Principal AI Engineer

Caterpillar, Inc.; Chennai; On-site; INR 1,200,000 - 2,400,000; Full time

Job summary

Caterpillar Inc. is seeking a senior AI/GenAI engineer to shape autonomous manufacturing platforms. You will design and deploy AI-driven features across manufacturing operations, collaborating with product, engineering, and operations to deliver scalable solutions.

Ideal candidates have extensive experience with production-grade AI systems, LangChain/graph tooling, and end-to-end ML pipelines, including deployment, monitoring, and retraining in real factory settings.

Qualifications

• Experience building production-grade AI services with considerations for scalability, security, and observability.
• Experience with multimodal AI/RAG solutions using enterprise data.
• GenAI design, simulation, predictive modeling, or process optimization in industrial environments.

Responsibilities

• Lead and implement GenAI-based applications in manufacturing domains.
• Design knowledge-transfer strategies to scale AI teams.
• Collaborate with product, engineering, and operations to integrate AI features.

Skills

AI services

GenAI

Python

ML libraries

Education

Bachelor's degree

Master's degree

PhD

Tools

Langchain

Langgraph

Job description

Career Area

Technology, Digital and Data

Job Description

Your Work Shapes the World at Caterpillar Inc.

When you join Caterpillar, you'rejoining a global team who cares not just about the work we do - but also about each other. We are the makers, problem solvers, and future world builders who are creating stronger, more sustainable communities. We don'tjust talk about progress and innovation here - we make it happen, with our customers, where we work and live. Together, we are building a better world, so we can all enjoy living in it.

Caterpillar IT is at the forefront of enabling Caterpillar’s digital transformation, delivering technology solutions that support our global business, manufacturing operations, products, and customers. We leverage data, cloud technologies, advanced analytics, AI, and modern software engineering to build secure, scalable, and innovative solutions that improve operational efficiency and help Caterpillar build a better, more sustainable world.

Build the Digital Backbone of Modern Manufacturing

We’re assembling a dynamic team to develop and scale ourManufacturing & Supply Digital Platform—a next-generation software framework that transforms how manufacturing and supply operations connect, collaborate, and optimize.

This platform isnot an ERP system. It’s a purpose-built digital layer that integrates data, processes, and resources across the entire manufacturing lifecycle—from design and engineering to production and distribution.

This initiative ispowered by NVIDIA technologies, including theOmniverse platformandAI computing capabilities, enabling immersive digital twins, accelerated simulation, and intelligent automation. You’ll be part of a team that’s not just building software- but shaping the future of how manufacturing works throughAI-driven, collaborative, and scalable digital solutions.

As part of this initiative, you’ll contribute to:

• System Integration: Seamlessly connecting diverse manufacturing and supply systems, data sources, and workflows into a unified digital ecosystem.
• Data-Driven Decision Making: Harnessing real-time data collection, analysis, and visualization to deliver actionable insights and operational intelligence.
• Automation & Optimization: Driving efficiency through intelligent scheduling, predictive maintenance, and quality control—without replacing core transactional systems.
• Enhanced Collaboration: Enabling transparent communication and coordination across teams, functions, and geographies.

If you're passionate about digital platforms, industrial innovation, and working with cutting-edge technologies—this is your opportunity to make a meaningful impact.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and deliver implementation strategies for State of the Art (Gen)AI-based Applications in manufacturing domain.
• Design and implement a Knowledge Transfer strategy to scale the own experience via a Growing and Ambitious AI Team.
• Drive technical innovation through boundary-pushing experimentation, while maintaining alignment with customer commitments and delivery expectations.
• Collaborate with product, engineering, and operations teams to design and integrate AI features into digital products.

Required Skills

• Demonstrated experience building production-grade AI services, including considerations for scalability, availability, security, resiliency, performance, logging, monitoring, and cost optimization.
• Experience with multimodal AI/RAG solutions involving combinations of text, tables, images, technical documents, diagrams, or other enterprise/manufacturing data.
• Application of GenAI for generative design, simulation, predictive modeling, demand forecasting, or process optimization in industrial environments. Experience with frameworks like Langchain, Langgraph or industry GenAI stacks.
• Mastery of supervised, unsupervised, and reinforcement learning algorithms as applied to manufacturing (predictive maintenance, defect detection, process automation).
• Strong software engineering skills in Python and common ML libraries (TensorFlow, PyTorch, Scikit-learn, JAX).
• Experience deploying production AI solutions (MLOps) with robust data pipelines, monitoring, retraining, and scalability in real factory settings.

Nice to Have Skills

• Prior experience in technical training, mentorship, or consulting role, preferably within a corporate or academic setting.
• Demonstratable experience with manufacturing data, industrial protocols, plant systems, and translating business goals into machine learning projects.
• Architected or deployed digital twin solutions for virtual representation of physical assets/processes.
• Experience working with knowledge graphs, graph databases, vector databases, manufacturing ontologies, and semantic models to improve contextual retrieval and reasoning.
• Experience optimizing AI applications for latency, throughput, token consumption, infrastructure utilization, and overall operating cost.
• Knowledge of integrating real-time manufacturing data (IoT, PLC, MES/ERP connectivity) to digital twins for simulation and predictive analytics.

Educational Background

Typically requires a Bachelor’s degree, preferably in computer science, Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, mathematics, or a similar field with quantitative coursework, and 10-16 years of professional experience in associated field is required, a Master’s degree and 8-10 years of experience, or a PhD and 5-7 years of experience in relevant field.

Equal Opportunity Employer

Caterpillar is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Qualified applicants of any age are encouraged to apply