Moline-based Deere & Company announced Monday the expansion of its U.S. footprint with the opening of a new Chicago office, where it plans to add 150 Information Technology jobs over the next two years, with the goal of hiring a total of 300 positions to support IT and additional roles within the company.

Initially, the facility will target IT capabilities in eCommerce, cloud, data and analytics, and a variety of innovation related technical skills.

A rendering of the new office building for John Deere at 800 Fulton in Chicago. (photo credit David Burk | Skidmore Owings & Merrill).

“A focused expansion of John Deere’s global footprint aligns directly with our smart industrial strategy. This includes leveraging additional markets that have great diversity and technology skills to incorporate into our world-class talent base,” Andrez Carberry, Director of Global HR Operations at John Deere, said in a Monday release. “We build the best products in the world and through our technology, we improve our customers’ profitability while driving more sustainable outcomes. Recruiting and developing diverse talent is critical to our continued growth and to the success of John Deere as a major employer of tech talent in Illinois.”

Added Carberry, “We couldn’t be more thrilled to be expanding our footprint into downtown Chicago.”

“John Deere’s new technology center in Chicago is just one example of the innovation and investment Illinois is inspiring with our top-tier talent and world-class infrastructure,” Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said in the company release. “This new location will pave the way for hundreds of new IT jobs for Illinois residents and help Illinois continue its long-standing tradition of being at the center of breakthrough discoveries in agricultural and construction technology.”

The new space, in the fast-growing Fulton Market neighborhood, will allow Deere to recruit from the deep bench of diverse talent in Chicago and provide them with the flexibility of in-person collaboration, the release said, noting the new office is expected to open in late summer/early fall of 2022.

The Fulton Market District (upper left on this map), is just about four blocks north of the Willis Tower in downtown Chicago.

“Over the past few years, the digital transformation and agility of our business operations have been accelerated by a more modern Information Tech Stack on the foundation of stronger digital and technical skills,” said Ganesh Jayaram, Vice President of Information Technology at John Deere. “Chicago offers us the opportunity to augment our technical skills to drive this ongoing modernization of our digital business solutions”.

The investment in Chicago includes an EDGE agreement offered by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO), a program to support companies making large-scale capital investments and long-term job creation commitments in Illinois communities.

“John Deere’s investment in new technology jobs in Chicago reinforces Illinois’ place as a global leader in agriculture,” said DCEO Acting Director Sylvia I. Garcia, of the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. “DCEO looks forward to our continued partnership with John Deere, one Illinois’ leading employers, as we advance Governor Pritzker’s 5-year economic plan and invest in good paying jobs for Illinoisans.”

The Chicago office will be in the new 800 Fulton development, about four blocks north of the iconic Willis Tower. “800 Fulton is poised to become not just one of Fulton Market’s most significant office projects, but one of Chicago’s,” according to the building website. “Here, we’re reinventing the Class A office with a convention-bucking, architecturally daring design that offers tenants a next generation work environment in the city’s best location.”