Career Area:Engineering
Job Description:This exciting opportunity will place you in a crucial role in Caterpillar's delivery of Autonomous Solutions to our customers in the construction industries. This position is for a Senior Autonomy Project Team Lead serving as the L8 Validation Lead within the Cat Technology - Autonomy - System Integration & Validation division. This individual will provide Validation Leadership for the next generation of AI-powered autonomous solutions aimed at solving our customers toughest challenges. This role includes the opportunity to provide internally facing team leadership to our globally based integration & validation team members - as well as serving as a key point of contact with internal partner development teams.
The individual will deliver new levels of development & validation efficiency, set the system integration & validation strategy, lead team members, and represent the Product Quality swim lane for the associated NPI programs. Outstanding technical, coordination, and communication skills are a must for this position.
What You Will Do:- Champion Product Quality for all Construction Autonomy NPI programs
- Drive Efficiency initiatives to reduce reliance on machines for Development and Validation efforts - specifically in the areas of AI-based product validation, virtual product development (VPD) and hardware-in-the-loop (HIL).
- Lead NPI Product Quality swim lane activities including Validation planning and status reporting.
- Manage priorities for integration & validation team members - from setting major release strategy down to day-to-day coordination in daily huddles.
- Lead coordination of Defect / Issue management.
- Lead a culture of continuous improvement through issue retrospectives.
What You Have: - Planning: Tactical, Strategic: Knowledge of effective planning techniques and ability to contribute to operational (short term), tactical (1-2 years) and strategic (3-5 years) planning in support of the overall business plan.
- Expertise in developing multiyear strategic-level validation initiatives.
- Knowledge of annual budget planning cycle processes
- Effective Communications:
- Expertise in presenting concise status summaries to cross functional New Product Introduction (NPI) teams and director/executive level stakeholders.
- Cross-Team Integration:
- Expertise in leading regular team forums focused on project plan management, issue triage and management, and technical evaluation of validation techniques.
- Project Management:
- Expertise in developing and managing project management plans.
- Expertise in challenging teams to pressure test schedule durations in plan development.
- Software Development Life Cycle:
- Knowledge of Agile software development methodologies and practices.
- Expertise with complex software applications within system of system level products
- Education requirement: Requires a degree in an accredited Electrical, Computer, or Mechanical Engineering; or Computer Science curriculum.
Consideration for Top Candidates: - Experience supporting projects in Heavy Equipment (Automotive, Manufacturing, Robotics, etc.)
- Prior validation or testing experience of Engineering Product Development Required
- Prior experience with hands-on testing of HIL equipment
- Exposure to AI in Engineering preferred (GenAI)
Additional Information: - This position requires the candidate to work full-time at the Mossville, IL or Irving, TX office.
- Domestic relocation assistance is available for this position.
- Visa sponsorship is NOT available with this position.
- This position will require up to 20% travel
- #LI
Summary Pay Range:$147,760.00 - $240,110.00
Compensation and benefits offered may vary depending on multiple individualized factors, job level, market location, job-related knowledge, skills, individual performance and experience. Please note that salary is only one component of total compensation at Caterpillar.
Benefits:Subject to plan eligibility, terms, and guidelines. This is a summary list of benefits.
- Medical, dental, and vision benefits*
- Paid time off plan (Vacation, Holidays, Volunteer, etc.)*
- 401(k) savings plans*
- Health Savings Account (HSA)*
- Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs)*
- Health Lifestyle Programs*
- Employee Assistance Program*
- Voluntary Benefits and Employee Discounts*
- Career Development*
- Incentive bonus*
- Disability benefits
- Life Insurance
- Parental leave
- Adoption benefits
- Tuition Reimbursement
* These benefits also apply to part-time employees
This position requires working onsite five days a week.
Relocation is available for this position.
Visa Sponsorship is not available for this position.
Posting Dates:June 15, 2026 - June 28, 2026
Any offer of employment is conditioned upon the successful completion of a drug screen.