Mechanical Engineer 1 (Entry Level) - Energy & Industrial
Location
Chicago, IL
Wage
$62,998 – $90,586/yr
Employment Type
Full-time
Posted on October 13, 2026
Location
Chicago, IL
Wage
$62,998 – $90,586/yr
Employment Type
Full-time
Posted on October 13, 2026
The Mechanical Engineer 1 (Entry Level) position at Sargent & Lundy offers an opportunity to apply knowledge in thermodynamics, heat transfer, and fluid mechanics within power plant and oil & gas engineering. The role involves working on mechanical systems design, analysis, and project deliverables in a hybrid work environment.
At roughly $37/hr, this posting lands within a few percent of the $38/hr median for welding jobs in Chicago, IL, whose middle half runs $30–$50/hr across 79 postings with published pay. Put another way, it pays more than about 46% of the comparable postings we have wage data for. In other words it is a market-rate offer, so benefits, overtime, and shift schedule are where the real difference between this and the next posting on the list shows up.
We're tracking 108 other active welding openings in Chicago, IL right now, from 62 different employers. 50 of them were added in the last week. Across Illinois as a whole we're tracking 368 other active welding openings from 212 employers. A metro this active generally means you have real leverage — employers here are competing for the same welders. Browse every welding job in Chicago, or widen the search to Illinois.
Sargent & Lundy currently has 10 other openings live in Illinois, which is usually a sign of either steady growth or steady turnover — worth asking which in the interview.
The most active employers in Illinois at the moment, by number of open welding reqs, are Gerber Collision & Glass (18), Staff on Site (13), and S&C Electric Company (10). Volume like that usually means either a genuine expansion or a staffing agency working several client sites — worth knowing which before you apply.
Within Illinois, the best-paying metros we track by median hourly rate are Downers Grove at $44/hr, Chicago at $38/hr, and Elk Grove Village at $34/hr. Chicago is among them.
Pay figures are medians computed from live postings in the Welding Pros index, not from survey data, and they move as employers post. Mechanical Engineer 1 (Entry Level) - Energy & Industrial figures were last recalculated when this page was built.