Data Analytics Lead Jobs in Illinois
Data Analytics Lead jobs in Illinois are in strong demand, concentrated in financial services, healthcare, consulting, and manufacturing technology, with openings at every level from senior analyst moving into a lead role through director-track positions. Chicago drives the bulk of hiring, with meaningful activity in Naperville and Downers Grove as well, where companies like United Airlines, Morningstar, and Allstate have established analytics teams that hire at the lead level. The most sought-after specialties in Illinois are cloud data infrastructure, predictive modeling, and business intelligence governance. Find a role that fits below and apply directly.
Find Data Analytics Lead JobsOverview
Showing 5 of 87+ Data Analytics Lead jobs











About Us
We’re not like other insurance companies. From our specialty products to our business model, our culture to our results — we’re different. Different is who we are, and how we work, interact, deliver and succeed together. Creating a different and better insurance experience doesn’t just happen. It takes focus and a shared passion for going beyond the expected to forge relationships and deliver care that makes a difference. This approach rises from and is supported by our talented, ethical and smart team of employee owners united around a single purpose: to work alongside our customers and partners when they need us, in unexpected ways, with exceptional results. Apply today to make a difference with us.
RLI is a Glassdoor Best Places to Work company with a strong, successful background. For decades, our financial track record has been stellar — a testament to our culture and validation of our reputation as an excellent underwriting company.
Position Purpose
Under occasional supervision, the Senior Business Analyst acts as a critical member of the Data Product Management team and partners with the Data Product Owner, Technology Delivery teams, and business stakeholders across multiple initiatives.
The role studies business operations and support demand to identify opportunities to improve workflows through modern data capabilities and translates those opportunities into actionable requirements.
The Business Analyst helps users transition and adopt modern data and analytics capabilities, including the transition from legacy solutions toward modern, governed data products and semantic views including Snowflake, Row Zero and other modern self-service technologies.
This role also monitors and administers the Data & Analytics support queue.
The Business Analyst looks beyond the immediate question or incident to understand the underlying business need, identify recurring patterns and root causes, and recommend opportunities for product improvements, reusable enablement, data quality improvements, or modernization.
The Business Analyst provides the analysis, evidence, requirements, and readiness recommendations needed to inform data product strategy, backlog prioritization, and product outcomes.
Principal Duties & Responsibilities
Partner with the Data Product Owner to propel future-state data and analytics at RLI - providing analysis, requirements, and readiness recommendations needed to inform solution definition and priorities.
Engage users to understand their business objectives, workflows, and underlying data needs - not simply the report or technical solution initially requested.
Translate business needs and processes into actionable solutions that include user stories, acceptance criteria, report specifications, metric definitions, and other delivery artifacts.
Support backlog grooming by analyzing business value, user impact, dependencies, risks, and readiness.
Coordinate the analysis and progression of assigned Data & Analytics support requests, maintaining clear communication and escalating operational or technical issues as appropriate.
Categorize and analyze support demand to identify recurring needs, root causes, data quality concerns, and opportunities for enablement, product improvements, or technology modernization.
Create reusable knowledge articles and decision guides based on common support needs and emerging usage patterns.
Maintain an inventory of legacy reports, BusinessObjects universes, extracts, spreadsheets, and manual processes being considered for modernization, including their users, purpose, criticality, dependencies, and downstream activities.
Support release adoption through communications, user documentation, training materials, and business champions when appropriate.
Establish and monitor relevant measures—including support demand, manual effort, adoption, legacy tool usage, data quality issues, and user satisfaction—to evaluate whether solutions achieve their intended outcomes.
Contribute to continuous improvement of discovery, support triage, requirements, validation, documentation, adoption, and modernization practices.
Education & Experience
Bachelor’s degree in business, information systems, analytics, computer science, or a related field; or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
Typically requires four or more years of relevant experience as a Business Analyst, Data Analyst, BI Analyst, application or data support analyst, or in a similar customer-facing technical role.
Experience gathering requirements and translating business needs for technical delivery teams.
Experience supporting users of reporting, analytics, data, or enterprise technology solutions.
Experience working with Agile delivery teams and backlog management tools is preferred.
Property and casualty insurance experience is a plus.
Knowledge, Skills & Competencies
Strong analytical, problem solving, and critical-thinking skills, with the ability to understand business needs, workflows, and desired outcomes.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to collaborate effectively with business partners, technical teams, subject -matter experts, and leadership.
Working knowledge of business analysis practices, including requirements definition, acceptance criteria, process mapping, and user acceptance testing.
Strong conceptual understanding of data warehousing, business intelligence, data integration, semantic models, and data governance.
Familiarity with Snowflake and SQL and the ability to use data to investigate business questions, validate results, and support decision-making.
Experience with Row Zero, Power BI, BusinessObjects, or similar data and business intelligence technologies preferred. The ability to learn and apply new technologies is essential.
Customer-focused and collaborative, with the ability to build trust and support process change, while balancing immediate needs with long-term objectives.
Ability to manage multiple priorities and communicate progress, risks, and issues clearly.
Adaptable, organized, and committed to continuous improvement.
Compensation Overview
The base salary range for the position is listed below. Please note that the base salary is only one component of our robust total rewards package at RLI. The salary offered will take into account a number of factors including, but not limited to, geographic location, experience, scope & responsibilities of the role, qualifications/credentials, talent availability & specialization, as well as business needs. The below range may be modified in the future.
Base Pay Range
$96,264.00 - $137,657.00Total Rewards
At RLI, we're all owners. We hire the best and the brightest employees and allow them to share in the company's success through our Total Rewards. With the Employee Stock Ownership plan at its core, the Total Rewards program includes all compensation, benefits and perks that come with being an RLI employee.
Financial Incentives
Annual bonus plans
Employee stock ownership plan (ESOP)
401(k) — automatic 3% company contribution
Annual 401k and ESOP profit-sharing contributions (Up to 15% of eligible earnings)
Work & Life
Paid time off (PTO) and holidays
Paid volunteer time off (VTO) to support our communities
Parental and family care leave
Flexible & hybrid work arrangements
Fitness center discounts and free virtual fitness platform
Employee assistance program
Health & Wellness
Comprehensive medical, dental and vision benefits
Flexible spending and health savings accounts
2x base salary for group life and AD&D insurance
Voluntary life, critical illness, & accident insurance for purchase
Short-term and long-term disability benefits
Personal & Professional Growth
RLI encourages its employees to pursue professional development work in insurance and job-related areas. We make a commitment to employees to provide educational opportunities that help them enhance their skills and further their career advancement. RLI fosters a true learning culture and encourages professional growth through insurance courses, in-house training and other educational programs. RLI covers the cost for most programs and employees typically earn a bonus upon successful completion of approved courses and certifications. Our personal and professional growth benefits include:
Training & certification opportunities
Tuition reimbursement
Education bonuses
Diversity & Inclusion
Our goal is to attract, develop and retain the best employee talent from diverse backgrounds while promoting an environment where all viewpoints are valued and individuals feel respected, are treated fairly, and have an opportunity to excel in their chosen careers. We actively support, and participate in, initiatives led by the American Property Casualty Insurance Association that aim to increase diversity in the insurance industry. Cultivating an exceptional and diverse workforce to deliver excellent customer service reinforces our culture and is a key to achieving superior business results.
RLI is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate in hiring or employment on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, citizenship, gender, marital status, sexual orientation, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law.
See All 87 Data Analytics Lead Jobs in Illinois
Find roles in Illinois that match your experience and apply in just a few clicks.
Find Data Analytics Lead JobsData Analytics Lead Jobs by City in Illinois
Where Illinois roles are concentrated, by current openings.
Data Analytics Lead Job Market in Illinois
A snapshot from current Illinois openings, updated as new roles post.
Who's Hiring



Top Industries Hiring
- Consulting & Professional Services
- Retail
- Manufacturing
- Food & Beverage
- Technology & Software
What Illinois Employers Look For
The qualifications that appear most often in data analytics lead jobs across Illinois.
- Bachelor's or master's degree in data science, statistics, computer science, or a related quantitative field
- Proficiency in SQL, Python, or R with demonstrated experience leading analytics projects end to end
- Experience with BI platforms such as Tableau, Power BI, or Looker for executive-level reporting
- Five or more years of analytics experience with at least two years managing or mentoring junior analysts
- Familiarity with cloud data platforms including Snowflake, Databricks, or AWS in an enterprise environment
- Strong communication skills to translate complex findings into business recommendations for non-technical stakeholders
Data Analytics Lead Jobs in Illinois: Frequently Asked Questions
How do you become a data analytics lead in Illinois?
Illinois does not require a state-issued license to work as a data analytics lead, so the path runs through education and demonstrated experience. Most Illinois employers expect a bachelor's degree in a quantitative field, with a master's in data science or business analytics increasingly preferred for lead roles at major Chicago-area firms. Building a portfolio of end-to-end projects, earning vendor certifications such as Google Data Analytics or AWS Certified Data Analytics, and progressing through senior analyst roles at Illinois companies are the most reliable steps into a lead position.
How much do data analytics leads make in Illinois?
Data analytics leads in Illinois earn a median of about $106,560 a year, based on May 2025 Bureau of Labor Statistics wage data, ranging from around $68,810 for the lowest 10% to over $168,880 for the top 10%. Pay rises with experience, specialty, and employer.
Which companies hire data analytics leads in Illinois?
Employers hiring data analytics leads in Illinois right now include ADM, TransUnion, and Northern Trust, based on current listings on Migrate Mate as of September 2026. Illinois's dense concentration of financial services headquarters, large healthcare systems, and global consulting firms in the Chicago metro creates consistent lead-level demand across multiple industries.
Which Illinois cities have the most data analytics lead jobs?
Chicago, Lake Forest, and Decatur account for the most data analytics lead openings in Illinois. Chicago dominates because it is home to the headquarters of major financial, insurance, and healthcare employers that maintain large analytics departments, while Naperville and Downers Grove attract roles tied to corporate campuses and technology centers in the western suburbs that have grown into significant analytics hubs in their own right.
Are there remote data analytics lead jobs in Illinois?
Yes, and more than most fields. Analytics lead work is predominantly desk-based and output-driven, making it well suited to remote and hybrid arrangements. About 67% of data analytics lead openings tied to Illinois are remote or hybrid as of September 2026, reflecting how normalized distributed work has become for this role. Strategic oversight, stakeholder reporting, and data modeling are the functions most commonly performed fully remotely.
How can I get hired as a data analytics lead in Illinois with little or no experience?
The most realistic entry path is moving into a junior or mid-level data analyst role first, then building toward lead responsibilities over time. Large Illinois employers such as Advocate Health Care, Northern Trust, and Discover Financial run rotational programs and new-grad associate roles in their analytics divisions that are open to candidates without prior corporate experience. Roles in data reporting, business intelligence analysis, or marketing analytics at Chicago-area firms are common lateral entry points. A strong portfolio of independent or academic projects and a recognized certification give candidates with limited experience a meaningful advantage in Illinois applications.
Where can I find and apply to data analytics lead jobs in Illinois?
You can find and apply to data analytics lead jobs in Illinois on Migrate Mate, which lists current Illinois openings across industries and experience levels. Find the roles that fit your background and apply directly through the listings on this page.
See All 87 Data Analytics Lead Jobs in Illinois
Find roles in Illinois that match your experience and apply in just a few clicks.
Find Data Analytics Lead Jobs