What are the responsibilities and job description for the Senior Analyst, Optimization Engineering position at W.W. Grainger?
Date: Jun 20, 2026
Location: LAKE FOREST, IL, US, 60045-5202 CHICAGO, IL, US, 60661-4555
#job-location.job-location-inline { display: inline; }
Company: Grainger Businesses
Work Location Type: Hybrid
Req Number 324260
About Grainger:
W.W. Grainger, Inc., is a leading broad line distributor with operations primarily in North America, Japan and the United Kingdom. At Grainger, We Keep the World Working® by serving more than 4.5 million customers worldwide with products and solutions delivered through innovative technology and deep customer relationships. Known for its commitment to service and award-winning culture, the Company had 2024 revenue of $17.2 billion across its two business models. In the High-Touch Solutions segment, Grainger offers approximately 2 million maintenance, repair and operating (MRO) products and services, including technical support and inventory management. In the Endless Assortment segment, Zoro.com offers customers access to more than 14 million products, and MonotaRO.com offers more than 24 million products. For more information, visit www.grainger.com.
Compensation
The anticipated base pay compensation range for this position is $78,200.00 to $130,400.00.
Rewards and Benefits:
With benefits starting on day one, our programs provide choice and flexibility to meet team members' individual needs, including:
Medical, dental, vision, and life insurance plans with coverage starting on day one of employment and 6 free sessions each year with a licensed therapist to support your emotional wellbeing.
18 paid time off (PTO) days annually for full-time employees (accrual prorated based on employment start date) and 6 company holidays per year.
6% company contribution to a 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan each pay period, no employee contribution required.
Employee discounts, tuition reimbursement, student loan refinancing and free access to financial counseling, education, and tools.
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.
For additional information and details regarding Grainger’s benefits, please click on the link below:
https://experience100.ehr.com/grainger/Home/Tools-Resources/Key-Resources/New-Hire
The pay range provided above is not a guarantee of compensation. The range reflects the potential base pay for this role at the time of this posting based on the job grade for this position. Individual base pay compensation will depend, in part, on factors such as geographic work location and relevant experience and skills.
The anticipated compensation range described above is subject to change and the compensation ultimately paid may be higher or lower than the range described above.
Grainger reserves the right to amend, modify, or terminate its compensation and benefit programs in its sole discretion at any time, consistent with applicable law.
Position Details
Reporting to the Senior Manager, Distribution Center Engineering Design & Optimization,the Senior Analyst,Optimization Engineering partners with multiple business functions to gather inputs, criteria, and desired outcomes to deliver analytics and recommendations used for execution of projects. Depending on the project, the work could involve collaborating with multiple cross functions teams like DC Operations, Finance, Operations Support Team, Grainger Machine Learning Teams, Grainger Technology Group, Inventory Optimization, Branch Strategy, and/or Continuous Improvement Team to name a few.
This is a hybrid position that is onsite 3 days a week either in Lake Forest or Chicago.
This position is not eligible for any form of sponsorship now or in the future. Individuals requiring sponsorship (e.g. OPT or H1B visa status) should not apply. Only individuals authorized to work in the United States now and for the foreseeable future will be considered for this position.
Travel is estimated to be approximately 50%.
You Will
Ability to become subject matter expert in DC Engineering/DC Operations functions and effectively apply new skills and knowledge.
Work independently, within a team, cross-functionally, and with outside vendors.
Provide analytical support to the various workstreams within the Operations Engineering Team.
Partner with the DCs to create and promote an environment where team members are involved, empowered, and committed to the success of Grainger.
Build and maintain central support for DCs during new project rollouts and network wide expansion.
Manage relationships with various levels of leadership both within the DCs and other Supply Chain/DC Operation functions.
Responsible for providing recommendations to DCs on how to enhance process flows, storage efficiency, and throughput efficiency.
Provide thought leadership and business guidance to other supply chain analysts to make the team better.
Leads the planning, project, and operational activities through the following activities:
Assemble and analyze data for the current and future state to support continuous improvement, growth and expansion.
Communicating and partnering with multiple levels of leaders both within the DCs and other cross functional teams.
Provide benchmarking and best practice learnings from other projects.
Identify opportunities for improvement on ways to optimize throughput.
Provide data and recommendations used by leadership who present to cross-functional stakeholders.
Prepare data for leadership review to communicate to business partners at all levels as appropriate.
You Have
Bachelor’s degree in Business, Supply Chain Management, Operations Management, Industrial Distribution, or related field
3 years of related analytics experience
Project management skills to manage resources, purchase supplies, and execute tasks within budget.
Ability to find creative solutions on complex projects.
Partners with leaders on developing recommendations based on analytical results.
Proficiency in SQL, Access, Excel, Word, and Visio/Lucid.
Experience in Python and working with ML models highly preferred.
Experience in developing and leading training sessions for tactical and strategic topics
Ability to lead small to medium size groups of people for analytical or operational tasks.
Up to 50% travel within Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Other international travel as necessary.
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 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.
Location: LAKE FOREST, IL, US, 60045-5202 CHICAGO, IL, US, 60661-4555
#job-location.job-location-inline { display: inline; }
Company: Grainger Businesses
Work Location Type: Hybrid
Req Number 324260
About Grainger:
W.W. Grainger, Inc., is a leading broad line distributor with operations primarily in North America, Japan and the United Kingdom. At Grainger, We Keep the World Working® by serving more than 4.5 million customers worldwide with products and solutions delivered through innovative technology and deep customer relationships. Known for its commitment to service and award-winning culture, the Company had 2024 revenue of $17.2 billion across its two business models. In the High-Touch Solutions segment, Grainger offers approximately 2 million maintenance, repair and operating (MRO) products and services, including technical support and inventory management. In the Endless Assortment segment, Zoro.com offers customers access to more than 14 million products, and MonotaRO.com offers more than 24 million products. For more information, visit www.grainger.com.
Compensation
The anticipated base pay compensation range for this position is $78,200.00 to $130,400.00.
Rewards and Benefits:
With benefits starting on day one, our programs provide choice and flexibility to meet team members' individual needs, including:
Medical, dental, vision, and life insurance plans with coverage starting on day one of employment and 6 free sessions each year with a licensed therapist to support your emotional wellbeing.
18 paid time off (PTO) days annually for full-time employees (accrual prorated based on employment start date) and 6 company holidays per year.
6% company contribution to a 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan each pay period, no employee contribution required.
Employee discounts, tuition reimbursement, student loan refinancing and free access to financial counseling, education, and tools.
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.
For additional information and details regarding Grainger’s benefits, please click on the link below:
https://experience100.ehr.com/grainger/Home/Tools-Resources/Key-Resources/New-Hire
The pay range provided above is not a guarantee of compensation. The range reflects the potential base pay for this role at the time of this posting based on the job grade for this position. Individual base pay compensation will depend, in part, on factors such as geographic work location and relevant experience and skills.
The anticipated compensation range described above is subject to change and the compensation ultimately paid may be higher or lower than the range described above.
Grainger reserves the right to amend, modify, or terminate its compensation and benefit programs in its sole discretion at any time, consistent with applicable law.
Position Details
Reporting to the Senior Manager, Distribution Center Engineering Design & Optimization,the Senior Analyst,Optimization Engineering partners with multiple business functions to gather inputs, criteria, and desired outcomes to deliver analytics and recommendations used for execution of projects. Depending on the project, the work could involve collaborating with multiple cross functions teams like DC Operations, Finance, Operations Support Team, Grainger Machine Learning Teams, Grainger Technology Group, Inventory Optimization, Branch Strategy, and/or Continuous Improvement Team to name a few.
This is a hybrid position that is onsite 3 days a week either in Lake Forest or Chicago.
This position is not eligible for any form of sponsorship now or in the future. Individuals requiring sponsorship (e.g. OPT or H1B visa status) should not apply. Only individuals authorized to work in the United States now and for the foreseeable future will be considered for this position.
Travel is estimated to be approximately 50%.
You Will
Ability to become subject matter expert in DC Engineering/DC Operations functions and effectively apply new skills and knowledge.
Work independently, within a team, cross-functionally, and with outside vendors.
Provide analytical support to the various workstreams within the Operations Engineering Team.
Partner with the DCs to create and promote an environment where team members are involved, empowered, and committed to the success of Grainger.
Build and maintain central support for DCs during new project rollouts and network wide expansion.
Manage relationships with various levels of leadership both within the DCs and other Supply Chain/DC Operation functions.
Responsible for providing recommendations to DCs on how to enhance process flows, storage efficiency, and throughput efficiency.
Provide thought leadership and business guidance to other supply chain analysts to make the team better.
Leads the planning, project, and operational activities through the following activities:
Assemble and analyze data for the current and future state to support continuous improvement, growth and expansion.
Communicating and partnering with multiple levels of leaders both within the DCs and other cross functional teams.
Provide benchmarking and best practice learnings from other projects.
Identify opportunities for improvement on ways to optimize throughput.
Provide data and recommendations used by leadership who present to cross-functional stakeholders.
Prepare data for leadership review to communicate to business partners at all levels as appropriate.
You Have
Bachelor’s degree in Business, Supply Chain Management, Operations Management, Industrial Distribution, or related field
3 years of related analytics experience
Project management skills to manage resources, purchase supplies, and execute tasks within budget.
Ability to find creative solutions on complex projects.
Partners with leaders on developing recommendations based on analytical results.
Proficiency in SQL, Access, Excel, Word, and Visio/Lucid.
Experience in Python and working with ML models highly preferred.
Experience in developing and leading training sessions for tactical and strategic topics
Ability to lead small to medium size groups of people for analytical or operational tasks.
Up to 50% travel within Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Other international travel as necessary.
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 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.
Salary : $78,200 - $130,400