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Headless Developer Jobs in Illinois (NOW HIRING)

Senior Martech Product Manager

Chicago, IL · On-site

$130K - $172K/yr

Product Managers * Software Engineers * UX/Product Designers This team partners closely with ... Headless CMS architecture * SEO, accessibility, and content governance * Hospitality, travel ...

... headless and composable commerce, and POCs spanning mid-market and enterprise buyers, including ... What we're looking for Two to three years in solutions consulting, sales engineering, technical pre ...

... engineers, and development teams through delivery. As a trusted advisor to our clients, you ... Proven experience with headless and composable architecture. * Breadth across the technology stack ...

WordPress Architect

Des Plaines, IL · On-site

$95K - $130K/yr

Knowledge of DevOps tools such as GitHub Actions, Composer, or Buddy Works * Experience with ... Experience creating headless WordPress solutions, including Next.js or React * Experience ...

Senior Project Manager

Chicago, IL · On-site

$110K - $120K/yr

Manage cross-functional teams including Product, Design, Engineering, QA, and DevOps. * Align ... Experience working across multiple solution types (application modernization, headless CMS ...

Showing results 41-60

Headless Developer information

What is a headless developer?

A Headless Developer specializes in building applications using headless architecture, where the frontend (user interface) is decoupled from the backend (content management or data source). This allows developers to create flexible, scalable, and customizable digital experiences across multiple platforms like web, mobile apps, and IoT devices. Headless Developers typically work with APIs to connect the backend to various frontends, enabling faster development cycles and easier content delivery. Their expertise is valuable for organizations seeking omnichannel solutions and modern web development practices.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a headless developer, and why are they important?

To thrive as a Headless Developer, you need a strong background in web development, API design, JavaScript frameworks (such as React or Vue), and a solid understanding of headless CMS platforms. Familiarity with tools like Contentful, Strapi, GraphQL, RESTful APIs, and version control systems (e.g., Git) is typically required. Strong problem-solving abilities, effective communication, and adaptability to rapidly changing technologies are valuable soft skills. These competencies ensure seamless integration of backend and frontend systems, delivering flexible, scalable digital experiences.

How does a headless developer typically collaborate with designers and backend teams on projects?

As a Headless Developer, you will often work closely with designers to implement user interfaces using frontend frameworks, while collaborating with backend teams to integrate APIs and data sources. This role requires strong communication skills to ensure the visual and functional aspects of the application align with both design guidelines and backend capabilities. Expect to participate in regular stand-ups, code reviews, and planning sessions where cross-team coordination is essential for delivering seamless digital experiences. Effective collaboration is key to addressing challenges that arise from decoupling the frontend and backend.

What is the difference between Headless Developer vs Front-End Developer?

AspectHeadless DeveloperFront-End Developer
Primary FocusBuilding and integrating decoupled backend systems with APIs for flexible content deliveryDesigning and implementing user interfaces and user experiences for websites and applications
Required SkillsAPI integration, backend development, JavaScript frameworks, CMS knowledgeHTML, CSS, JavaScript, UI/UX design, responsive design
Work EnvironmentOften collaborates with backend teams, works on headless CMS and API-driven platformsPrimarily works on client-side development, visual design, and user interaction

While both roles involve JavaScript and web development, a Headless Developer specializes in backend and API integration for flexible content management, whereas a Front-End Developer focuses on creating engaging user interfaces and experiences. Understanding these differences helps employers and job seekers target the right skills and responsibilities for each role.

What cities in Illinois are hiring for Headless Developer jobs? Cities in Illinois with the most Headless Developer job openings:

Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) (Mid/Senior Level)

Salesforce, Inc.

Chicago, IL

$109K - $148K/yr

Full-time

Medical, Dental, Vision, Life, Retirement

Re-posted 11 days ago


Salesforce rating

8.1

Company rating: 8.1 out of 10

Based on 58 frontline employees who took The Breakroom Quiz

113th of 242 rated software companies


Job description

To get the best candidate experience, please consider applying for a maximum of 3 roles within 12 months to ensure you are not duplicating efforts.

Job Category

Sales

Job Details

About Salesforce

Salesforce is the #1 AI CRM, where humans with agents drive customer success together. Here, ambition meets action. Tech meets trust. And innovation isn't a buzzword - it's a way of life. The world of work as we know it is changing and we're looking for Trailblazers who are passionate about bettering business and the world through AI, driving innovation, and keeping Salesforce's core values at the heart of it all.

Ready to level-up your career at the company leading workforce transformation in the agentic era? You're in the right place! Agentforce is the future of AI, and you are the future of Salesforce.

Applications for this position will be accepted on an ongoing basis.

We are Salesforce, the Customer Company, inspiring the future of business with AI + Data + CRM. Leading with our core values, we help companies across every industry blaze new trails and connect with customers in a whole new way. And, we empower you to be a Trailblazer too, driving your performance and career growth, charting new paths, and improving the state of the world. If you believe in business as the greatest platform for change and in companies doing well and doing good, you've come to the right place.

About the Role

Production experience required. Builder mindset non-negotiable.

Salesforce is hiring Forward Deployed Engineers - experienced Technical Builders who design, build, and deploy agentic AI solutions directly inside enterprise customer environments. You'll work as part of a delivery team, partnering closely with a Deployment Strategist (Strategic Builder - a customer-facing advisor who shapes AI strategy and drives adoption) to co-build solutions that go live in production environments from day one. Engagements range from a single large strategic customer to multiple accounts simultaneously. The common thread is real code, real environments, and measurable business impact. This work spans configuration, customization, and full-stack deployment - shipping solutions customers depend on.

The Builder Experience

  • AI-Powered Development: Ship real customer solutions, supported by best-in-class AI tools - Cursor, Claude, and Salesforce coding products like Vibes - embedded into your day-to-day workflow.

  • Collaborative Delivery: You'll work alongside Senior Forward Deployed Engineers and a Deployment Strategist. You'll own real components, benefit from structured mentorship from people who've shipped agentic systems at scale, and have a clear path to leading complex deliveries yourself.

  • Frontier Access: Our agentic AI platform is evolving in real time. You'll work on capabilities most engineers won't touch for months - spanning Agentforce, data, platform, and headless architectures and your field insight will feed directly to the product teams building them.

  • Continuous Innovation: You'll be expected to stay at the forefront, experimenting with emerging AI tools, models, and frameworks, and sharing what you learn with your team and customers.

What You'll Actually Be Building

  • Develop AI agents and experiences that take real actions for real organizations. Our solutions are in production at some of the largest enterprises on the planet. The work matters because the customers depend on it.

  • Design agent intelligence: prompts, reasoning, tool calls, and integration with customer systems, leveraging our Agentic AI platform and current LLM techniques.

  • Own technical components end-to-end: from architecture choice to deployed, validated, and observable in production.

  • Build and integrate data pipelines on Salesforce Data 360, Snowflake, Databricks, and customer data platforms. Model the data, ship the pipeline, validate the output

  • Build and maintain agent performance dashboards and customer KPI reporting to track deployment health and business outcomes.

  • Contribute to proofs-of-concept and MVPs that move from sketch to deployable in days, not months.

  • Co-build alongside customers and partners, sharing best practices and enablement as you go. Leaving teams more capable after each engagement than before.

  • Surface platform gaps, edge cases, and field insights to senior Engineers and the product team. Your real-world experience is the product feedback loop.

  • Partner with the Deployment Strategist in your pod to translate customer business challenges into agentic solutions that actually ship.

You're Our Forward Deployed Engineer If...

  • You have 3+ years (6-10 years for Senior levels) of software engineering or technical delivery experience, with at least one production system you'd be proud to walk us through - ideally in an AI tech stack, full-stack development, or working with frontier models

  • You have a degree in Computer Science or a related field

  • You have prior customer-facing technical delivery experience (consulting, professional services, or forward deployed engineering) - this is a requirement, not a nice-to-have.

  • You're fluent in at least one of Python, JavaScript/TypeScript, Java, or Apex - and willing to add to that list as the work demands.

  • You've been hands-on with LLMs and prompt engineering. You can explain why a prompt failed and what you'd change.

  • You understand data modeling, APIs, and integration patterns deeply enough to design them, not just consume them.

  • You can hold your own in a room with sales teams and customer architects.

  • You ship quality code and evaluate AI outputs with engineering rigor.

  • You actively tinker with the evolving AI/data landscape - piloting new tools, experimenting with new models, and staying genuinely curious about what's coming next.

  • You thrive in the group chat that's building something, not just talking about it.

  • You're excited to travel ~25% of the time, working directly alongside customers.

Nice-to-Haves

  • Salesforce platform experience or certifications (Administrator, Platform Developer I, Agentforce Specialist)

  • Familiarity with agent frameworks (LangChain, LlamaIndex) and orchestration patterns

  • Hands-on with cloud data platforms (Snowflake, Databricks, BigQuery)

  • Experience across specialist AI delivery areas: data engineering, platform architecture, or headless deployments

Unleash Your Potential

When you join Salesforce, you'll be limitless in all areas of your life. Our benefits and resources support you to find balance andbe your best, and our AI agents accelerate your impact so you cando your best. Together, we'll bring the power of Agentforce to organizations of all sizes and deliver amazing experiences that customers love. Apply today to not only shape the future - but to redefine what's possible - for yourself, for AI, and the world.

Accommodations

If you need a reasonable accommodation during the application or the recruiting process, please submit a request via this Accommodations Request Form.

Please note that Salesforce uses artificial intelligence (AI) tools to help our recruiters assess and evaluate candidates' resumes and qualifications throughout the recruiting process. Humans will always make any candidate selection and hiring decisions. Please see our Candidate Privacy Statement for more information about how we use your personal data and your rights, including with regard to use of AI tools and opt out options.

Posting Statement

Salesforce is an equal opportunity employer and maintains a policy of non-discrimination with all employees and applicants for employment. What does that mean exactly? It means that at Salesforce, we believe in equality for all. And we believe we can lead the path to equality in part by creating a workplace that's inclusive, and free from discrimination. Know your rights: workplace discrimination is illegal. Any employee or potential employee will be assessed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications - without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender expression or identity, transgender status, age, disability, veteran or marital status, political viewpoint, or other classifications protected by law. This policy applies to current and prospective employees, no matter where they are in their Salesforce employment journey. It also applies to recruiting, hiring, job assignment, compensation, promotion, benefits, training, assessment of job performance, discipline, termination, and everything in between. Recruiting, hiring, and promotion decisions at Salesforce are fair and based on merit. The same goes for compensation, benefits, promotions, transfers, reduction in workforce, recall, training, and education.

In the United States, compensation offered will be determined by factors such as location, job level, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. Certain roles may be eligible for incentive compensation, equity, and benefits. Salesforce offers a variety of benefits to help you live well including: time off programs, medical, dental, vision, mental health support, paid parental leave, life and disability insurance, 401(k), and an employee stock purchasing program. More details about company benefits can be found at the following link: https://www.salesforcebenefits.com.Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance and the Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring, Salesforce will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.At Salesforce, we believe in equitable compensation practices that reflect the dynamic nature of labor markets across various regions. The typical base salary range for this position is $88,970 - $287,910 annually There is a different range applicable to specific work locations. In California and New York, and select cities in the metropolitan areas of Boston, Chicago, Seattle, and Washington DC, the base pay range for this role in those locations is $97,860 - $316,750 per year. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range for the job location during the hiring process. The range represents base salary only, and does not include company bonus, incentive for sales roles, equity or benefits, as applicable.

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