Career Area:Technology, Digital and Data
Job Description:Job Summary:The Senior Director of Physical AI Field Engineering is responsible for leading the global field deployment, site integration, and field enhancement of Caterpillar's autonomous machine solutions. This leader owns the coordinated execution of customer-site activities for autonomy globally, ensuring that machines, autonomy technology, data-collection systems, site infrastructure, and supporting partner solutions are deployed safely, reliably, and efficiently.
The Director leads the transition of autonomy solutions from engineering readiness into successful real-world operation. The role works across multiple groups -- Engineering, Product Management, Safety, Supply Chain, Commercial teams, Cat Dealers, customers, and external technology partners -- to establish deployment plans, prepare customer sites, commission solutions, resolve field issues, and capture operational learning for the core engineering organization.
This leader will build a scalable global field engineering and deployment capability that supports both established and growth regions. The broader proposed organization includes dedicated field engineering and operations leadership for core and growth regions.
What You Will Do:Field Deployment Strategy and Execution- Lead the coordination and execution of customer-site activities.
- Establish repeatable deployment models that support pilot programs, early customer adoption, regional expansion, and scaled commercial operation.
- Translate product and program roadmaps into actionable field deployment plans, resource forecasts, site schedules, and readiness requirements.
- Ensure deployment activities are aligned with customer commitments, engineering milestones, product readiness, and commercial objectives.
- Establish clear accountability for deployment planning, site preparation, installation, commissioning, stabilization, and transition into ongoing support.
Site Readiness and Infrastructure- Assessment and preparation of customer sites for autonomy deployment.
- Coordinate site infrastructure installations and upgrades with supporting Caterpillar teams, Cat dealers, customers, and suppliers.
- Define site-readiness criteria covering infrastructure, connectivity, positioning systems, operational processes, environmental conditions, and customer support capabilities.
- Identify deployment dependencies and risks early, and drive mitigation before equipment and personnel arrive on site.
- Ensure each deployment has documented entry criteria, commissioning requirements, acceptance criteria, and operational handoff plans.
- Partner with Safety, Legal, Compliance, and Engineering teams to ensure field activities follow applicable Caterpillar requirements and site-specific standards.
Site and Machine Technology Deployment- Coordinate machine technology ordering, delivery, installation, configuration, and field upgrades.
- Establish configuration-management and deployment-control practices to ensure the correct hardware, software, documentation, and tooling reach each customer site.
- Develop scalable processes for staging, shipment, installation, validation, replacement, and recovery of field technology.
- Maintain visibility to kit availability, machine readiness, site dependencies, deployment status, and material constraints.
Field Engineering and Technical Operations- Lead field engineering through installation, commissioning, validation, and early operation while establishing consistent procedures, service practices, documentation, checklists, escalation paths, training, tools, and diagnostic capabilities.
- Drive disciplined resolution of machine, autonomy, infrastructure, integration, and operational issues, ensuring field learning improves product reliability, deployability, serviceability, validation, and release planning.
Issue Triage and Engineering Feedback- Establish a global process to triage, prioritize, route, escalate, and track customer field issues and enhancement requests across site, configuration, training, product, infrastructure, and operational categories.
- Partner with core engineering to define containment, root cause, permanent corrections, release priorities, and systemic improvements that reduce recurring field issues and local workarounds.
Customer, Dealer, and Partner Leadership- Serve as the senior operational and technical leader for customers, dealers, and partners during complex deployments, escalations, and early site-readiness engagement.
- Define responsibilities across Caterpillar, dealers, customers, suppliers, and technology partners while representing field deployment requirements in product, engineering, commercial, and investment decisions.
- Portfolio, Performance, and Risk Management
- Lead a portfolio of concurrent deployments across platforms, customers, and regions with governance, operating cadences, and metrics that provide visibility to schedule, cost, quality, safety, readiness, customer impact, and technical risk.
- Identify and mitigate safety, technical, supply, customer-readiness, and execution risks while improving deployment methods, tools, documentation, organization design, and regional execution.
People and Organizational Leadership- Build and lead a high-performing global field engineering, deployment, and operations organization with clear roles, decision rights, escalation paths, regional interfaces, workforce plans, and succession pipelines.
- Develop leaders and technical experts while fostering a culture of safety, accountability, customer focus, technical rigor, collaboration, continuous improvement, and sound decision-making.
Top Candidates Will Have: - Advanced degree in engineering, business, technology management, or a related field.
- Experience in construction, mining, heavy equipment, robotics, industrial automation, or off-highway autonomy.
- Experience commissioning technology in rugged, variable, or connectivity-constrained environments.
- Knowledge of functional safety, cybersecurity, configuration management, systems validation, and product support practices.
- Experience establishing deployment playbooks, readiness gates, acceptance criteria, and field-performance metrics.
- Experience working through dealer or distribution networks.
- Background managing substantial operating budgets, suppliers, and partner-delivered capabilities.
- Leads with strong customer credibility, operational discipline, technical judgment, systems thinking, risk awareness, enterprise collaboration, and a talent-building mindset to deliver safe, reliable, and repeatable outcomes across complex field deployments.
Summary Pay Range:$203,670.00 - $305,510.00
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:September 3, 2026 - September 8, 2026
