Principal Software Engineer Jobs in Illinois
Principal Software Engineer jobs in Illinois are in strong and steady demand, concentrated in enterprise software, financial technology, healthcare technology, and cloud infrastructure, with openings at every level from senior engineer stepping into a principal track through distinguished principal roles. Chicago is by far the largest hiring hub, joined by Schaumburg and Naperville as significant suburban centers where established technology employers maintain engineering operations. Companies like Motorola Solutions, Baxter International, and Discover Financial Services have long-standing Illinois presences and consistently hire at the principal level, with the most in-demand specialties including distributed systems, platform engineering, and full-stack architecture. Find a role that fits below and apply directly.
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*****THIS POSITION IS NOT ELIGIBLE FOR VISA SPONSORSHIP*****
To be considered for this position, applications and resumes are accepted only through our careers site by directly applying to the posted job. We do not accept unsolicited resumes or sales solicitations from staffing agencies. Any OCC employee wishing to submit a referral must do so through their Workday account. Any resume submitted outside of an active job posting will not be considered for employment.
What You'll Do:
The position sits at the center of the Software Engineering organization, serving as connective tissue between engineering teams and the rest of the enterprise. This individual works closely with the Director, Software Engineering Delivery & Execution, and directly with Executive Directors, managing work intake and cross-functional coordination, executive reporting, and governance tracking. This individual will be responsible for initiatives requiring coordination across Software Engineering teams related to technology implementations, organizational transformation, and executive communications.
Primary Duties and Responsibilities:
To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each primary duty satisfactorily.
- Serves as the key point of contact for incoming requests to Software Engineering, clarifying what is actually being requested, routing it to the right team, and following it through so nothing lands in a gap between groups
- Acts as the liaison between engineering teams and partners across IT, Product, and the business, keeping cross-functional initiatives coordinated and moving; building and managing relationships across the organization is an integral part of this role
- Develops communications for the department, including All Hands content and department-wide announcements, and curates the organization’s Confluence presence, org charts, and reference documentation so people can find what they need without asking
- Builds and delivers regular reporting for audiences up to and including executive leadership – initiative statuses, deliverables, KPIs, and OKRs – exporting data from systems like Jira and distilling it into a form a busy executive can absorb and act on
- Manages status of governance commitments by tracking and coordinating the governance, risk, and compliance obligations owned by Software Engineering stakeholders – Risk Action Plans (RAPs), Security Observations (SORTs), program RAIDs, and internal and external audit findings — keeping owners informed of what is due and driving items to on-time closure in partnership with second line functions
- Contributes perspective to roadmaps and action plans aligned to Software Engineering’s strategic vision and the IT North Star Strategy, including spotting opportunities to streamline processes and tooling for faster, more reliable software delivery
- Partners part-time with Software Engineering leaders on a rotating set of efforts where additional capacity makes a difference
Supervisory Responsibilities:
- N/A
Qualifications:
The requirements listed are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the primary functions.
- [Required] Curious and open to both opportunities and challenges, eager to stretch stakeholder management and organizational skills
- [Required] Demonstrable capabilities to translate technical concepts concerning software engineering to a non-technical audience, and to build alignment across groups with varied contexts and technical proficiencies
- [Required] Working understanding of how software gets delivered – the tools teams use, the shape of a delivery lifecycle, and general best practices
- [Required] Proven ability to manage multiple priorities without dropping threads, communicating progress clearly and proactively
- [Required] Comfortable working with data points and assembling them into a narrative that helps leaders understand performance against KPIs and business outcomes
- [Required] Self-directed and detail oriented
- [Required] Highly effective organization and planning skills
- [Required] Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including effective presentation skills
- [Required] Develops and maintains constructive and cooperative working relationships
- [Preferred] Experience in a regulated environment – financial services, financial market infrastructure, or similar – and familiarity with risk and audit vocabulary
- [Preferred] Hands-on fluency with Jira and Confluence (dashboards, JQL, page and space structure), plus exposure to Tableau or comparable BI tooling and ServiceNow
- [Preferred] Exposure to a large platform modernization, migration, or transformation program
- [Preferred] Appetite for AI-assisted ways of working; the organization actively uses AI tooling to accelerate analysis, reporting, and documentation, and treats fluency here as an advantage
Technical Skills:
- [Required] Proficiency in Microsoft Office products (Word, Excel, PowerPoint); working knowledge of Excel and reporting tools preferred
- [Required] Experience with Agile tools such as Jira and Confluence
- [Preferred] Exposure to Tableau or comparable BI tooling and ServiceNow
Education and/or Experience:
- [Required] 3-5 years of experience in technology, project management or business management role
Certificates or Licenses:
- [Preferred] PMP and/or BPM Certification
- [Preferred] ITIL, Agile, or Scrum experience/certification
About Us
The Options Clearing Corporation (OCC) is the world's largest equity derivatives clearing organization. Founded in 1973, OCC is dedicated to promoting stability and market integrity by delivering clearing and settlement services for options, futures and securities lending transactions. As a Systemically Important Financial Market Utility (SIFMU), OCC operates under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. OCC has more than 100 clearing members and provides central counterparty (CCP) clearing and settlement services to 23 exchanges and trading platforms. More information about OCC is available at www.theocc.com.
Benefits
A highly collaborative and supportive environment developed to encourage work-life balance and employee wellness. Some of these components include:
- A hybrid work environment, up to 2 days per week of remote work
- Tuition Reimbursement to support your continued education
- Student Loan Repayment Assistance
- Technology Stipend allowing you to use the device of your choice to connect to our network while working remotely
- Generous PTO and Parental leave
- 401k Employer Match
- Competitive health benefits including medical, dental and vision
Visit https://www.theocc.com/careers/thriving-together for more information.
Compensation
- The salary range listed for any given position is exclusive of fringe benefits and potential bonuses. If hired at OCC, your final base salary compensation will be determined by factors such as skills, experience and/or education.
- In addition, we believe in the importance of pay equity and consider internal equity of our current team members as part of any final offer.
- We typically do not hire at the maximum of the range in order to allow for future and continued salary growth. We also offer a substantial benefits package as noted on www.theocc.com/careers
- All employees may be eligible for a discretionary bonus. Discretionary bonuses are based on various factors, including, but not limited to, company and individual performance and are not guaranteed.
Salary Range
$94,100.00 - $136,700.00Incentive Range
8% to 15%This position is eligible for an annual discretionary incentive compensation award, for which the target range is listed above (see Incentive Range). The amount of such award, if any, will be based on various factors, including without limitation, both individual and company performance.
Step 1
When you find a position you're interested in, click the 'Apply' button. Please complete the application and attach your resume.
Step 2
You will receive an email notification to confirm that we've received your application.
Step 3
If you are called in for an interview, a representative from OCC will contact you to set up a date, time, and location.
For more information about OCC, please click here.
OCC is an Equal Opportunity Employer
See All 17 Principal Software Engineer Jobs in Illinois
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Find JobsPrincipal Software Engineer Jobs by City in Illinois
Where Illinois roles are concentrated, by current openings.
Principal Software Engineer Job Market in Illinois
A snapshot from current Illinois openings, updated as new roles post.
Who's Hiring



Top Industries Hiring
- Technology & Software
- Staffing & Recruiting
- Distribution & Wholesale
What Illinois Employers Look For
The qualifications that appear most often in principal software engineer jobs across Illinois.
- Bachelor's or master's degree in computer science, software engineering, or a related field
- Ten or more years of professional software engineering experience with demonstrated technical leadership
- Deep expertise in at least one major backend language such as Java, Go, or C++
- Proven ability to define system architecture and drive technical direction across engineering teams
- Experience with large-scale distributed systems, cloud platforms such as AWS or Azure, and microservices
- Strong cross-functional communication skills and experience mentoring and leveling up engineers
Principal Software Engineer Jobs in Illinois: Frequently Asked Questions
How do you become a principal software engineer in Illinois?
Principal software engineer is not a licensed or state-regulated profession in Illinois, so there is no state board or exam required. The typical path begins with a computer science or software engineering degree, followed by years of progressively senior individual contributor work, then a transition into technical leadership roles such as staff or senior engineer. Illinois employers, particularly in Chicago's financial technology and enterprise software sectors, generally promote to principal level based on demonstrated system design experience, cross-team influence, and delivery of large-scale technical initiatives rather than any single certification.
How much do principal software engineers make in Illinois?
Principal software engineers in Illinois earn a median of about $132,110 a year, based on May 2025 Bureau of Labor Statistics wage data, ranging from around $80,980 for the lowest 10% to over $194,740 for the top 10%. Pay rises with experience, specialty, and employer.
Which companies hire principal software engineers in Illinois?
Employers hiring principal software engineers in Illinois right now include Options Clearing Corporation, iManage, and Northern Trust, based on current listings on Migrate Mate as of November 2026. Illinois's concentration of enterprise technology companies, financial institutions, and major healthcare organizations in and around Chicago makes it one of the more active states for senior engineering talent.
Which Illinois cities have the most principal software engineer jobs?
The cities with the most principal software engineer openings in Illinois are Chicago, Champaign, and Oak Brook. Chicago dominates because it is home to a dense cluster of financial technology firms, trading platforms, and large enterprise software companies, while suburban markets like Schaumburg and Naperville draw openings from established hardware and healthcare technology employers that have maintained long-term engineering campuses in those corridors.
Are there remote principal software engineer jobs in Illinois?
Yes, and more than most fields. About 82% of principal software engineer openings tied to Illinois are remote or hybrid as of November 2026, reflecting how broadly distributed the work can be for senior engineers operating at an architectural level. The portions of the role most commonly offered remotely include system design, code review, and cross-team technical consultation, while on-site expectations tend to apply mainly to roles with heavy stakeholder or executive interaction.
How can I get hired as a principal software engineer in Illinois with little or no experience?
The most realistic entry path is to first secure a software engineer or associate software engineer role and build toward the principal level over time. Illinois employers such as Motorola Solutions, Discover Financial Services, and major Chicago-area financial technology firms run new-graduate programs and rotational engineering tracks that place candidates without senior experience into structured development pipelines. Moving laterally from adjacent roles such as software architect, technical lead, or senior backend engineer is also a common bridge. Building a portfolio that demonstrates system design decisions, architecture documentation, or open-source technical leadership gives Illinois candidates a meaningful edge at the point of promotion or external application.
Where can I find and apply to principal software engineer jobs in Illinois?
You can find and apply to principal software engineer jobs in Illinois on Migrate Mate, which lists current Illinois openings across industries and experience levels. Search the available roles, find the ones that fit your background and preferences, and apply directly to the employers posting them.
See All 17 Principal Software Engineer Jobs in Illinois
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