Oregon State isn’t solely known for Hell’s Canyon or for being the home of beautiful National Parks. A growing number of job opportunities are available in Oregon, especially for the most determined applicants.
Despite the challenging times, Oregon is experiencing a boom in employment and business growth unique to the state. Several of the largest companies in Oregon have recently experienced great success, which contributes to job growth. Throughout this article, we will explore the largest companies in Oregon and the jobs they offer to job seekers.
How We Defined the Largest Companies in Oregon
While businesses of all sizes and budgets operate in Oregon, our ranking system of the largest companies focuses on the number of employees. The table below shows our ranking of the largest companies in Oregon.
The Top 10 Largest Companies in Oregon
| Rank | Company | City | Number of Employees |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nike Inc. | Beaverton, OR | 73,300 |
| 2 | KinderCare Learning Centers | Portland, OR | 36,000 |
| 3 | Fred Meyer | Portland, OR | 30,000 |
| 4 | Precision Castparts Corp. | Portland, OR | 30,100 |
| 5 | FLIR Systems | Wilsonville, OR | 5,000 |
| 6 | Portland Community College | Portland, OR | 2,000 |
| 7 | Schnitzer Steel Industries | Portland, OR | 3,032 |
| 8 | Portland General Electric | Portland, OR | 2,646 |
| 9 | Columbia Sportswear | Beaverton, OR | 8,900 |
| 10 | Northwest Natural Gas | Portland, OR | 1,200 |
1. Nike Inc.
Nike designs, develops, and sells sports-related products. The company’s athletic footwear collection features various styles and designs to enhance everyday life. Nike is an industry leader that sells its innovative products through retailers, independent distributors, and licensees across North America, and through its digital platform, the Nike Store website.
Jobs Available at Nike Inc.
- Virtual Material Designer. The candidate must be able to create and visualize innovative material concepts using 3D tools like Substance Designer. You will be a part of the digital and virtual revolution as a member of Nike’s Digital Product Creation team.
- Manager of eCommerce Development. The candidate will be responsible for developing a vision for online inventory management solutions.
- UX Design Director. The UX design director must have prior experience guiding and mentoring other designers, as well as extensive experience designing and building user-centered technology solutions.
Where to Find Nike Inc. Jobs
Because there are hundreds of Nike locations around the US, you can find jobs available near your location on the Nike website. For work in retail locations, you could also find job postings on common Job boards like Indeed.
2. KinderCare Learning Centers
KinderCare Learning Centers is a privately operated chain of child care and early childhood education centers. It was founded in 1969 in Portland, Oregon by KinderCare Education Inc. KinderCare provides services for infants, toddlers, and school-age children.
Jobs Available at KinderCare Learning Centers
- Executive Compensation Analyst. The executive compensation analyst will assist in developing, implementing, and administering KinderCare’s executive compensation plans and programs. This position will collaborate with other teams, including human resources, finance, and recruiting, as well as with external consultants and stakeholders.
- Teacher. In addition to creating engaging lesson plans, teachers educate students and cultivate their interest in learning.
- Manager DevOps. DevOps team leaders are responsible for assembling a high-performing team and developing the tools, services, and processes that enable the development pipeline.
Where to Find KinderCare Learning Centers Jobs
If you’re interested in working for KinderCare Learning, you can visit their job portal. Their career portal provides job seekers with an easy way to apply for positions within the company.
3. Fred Meyer
Founded in Central Oregon in 1931, Fred Meyer, Inc. operates stores in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Alaska. It sells various items in addition to clothing and accessories. Fred Meyer’s average annual salary is $50,000, which is competitive for the industry and location.
Jobs Available at Fred Meyer
- Assistant Store Manager. The responsibilities of an assistant store manager at Fred Meyer include ensuring that effective store associates are continually trained to achieve the desired sales and profit results. They also monitor the stores’ ability to meet and exceed customer expectations for ease of shopping, freshness, cleanliness, and food safety daily.
- E-Commerce Clerk. The e-commerce clerk will ensure that high-quality products are selected and gathered as efficiently as possible for customers’ online ordering. They also put together customer orders online, process coupons and payments, and load them into cars when customers arrive for pickup.
- Pharmacy Technician. A pharmacy technician oversees the work done to ensure excellent customer service and the smooth operation of the pharmacy. Pharmacy technicians must be detail-oriented and trustworthy due to their high level of responsibility.
Where to Find Fred Meyer Jobs
You can find jobs at Fred Meyer by visiting the career section of their website. From the homepage, scroll to the bottom and click “Careers” to navigate to their career portal.
4. Precision Castparts Corp.
Precision Castparts Corp. is a metal fabrication company. This Fortune 500 company is known for creating complex and innovative products like investment castings, airfoil casting, and forged industrial components for industries including aerospace, defense, and industrial turbines. Precision Castparts pays an average annual salary of $83,000.
Jobs Available at Precision Castparts Corp.
- Regional Sales Manager. This position manages the sales teams in a particular territory and ensures that sales targets are met.
- IT Support Technician. In addition to updating in-house developed applications, this role will provide daily infrastructure support for internal customers using the company’s enterprise software applications.
- Accounting Manager. The accounting manager oversees the financial operations and administration of the organization. They also prepare and review various financial operating reports for the controller, including budgets, financial planning, and financial systems.
Where to Find Precision Castparts Corp. Jobs
You can find jobs at Precision Castparts by visiting their career portal. You can access the portal from the main menu on the Precision Castparts website.
5. FLIR Systems
FLIR Systems Inc. is a thermographic and infrared camera company based in the United States and globally. FLIR Systems Inc. designs, manufactures, and markets thermal imaging and infrared camera systems. The company’s headquarters are located in Wilsonville, Oregon.
Jobs Available at FLIR Systems
- Electrical Design Engineer. The electrical design engineer at FLIR Systems will manage the design and development of electrical systems.
- Principal Software Engineer. The primary responsibility of the principal software engineer position is to lead the development of software for Teledyne FLIR’s Defense & Security Products.
- Sales Support Specialist. Sales support specialists at FLIR Systems will enter sales orders into SAP correctly and efficiently. They will work to ensure the timely delivery of products, and effectively navigate customers through the customer experience.
Where to Find FLIR Systems Jobs
You can apply for a position at FLIR Systems from the comfort of your home. Just visit their job portal and start your application process from there.
6. Portland Community College
Portland Community College is a public community college in Portland, Oregon. In addition to serving 1.9 million residents, it is the largest community college in the state.
Jobs Available at Portland Community College
- Technical Support Assistant. This position provides basic computer support to end-users across the College District. They focus on computer hardware, software, technology equipment, and business-related applications.
- Accessibility Specialist. The Accessibility Specialist works with the Disability Services Director to develop and implement suitable accommodations, auxiliary aids, and support services for students with disabilities.
- Financial Operations Manager. The financial operations manager at Portland Community College provides strategic direction and accountability to the Student Affairs department to drive financial success at the college.
Where to Find Portland Community College Jobs
Portland Community College provides rewarding career opportunities in a wide range of industries. Job postings are available on their company website.
7. Schnitzer Steel Industries
Schnitzer Steel is the world’s leading company for recycling steel. It was founded in 1906 and is headquartered in Portland, Oregon. The industry leader has four corporate offices across the US and they have metals and auto recycling locations in various parts of North America including the US, Puerto Rico, and Canada. They also operate used auto parts retail locations within the automotive industry.
Jobs Available at Schnitzer Steel Industries
- Heavy Equipment Operator. This position facilitates production efficiency and productivity while never compromising quality by sorting and grading incoming metal deliveries from suppliers and customers.
- Operations Support Manager. The operations support manager ensures store operations are running smoothly. They report directly to PNP Senior Management and the Executive Team.
- Sales Lead. The sales lead at Schnitzer Steel is responsible for helping the store to reach its sales goals. They work to promote loss prevention and ensure that proper sales procedures are being followed.
Where to Find Schnitzer Steel Industries Jobs
Schnitzer Steel offers metallurgical career opportunities. Job openings are posted on the company’s website.
8. Portland General Electric
PGE is a vertically-integrated electric utility in Oregon with approximately 900,000 retail customers. Portland General Electric generates, transmits, and distributes electricity in several cities, including Portland and Salem.
Jobs Available at Portland General Electric
- Senior Technical Project Manager. This position acts as the lead on major projects like process improvement and strategy implementation. They oversee project timelines, budgets, staffing, and resource requirements.
- Staff Application Developer. A staff application developer will curate application development services including programming logic for new applications and analyzing and modifying logic in existing applications. Responsibilities also include software testing, debugging, and documentation.
- Employee Relations Workforce Analyst. This role is responsible for developing strategic insights, integrating analytics and reporting, and making recommendations for workforce decision-making based on these insights.
Where to Find Portland General Electric Jobs
You can find a job at Portland General Electric by visiting the career portal on the company website. You can also find jobs with PGE listed on Indeed and Glassdoor.
9. Columbia Sportswear
Columbia Sportswear designs, develops, markets, and distributes active outdoor and lifestyle goods to consumers at retail locations and online. It was founded in 1938 and has its headquarters in Portland, Oregon. Its online shop ships to six continents around the world. The average annual salary for employees of Columbia Sportswear is $86,000.
Jobs Available at Columbia Sportswear
- Digital Wholesale Manager. The Digital Wholesale Manager is responsible for increasing Columbia Sportswear Company’s digital presence and enhancing commercial execution with their wholesale partners.
- Power Business Intelligence Engineer. This role facilitates Columbia Sportswear’s data access needs through strategic design, development, and implementation of data components.
- Retail Supervisor. The Retail Supervisor supervises a team of sales associates to support the store manager.
Where to Find Columbia Sportswear Jobs
Job opportunities at Columbia Sportswear can be found directly on their website. Common job boards that display retail roles will also contain jobs postings for Columbia Sportswear.
10. Northwest Natural Gas
The Northwest Natural Gas company has one of the nation’s most modern pipeline systems. It provides natural gas to over 2.5 million customers in 140 communities across Oregon and Western Washington.
Jobs Available at Northwest Natural Gas
- Patch Management Analyst. The role of a Patch Management Analyst includes the deployment and monitoring of software updates, as well as remediating patching activity for users’ desktops.
- IT Compliance Analyst. This role works within the IT&S Compliance Team, and alongside IT&S Security, to ensure compliance with federal and state regulations in the company’s IT environment.
- Regulatory Manager. A Regulatory Manager with Northwest Natural Gas develops and implements regulatory strategies for multiple water and wastewater utilities. They also lead cross-departmental teams in administrative proceedings at public utility commissions.
Where to Find Northwest Natural Gas Jobs
Jobs at Northwest Natural Gas can be found on the company website, as well as on ZipRecruiter and Indeed.
Do Any Large Companies in Oregon Hire Bootcamp Grads?
Yes, large companies in Oregon hire bootcamp grads. Employers in Oregon are seeking qualified employees with experience and knowledge to contribute. Bootcamp certifications, in addition to broadening your knowledge, are a great way to impress hiring managers. You can find top Portland bootcamps that allow you to study both in-person and online.
Online bootcamps allow students to learn technical skills key to specific career paths, which makes them more desirable to employers. Students who attend bootcamps learn skills such as coding, programming, and team management, which are necessary for any job in the tech industry.
Employing technically-skilled graduates of programs like UI/UX bootcamps, programming bootcamps, and others are of great benefit to Oregon companies.
"Career Karma entered my life when I needed it most and quickly helped me match with a bootcamp. Two months after graduating, I found my dream job that aligned with my values and goals in life!"
Venus, Software Engineer at Rockbot
Largest Companies in Oregon FAQ
Nike Inc. is the most valuable company in Oregon, with a market cap of $32,039 million. Nike is an industry leader in North America for athletic footwear and apparel. They own various brands and subsidiaries, including Converse, home of the Chuck Taylor shoes. Other popular brands include Air Jordan, and Air Force 1.
Oregon is home to two Fortune 500 companies, Nike Inc. and Precision Castparts. Precision Castparts works in metal fabrication and creates key components for various infrastructures.
Working for a major company in Oregon typically allows you to earn a competitive or even high salary and comprehensive employee benefits packages. Both of these can contribute to a high quality of life. Large companies also have the resources to focus on fostering inclusive cultures and hiring a diverse workforce.
Many of today’s largest companies are implementing innovative workplace practices like flexible work schedules, generous benefits, fostering a positive culture, and even allowing employees paid time off to use toward volunteer time spent with causes they’re passionate about.
About us: Career Karma is a platform designed to help job seekers find, research, and connect with job training programs to advance their careers. Learn about the CK publication.
