Software Engineer Position Profile
ABOUT GRAINGER
Grainger is North America's leading distributor of maintenance, repair, and operating products and services. Their wide assortment, deep expertise, innovative technology solutions, and unparalleled customer service keep customers' operations running and their people safe.
With over 26,000 employees, Grainger team members are driven to serve customers and the community in exceptional ways focusing on delivering the highest level of service. The Grainger team works closely with customers to better understand their challenges and provide cost-saving solutions. Grainger's employees serve customers more than 115,000 times every day through multiple channels.
As part of a high-performing team, you’ll be able to develop your talents and make a difference. Grainger is a Fortune 500 company in addition to being a perennial member of Fortune magazine's Most Admired Companies list. Fortune also recognizes Grainger as one of the Best Workplaces for Woman and one of America’s Most Innovative companies.
They are looking for passionate people who can move their company forward. Grainger has a welcoming workplace where you can build a career for yourself while fulfilling the company’s purpose to keep the world working. They embrace new ways of thinking and recognize everyone is an individual.
AWARDS + RECOGNITION
Grainger is honored to be recognized by influential publications, assessments, and organizations around the world as a responsible company and as a top place to work. Below are a few of the awards they've received, but you can view the full list here.
GRAINGER TECHNOLOGY GROUP
Grainger Technology Group is Grainger’s combined Product & Engineering organization, building and evolving technology solutions that progress and transform Grainger’s core business operations. The group’s 1k+ team members develop and improve Grainger’s tech platforms and custom software across customer experience, team member tools, and core data that runs the organization (for example, customer order systems, pricing systems, merchandising, and customer information systems).
The group’s mission is to advantage Grainger in core operations and value prop to stay ahead of competition and compete with urgency in the rapidly evolving industrial supply digital landscape. We believe in dedicated, empowered product teams who debate respectfully, engage with enthusiasm, and create technology they are proud to see working for our team members and customers.
Grainger's Principles
Start with the Customer:
- We know our customers better than anyone else.
- We anticipate needs and deliver the right solutions to create value.
- We build authentic, transparent, and honest relationships with our customers.
Embrace Curiosity:
- We observe and listen to understand how things work from the ground up.
- We seek different points of view, welcome debate, and value feedback.
- We proactively test new and better ways to solve problems and to continuously improve.
Act with Intent:
- We consistently challenge each other to stay focused on what matters.
- We make the things that matter better.
- We understand our role in delivering our purpose and strategy.
Compete with Urgency:
- We compete to gain share and win in the market.
- We challenge ourselves to move quickly and take smart risks.
- We value facts and measure our success with simple, visible metrics.
Win As One Team:
- We trust each other and assume positive intent.
- We involve the right people at the right time.
- We hold each other accountable and celebrate each other's accomplishments.
Invest in Our Success:
- We seek, provide, and are open to feedback.
- We embrace success and failure with humility.
- We consistently learn and grow.
Do the Right Thing:
- We put integrity, safety, and sustainability at the heart of everything we do.
- We create a welcoming, inclusive culture that accepts and respects all people.
IN THE NEWS
POSITION OVERVIEW
Grainger is seeking a talented and motivated Software Engineer to join its growing technology team. This individual will help design, build, and maintain the software systems that support Grainger's critical operations and customer experiences.
Ideal candidates will have a passion for solving complex technical challenges, building scalable solutions, and collaborating with others to continuously improve products and processes. As part of a high-impact engineering team, your work will directly support Grainger’s mission to keep the world’s businesses running efficiently and safely.
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
- Design, develop, and maintain reliable, scalable software solutions that support Grainger’s business operations and digital platforms.
- Collaborate with product managers, engineers, and stakeholders to translate business requirements into technical solutions.
- Participate in the full software development lifecycle, including requirements gathering, design, implementation, testing, deployment, and support.
- Write clean, maintainable, and testable code following modern development best practices.
- Develop and maintain APIs, microservices, and integrations that enable seamless communication across Grainger's platforms.
- Contribute to system design discussions, technical reviews, and architecture planning to ensure high-quality, scalable solutions.
- Troubleshoot and resolve technical issues in production and development environments to ensure system stability and performance.
- Write automated tests to ensure code quality, reliability, and system performance.
- Partner with teams across Grainger to develop innovative features that enhance customer experiences and drive operational efficiency.
- Develop monitoring tools and metrics to ensure the health and performance of Grainger’s software systems.
- Take ownership of technical tasks and deliverables, ensuring they align with project goals and timelines.
- Stay current with emerging technologies, frameworks, and industry trends to help evolve Grainger’s technology stack.
- Contribute to the documentation of system architecture, processes, and best practices to support knowledge sharing and system maintainability.
- Participate in the continuous improvement of engineering processes, tools, and workflows.
EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS
- Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related technical field preferred; equivalent practical experience will be considered.
- 2+ years of professional software engineering experience.
- Proficiency in one or more modern programming languages such as Java, Kotlin, Python.
- Experience with software development best practices including version control, automated testing, and CI/CD pipelines.
- Familiarity with cloud platforms (e.g., AWS, Azure, Google Cloud) is preferred.
- Understanding of scalable, distributed systems and event-driven architecture is a plus.
- Relevant technical certifications (e.g., AWS Certified Developer, Google Cloud Developer, Oracle Java Certification) are a plus but not required.
- Strong problem-solving and analytical skills with the ability to work through complex technical challenges.
- Excellent collaboration and communication skills to work effectively within cross-functional teams.
- Growth mindset with a focus on continuous learning and improving software quality.
CRITICAL COMPETENCIES FOR SUCCESS
Strategic Agility
Be intellectually sharp, deeply curious, and able to think on your feet while demonstrating shrewd business judgement. You’ll need comfort with creating valuable, differentiated tech strategy from some ambiguity. You will have the analytical skills to remove costs from the business, improve productivity, and deliver customer outcomes that elevate Grainger and grow our market share.
Results-Oriented
The Software Engineer must be performance-driven and able to provide measurable results. You will be resourceful, action-oriented, and possess a proactive sense of urgency and the ability to overcome obstacles to produce results. You will be comfortable close to the work, rolling up your sleeves to get things done. Achieving these goals while working in a collaborative environment will require the political savvy to know when to push for action and when to step back to build consensus.
Collaboration, Curiosity, and End-to-End Leadership
Build strong relationships and trust with peer teams inside and outside of GTG to influence Grainger strategy and priorities and evangelize your product vision and strategy. Start with the customer and study every part of how Grainger works; be intensely curious to ensure you understand how our technology, operations, and customers work.
Communication
You should possess strong communication skills across multiple mediums, from live meetings to prose narrative documents, to well-organized and clear slides decks. You’re a great fit if you can partner and align with teams, while asserting a strong opinion when it’s needed and maintaining the respect and rapport you worked hard to build. You should be comfortable, clear, and dynamic in front of internal and external audiences, from your team members to Grainger’s most senior leadership. As you do this, it is also critical to be direct, candid, and always authentic.
Judgment & EQ
The work is challenging, intellectually engaging, and rewarding. You should demonstrate sound judgement to ensure you make the right, forward-thinking decisions about the future of our technology and product strategy. True success will pair this quality strong emotional intelligence. You should have the ability to understand how different partners need to communicate, engaging teams in ways that help them show up as the best version of themselves.
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