Northwestern 2026 Engineering Career Fair
Northwestern's all-engineering fair, where industrial and hardware companies still hire coders.
1999 Campus Dr, Evanston, IL 60208
What this event is
The 2026 Engineering Career Fair covers all engineering disciplines and runs Tuesday, October 13 from 11 AM to 3 PM at Norris University Center. It is open to Northwestern undergraduates, master's and PhD students and alumni; a Wildcard is required for entry. A 3M information session follows the same evening at the Ford building.
Roles you will actually see
Who should go
Northwestern engineering students and alumni open to software roles at manufacturing, energy, automotive and industrial-tech employers.
Software people skip this fair and that is a mistake: companies like 3M, Motorola and the automotive suppliers hire embedded and platform engineers and get far fewer CS resumes here. Filter the Handshake list for software titles and target those tables. Defense and government contractors at this fair will need citizenship, so ask before you invest ten minutes. Stay for the 3M session that evening if they are on your list.
Show up prepared
- 1Pull the Handshake employer list and flag companies with software openings
- 2Bring your Wildcard and printed resumes
- 3Pre-read job posts so you can name a specific role at each table
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