Back-End Engineer Jobs in Illinois
Back-End Engineer jobs in Illinois concentrate heavily in financial technology, enterprise software, healthcare IT, and e-commerce infrastructure, with Chicago anchoring one of the most active technology hiring markets in the Midwest. Most openings cluster in Chicago, along with significant activity in suburban corridors like Schaumburg and Naperville, where major employers including Motorola Solutions, United Airlines, and Discover Financial Services maintain large engineering teams. The most in-demand specialties are distributed systems, cloud-native API development, and database architecture. See the openings below and apply to the ones that match your experience.
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Showing 5 of 16+ Back-End Engineer jobs
Job ID:
J55018
Job Title:
Lead Java Backend Engineer
Location:
Chicago, IL
Duration:
24 Months + Extension
Domain Exposure:
Healthcare
Client:
To Be Discussed Later
Employment Type:
W-2, 1099, C2C
Work Authorization:
US Citizen, Green Card, H-1B, OPT-EAD, CPT, Other
Job Title: Lead Java Backend Engineer
Location: Chicago, IL(Remote)
Duration: 24 Months + Extension
Bill Rate: $78/hour (C2C)
Job Type: W-2, 1099, C2C
Client: To Be Discussed Later
Work Authorization: US Citizen, Green Card, OPT-EAD, CPT, H-1B, H4-EAD, Other
Job Description:
Looking for a hands-on Lead Java Backend Engineer to help design, develop, and scale enterprise-level APIs and microservices supporting its AWS-hosted digital platform.
This is a technical leadership role on a team of approximately 12–13 engineers. The ideal candidate can drive architecture and design decisions, guide other developers, and take ownership of complex initiatives while remaining actively involved in hands-on backend development.
This is NOT a pure architect or people management role. Candidates must still be hands-on with Java/Spring Boot development.
Must-Have Requirements:
10+ years of software engineering experience, including extensive hands-on Java backend development.
Java 17+ (Java 21 preferred) and strong Spring Boot experience.
Extensive experience designing and developing RESTful APIs and microservices.
Strong AWS/cloud experience, including deploying and supporting production applications.
Proven technical leadership experience involving architecture decisions, design reviews, code reviews, and mentoring engineers.
Strong API design and integration experience; Apigee/API Gateway experience highly preferred.
Experience with automated testing, CI/CD pipelines, and end-to-end software delivery.
Must be able to work onsite in Chicago Mondays and Wednesdays.
Highly Preferred Technical Experience:
API Management: Apigee, OpenAPI/Swagger, API-first architecture.
Security: OAuth 2.0, JWT, service-to-service authentication.
Event-Driven Architecture: Kafka, AWS SQS/SNS/Kinesis, RabbitMQ, or similar.
Databases: PostgreSQL, Oracle, MongoDB, DynamoDB, or similar SQL/NoSQL databases.
CI/CD: Jenkins, Azure DevOps, GoCD.
Testing: JUnit, Mockito, integration and performance testing.
Additional: Redis, Elasticsearch, GitHub Copilot/Cursor, Agile/Scrum.
Candidate Screening Guidelines:
Prioritize candidates who have:
Recent hands-on Java/Spring Boot development experience, not just architecture oversight.
Experience functioning as a technical lead on enterprise backend/API projects.
Strong AWS and microservices architecture experience.
Stable work history with reasonable tenure.
We are an equal opportunity employer. All aspects of employment including the decision to hire, promote, discipline, or discharge, will be based on merit, competence, performance, and business needs. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, marital status, age, national origin, ancestry, physical or mental disability, medical condition, pregnancy, genetic information, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, citizenship/ immigration status, veteran status, or any other status protected under federal, state, or local law.
Job ID:
J55018
Job Title:
Lead Java Backend Engineer
Location:
Chicago, IL
Duration:
24 Months + Extension
Domain Exposure:
Healthcare
Client:
To Be Discussed Later
Employment Type:
W-2, 1099, C2C
Work Authorization:
US Citizen, Green Card, H-1B, OPT-EAD, CPT, Other
Job Title: Lead Java Backend Engineer
Location: Chicago, IL(Remote)
Duration: 24 Months + Extension
Bill Rate: $78/hour (C2C)
Job Type: W-2, 1099, C2C
Client: To Be Discussed Later
Work Authorization: US Citizen, Green Card, OPT-EAD, CPT, H-1B, H4-EAD, Other
Job Description:
Looking for a hands-on Lead Java Backend Engineer to help design, develop, and scale enterprise-level APIs and microservices supporting its AWS-hosted digital platform.
This is a technical leadership role on a team of approximately 12–13 engineers. The ideal candidate can drive architecture and design decisions, guide other developers, and take ownership of complex initiatives while remaining actively involved in hands-on backend development.
This is NOT a pure architect or people management role. Candidates must still be hands-on with Java/Spring Boot development.
Must-Have Requirements:
10+ years of software engineering experience, including extensive hands-on Java backend development.
Java 17+ (Java 21 preferred) and strong Spring Boot experience.
Extensive experience designing and developing RESTful APIs and microservices.
Strong AWS/cloud experience, including deploying and supporting production applications.
Proven technical leadership experience involving architecture decisions, design reviews, code reviews, and mentoring engineers.
Strong API design and integration experience; Apigee/API Gateway experience highly preferred.
Experience with automated testing, CI/CD pipelines, and end-to-end software delivery.
Must be able to work onsite in Chicago Mondays and Wednesdays.
Highly Preferred Technical Experience:
API Management: Apigee, OpenAPI/Swagger, API-first architecture.
Security: OAuth 2.0, JWT, service-to-service authentication.
Event-Driven Architecture: Kafka, AWS SQS/SNS/Kinesis, RabbitMQ, or similar.
Databases: PostgreSQL, Oracle, MongoDB, DynamoDB, or similar SQL/NoSQL databases.
CI/CD: Jenkins, Azure DevOps, GoCD.
Testing: JUnit, Mockito, integration and performance testing.
Additional: Redis, Elasticsearch, GitHub Copilot/Cursor, Agile/Scrum.
Candidate Screening Guidelines:
Prioritize candidates who have:
Recent hands-on Java/Spring Boot development experience, not just architecture oversight.
Experience functioning as a technical lead on enterprise backend/API projects.
Strong AWS and microservices architecture experience.
Stable work history with reasonable tenure.
We are an equal opportunity employer. All aspects of employment including the decision to hire, promote, discipline, or discharge, will be based on merit, competence, performance, and business needs. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, marital status, age, national origin, ancestry, physical or mental disability, medical condition, pregnancy, genetic information, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, citizenship/ immigration status, veteran status, or any other status protected under federal, state, or local law.
See All 16 Back-End Engineer Jobs in Illinois
Find roles in Illinois that match your experience and apply in just a few clicks.
Find Back-End Engineer JobsBack-End Engineer Jobs by City in Illinois
Where Illinois roles are concentrated, by current openings.
Back-End Engineer Job Market in Illinois
A snapshot from current Illinois openings, updated as new roles post.
Who's Hiring
Top Industries Hiring
- Technology & Software
What Illinois Employers Look For
The qualifications that appear most often in Back-End engineer jobs across Illinois.
- Proficiency in at least one server-side language such as Java, Python, Go, or Node.js
- Experience designing and maintaining RESTful or GraphQL APIs at production scale
- Hands-on work with relational and non-relational databases including PostgreSQL, MySQL, or MongoDB
- Familiarity with cloud platforms, particularly AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud, in a professional setting
- Understanding of microservices architecture, containerization with Docker, and orchestration with Kubernetes
- Bachelor's degree in computer science, software engineering, or a related technical field, or equivalent experience
Back-End Engineer Jobs in Illinois: Frequently Asked Questions
How do you become a back-end engineer in Illinois?
Back-end engineering carries no state-issued license in Illinois, so entry is credential-agnostic and portfolio-driven. Most Illinois employers, from Chicago fintech firms to Midwest enterprise software companies, hire candidates who hold a bachelor's degree in computer science or software engineering, or who can demonstrate equivalent skills through projects and professional history. Bootcamp graduates from programs based in Chicago have placed into junior roles at Illinois employers, provided they can show production-quality code and system design fundamentals.
Which companies hire back-end engineers in Illinois?
Illinois back-end engineer roles are posted by Capital One, Cboe Global Markets, and Robotics Technologies and others right now, based on current listings on Migrate Mate as of November 2026. Illinois's deep mix of financial services, healthcare systems, and enterprise technology companies means back-end openings appear across a broad range of industries rather than concentrating in a single sector.
Which Illinois cities have the most back-end engineer jobs?
Chicago, Riverwoods, and Illinois account for the largest share of back-end engineer openings in Illinois. Chicago leads by a wide margin because it houses the headquarters and major engineering offices of Discover Financial, Morningstar, and Groupon, while suburban locations like Schaumburg and Naperville attract postings from Motorola Solutions and other large technology and telecommunications employers with campuses outside the city core.
Are there remote back-end engineer jobs in Illinois?
Yes, and more than most fields. About 78% of back-end engineer openings tied to Illinois are remote or hybrid as of November 2026, reflecting how naturally the role fits asynchronous, distributed work. Positions focused on API development, microservices, and cloud infrastructure tend to offer the greatest flexibility, while roles tied to on-site data centers or regulated financial systems more often require at least some in-office presence.
How can I get hired as a back-end engineer in Illinois with little or no experience?
The most realistic entry path is securing a junior or associate software engineer role at a mid-size Illinois technology company or one of the region's many fintech startups, where smaller teams often give new engineers broader responsibilities sooner. Candidates from adjacent roles such as QA automation engineer or database administrator have transitioned into back-end positions at Illinois employers. Building a GitHub portfolio that demonstrates a complete REST API or a small cloud-deployed service carries significant weight with Illinois engineering hiring managers who screen before a recruiter ever calls.
Where can I find and apply to back-end engineer jobs in Illinois?
You can find and apply to back-end engineer jobs in Illinois on Migrate Mate, which lists current Illinois openings in one place. Search for roles that match your experience level and stack, then apply directly to the ones that fit.
See All 16 Back-End Engineer Jobs in Illinois
Find roles in Illinois that match your experience and apply in just a few clicks.
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