Great Lakes Software Symposium (No Fluff Just Stuff)
Two days of Java, microservices and AI-agent sessions with Chicago's senior engineers.
Chicago area, IL
What this event is
The Great Lakes Software Symposium is the Chicago stop of the No Fluff Just Stuff tour, running October 22-23, 2026. Sessions cover AI agents and RAG, microservices, modern Java, concurrency, REST design and Apache Flink, aimed at experienced developers with no intro tracks. Tickets are paid; no sponsor or recruiting list was posted at verification.
Roles you will actually see
Who should go
Mid-level and senior backend engineers, especially in the Java ecosystem, who want to network with peers and hiring engineering leads rather than recruiters.
This is not a job fair, so do not go expecting booths. Go because the people in the hallway are the engineers and architects who make hiring calls at Chicago enterprises, banks and trading shops. Ask what their team is building and whether they are growing, and you will hear about roles that never hit a job board. If your employer will not pay for the ticket, weigh it against a paid course; it is a networking play, not a guaranteed lead.
Show up prepared
- 1Check the session list and pick talks where the speakers work at companies you want
- 2Prepare a one-line description of your current work for hallway conversations
- 3Connect on LinkedIn with speakers and attendees the same day
Sponsorship reality
Sponsorship varies by employer. No organizer publishes sponsorship. Check each employer you plan to meet against H-1B disclosure data before you go, and ask in the first two minutes so neither side wastes the conversation.
Showing up is half of it.
The other half is being first to the roles these employers post, and having something real to show when you get there.
See roles the minute they go live, tailor one resume per employer, and reach the hiring manager directly. Walk into the event as a follow-up, not a stranger.
Start free13 weeks of building real AI agents and automations, so the answer to "what have you built" is a link, not a story.
Explore the program