and a new Chicago BIM office opened in September.
• Technical project manager: A good bridge for experienced engineers because project management is requested in about 15% of local postings and the market skews senior.
• Cloud solutions architect: This pivot fits engineers coming from systems, controls, or software-linked environments because AWS, Azure, and solution architecture all show up in local skill demand.
• Quality or validation specialist: This is a sensible move for life-science, manufacturing, or medical-device candidates because recent Chicago expansion signals mention testing, assembly, and electromechanical prototyping.

What postings ask for

• Python (differentiator | immediate): Python appears in about 15% of local postings and maps well to the broader 2026 push toward AI and digital integration in engineering work. Who: Mechanical, systems, scientific, and research candidates who touch modeling, automation, testing, or data-heavy workflows.
• Project management (differentiator | immediate): Project management shows up in about 15% of local postings, and employers nationally keep calling out delivery, mentoring, and communication as high-value engineering skills. Who: Mid-career candidates trying to move into senior IC, lead, or client-facing roles.
• AutoCAD and Revit (table_stakes | immediate): AutoCAD and Revit each appear in about 10% of local skill mentions, making them core screening tools for AEC, civil, and architecture-adjacent roles. Who: Civil, structural, architecture-adjacent, BIM, and construction-focused candidates.
• Professional Engineer (PE) license (premium | near-term): The PE license is only explicitly required in about 5% of postings, but it is the clearest formal differentiator for civil, structural, and infrastructure candidates. Who: Civil and structural engineers, especially anyone targeting design authority or client-signoff responsibility.
• AWS and Azure (differentiator | near-term): AWS and Azure each appear in about 10% of local postings, which reflects how much Chicago demand sits inside consulting, software, and hybrid technical roles rather than pure plant-floor engineering. Who: Systems, software-linked, controls, and technical-consulting candidates.
• AI-enabled engineering workflows (premium | near-term): AI fluency is increasingly treated as a baseline expectation, and 2026 tools now embed AI inside CAD, simulation, architecture, and scientific research workflows. Who: Experienced engineers and scientists who already have domain depth and need a current productivity edge.

Questions about this market

What do Engineering & Scientific roles pay in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN?

Government wage data says Chicago architecture and engineering roles paid a $99,560 median in 2025, with a $78,440 25th percentile and $126,240 75th percentile; life, physical, and social science roles paid an $84,700 median, with a $65,000 25th percentile and $123,560 75th percentile. In contrast, current posted salary ranges in the local sample center on about $125k to $180k, which is a newer but more selective postings-based signal rather than a market-wide wage median. Chicago is a solid-paying technical market: local architecture and engineering pay is roughly in line with the national median, and the metro's all-occupation average wage was $35.28 per hour versus $33.54 nationally.

Where is demand for Engineering & Scientific roles in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN concentrated?

Real opportunity is spread across several Chicago clusters rather than one dominant employer. In the recent postings sample, the most-active industries were IT services and consulting at about 20%, construction about 15%, business consulting about 15%, software development about 10%, and civil engineering about 10%, while hiring stayed fragmented across more than 550 companies. That helps because you are not dependent on one company, but it also means you need a vertically tailored search instead of a one-size-fits-all resume. The macro backdrop points to the same mix. Chicago-area Professional and Business Services employment was 820.2 thousand in August 2026, up 0.3794% year-over-year, and manufacturing was 410.3 thousand, up 0.7860%. Add in locally active employers such as AbbVie, Sargent & Lundy, Northrop Grumman, Deloitte, and Burns & McDonnell, and the practical takeaway is to focus on life sciences and product development, energy and infrastructure design, defense-adjacent systems work, and consulting-linked technical roles.

Which employers are hiring the most Engineering & Scientific talent in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN?

Recent postings show the most activity from AbbVie Inc. (50 postings), Sargent & Lundy (30 postings), Northrop Grumman (20 postings), Deloitte (20 postings), Burns & McDonnell (20 postings). See the full market report for the complete employer landscape.

Can Engineering & Scientific roles in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN be done remotely?

Of recent postings, 5% are remote and 35% hybrid, with 60% on-site. Use the Remote filter above to see only remote openings.

How current are these listings?

Openings come from the Callings.ai live index of over 13 million jobs, refreshed hourly. This page searches postings from the last 30 days; run the search yourself to filter by anything else in plain language.

Browse Illinois openings by job title

• General Manager: 148 open roles statewide
• Senior Manager: 79 open roles statewide

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