Sr. Software Engineer I, Data & ML Platform at Zoro in Chicago, IL

Company Summary

Zoro.com is a leading eCommerce platform offering nearly 12 million tools, parts and supplies for our business customers. Launched in 2011, we brought a B2C-like experience to the B2B industry, and continue to be at the forefront of digital innovation at the intersection of technology and distribution. We have rapidly grown to over $1 billion in annual revenue and we’re just getting started!

Job Summary:

Zoro is seeking a Senior Software Engineer I to join our Data and Machine Learning Platform team. In this role, you will contribute to the design and development of scalable tools and systems that enable teams across the organization to ingest, create, share, and use data. By helping develop self-service solutions and streamlining data workflows, you will support data pipelines, machine learning workflows, and advanced analytics—empowering teams to make data-driven decisions and work more efficiently.

In this role, you will take an active part in ensuring the platform’s ability to support diverse data products with minimal friction, while also mentoring junior engineers to help them grow and follow best practices. Your contributions will empower Zoro’s business partners to leverage data more effectively, driving innovation and business growth. Additionally, you will play a crucial role in maintaining the platform’s reliability, scalability, and adaptability, while gaining opportunities to develop your own skills through high-impact projects.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Design, build, and maintain scalable, self-service tools and automated workflows that enable partners to easily ingest, create, share, and use data, optimizing data processes and enhancing platform usability.
• Mentor junior engineers, providing guidance on best practices, technical development, and ensuring high standards in code quality and platform functionality.
• Collaborate proactively with cross-functional teams (data engineers, data scientists, software engineers) to identify requirements, align platform solutions with partner needs, and continuously enhance the user experience to support scalable, reliable, and user-friendly data products.
• Implement monitoring and alerting systems to ensure platform reliability, identifying and resolving issues before they impact users.
• Drive the continuous improvement of platform infrastructure, ensuring it remains robust, scalable, and easy for partners to adopt, and can accommodate evolving business needs.
• Research and integrate new tools and technologies to drive innovation and enhance platform performance. Ensure the platform remains cutting-edge, adaptable, and aligned with industry best practices, while continuously developing your technical skills.
• Create and update technical documentation and user guides for the team and platform users, ensuring that platform tools, workflows, and processes are clearly documented for easy adoption and internal knowledge sharing.

Minimum Qualifications:

• 5+ years of experience in platform engineering, software development, or a related field.
• Proven experience in designing and developing scalable, reusable, and user-friendly tools that reduce complexity and empower teams to innovate through self-service capabilities.
• Strong proficiency in at least one programming language (preferably Python) with demonstrated ability to write clean, well-documented code.
• Experience with cloud platforms such as AWS, Azure, GCP, or others (GCP Preferred), including designing, deploying, and managing large-scale systems.
• Experience mentoring junior engineers, promoting best practices in software engineering and technical development.
• Ability to collaborate with cross-functional teams, including data engineers, data scientists, and software engineers, to deliver platform solutions aligned with business needs.
• Ability to write clear documentation and convey technical concepts to peers
• Experience using containerization tools like Docker and Kubernetes in production environments
• Experience with CI/CD pipelines and automated build tools (e.g., Jenkins, CircleCI).
• Experience with orchestration tools such as Airflow, Argo, Flyte, or Kubeflow.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Proficiency with infrastructure as code (IaC) technologies and automated infrastructure management/deployment patterns (e.g., Terraform, Ansible, Helm)
• Experience with monitoring and logging using tools like DataDog or Prometheus + Grafana.
• Experience with batch and streaming data tools (e.g., Spark, Hadoop; Kafka, Pub/Sub) for large-scale data processing and real-time workflows.
• Understanding of machine learning processes, model types, workflows, and terminology

Total Rewards

Zoro’s total compensation plan includes our Zoro Incentive Plan (ZIP) that is designed to foster and reward our team members for strong performance. Total compensation will be highly competitive.

In addition to competitive compensation, Zoro offers comprehensive benefits and perks including:

• Medical, dental, vision, and life insurance plans with coverage starting on day one of employment
• Maternity support programs, nursing benefits, and up to 14 weeks paid leave for birth parents and up to 4 weeks paid leave for non-birth parents. We also support growing your family through access to adoption assistance program
• 6 free sessions each year with a licensed therapist and Wellhub portal membership to support your mental and emotional wellbeing
• At least 18 paid time off days annually for full-time employees and 6 company holidays per year
• 6% company contribution to a 401K Retirement Savings Plan each pay period, no employee contribution required
• Tuition reimbursement, student loan refinancing and access to financial counseling, education, and tools
• Charitable Gift Program - match gift to an eligible educational, cultural, community health, and human service organizations
• Employee discounts and admission to various civic and cultural institutions around Chicago
• Zoro office perks including coffee bar, beer on tap, unlimited snacks, access to the onsite gym, and incredible city skyline views

For additional information and details regarding our benefits and our parent company, W. W. Grainger, please click on the link here.

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The pay range provided is not a guarantee of compensation. The range listed reflects the expected base pay for this position at the time of posting, based on the role's job grade. Actual compensation may vary depending on factors such as location, relevant experience and individual qualifications.

Illinois

$105,100—$175,100 USD

Our Culture

Zoro was founded in 2011 with a simple idea: make it easy for businesses to get the tools, parts, and supplies they need to keep things running. We've grown by staying curious, moving quickly, and solving everyday challenges in smart, practical ways. Backed by W.W. Grainger and inspired by our endless assortment business model, we’re on a clear path toward our next big milestone: $2 billion in revenue—and beyond.

At Zoro, we don’t just follow a playbook—we help build it. You’ll get to work on real problems with a supportive team that shares ideas freely, learns from each other, and celebrates wins together. Our culture is grounded in values that guide how we show up every day: Winning & Learning Together, Being Customer Obsessed, Being Transparent, and Taking Ownership. We don’t have all the answers, but we’re always asking good questions.

Zoro’s culture has been recognized by Fortune, Best Places to Work, and Built In Chicago—but the recognition we care about most comes from our team members, who make this place what it is.

We also know that flexibility matters. Our hybrid work model gives you space to focus and the flexibility to live your life — asking team members to be onsite at least two days a week. Our Chicago HQ (right above Ogilvie Transportation Center in the Accenture Tower) is always open and ready for connection, collaboration, or just a good cup of coffee.

At Zoro, we’re growing fast toward big aspirations — and we’re continuously excited about the new challenges we get to solve together.

We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity or expression, protected veteran status, or any other protected characteristic under federal, state, or local law. We are proud to be an equal opportunity workplace. We are also committed to fostering an inclusive, accessible work environment that includes both providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities during the application and hiring process as well as throughout the course of one’s employment. Should you need a reasonable accommodation during the application and selection process, including, but not limited to use of our website, any part of the application, interview, or hiring process, please advise us so that we can provide appropriate assistance.