Principal Software Engineer – Distributed Systems & Cloud-Native Platform (Java)

Caterpillar Financial Services Corporation; Bengaluru; On-site; INR 4,000,000 - 8,000,000; Full time

Job summary

Caterpillar Inc. in Bengaluru is seeking a Principal Software Engineer to design and evolve large-scale, distributed backend systems powering mission-critical platforms.

You will lead architecture decisions and stay hands-on in building high-performance cloud-native services. The role emphasizes system design, scalability, resilience, and operability, with containerized workloads on Kubernetes and a focus on developer productivity.

Qualifications

• 12+ years of backend systems experience.
• Strong expertise in Java, Spring Boot, and microservices.
• Hands-on with Kubernetes and Docker in production.
• Experience designing highly available, large-scale systems.
• Deep knowledge of data modeling and performance optimization.

Responsibilities

• Architect and build high-throughput distributed systems.
• Lead end-to-end system design across services and data.
• Drive scalability, resilience, and operability.
• Build and operate containerized workloads on Kubernetes.
• Set architecture and API standards; improve engineering quality.
• Mentor senior engineers and influence platform roadmap.

Skills

Java

Spring Boot

Microservices

Distributed Systems

System Design

Concurrency

Performance Optimization

Data Modeling

Tools

Docker

Kubernetes

PostgreSQL

Job description

Career Area:

Engineering

Job Description:

Your Work Shapes the World at Caterpillar Inc.

When you join Caterpillar, you're joining 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't just 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.

Role Summary

We’re seeking a Principal Software Engineer to build and evolve large-scale, distributed systems that power mission-critical platforms. This is a senior technical leadership role for engineers who thrive on solving hard, ambiguous problems at scale, and who can influence architecture across teams.

You will drive system design, scalability, and engineering excellence, while remaining deeply hands‑on in building high‑performance backend systems on a modern cloud‑native stack.

What You’ll Do

• Architect and build high-throughput, low-latency distributed systems using Java and microservices
• Lead end-to-end system design across services, data, and platform layers
• Design for scale, resilience, fault tolerance, and operability from first principles
• Build and operate containerized workloads on Kubernetes (multi-service, production scale)
• Define and raise the bar on architecture, APIs, and engineering quality standards
• Drive cross-team technical decisions and resolve complex system bottlenecks
• Mentor senior engineers and act as a technical multiplier across teams
• Influence platform roadmap, modernization, and developer productivity

Basic Qualifications

• 12+ years of experience building and operating backend systems at scale
• Strong expertise in Java, Spring Boot, Microservices, Distributed Systems
• Proven experience designing highly available, large-scale systems (traffic, data, or compute)
• Hands‑on with Kubernetes and Docker in production environments
• Strong fundamentals in system design, concurrency, data modeling, and performance optimization
• Deep experience with PostgreSQL or similar databases

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with event-driven architectures (Kafka / streaming systems)
• Exposure to cloud platforms (AWS/Azure) and hybrid architectures
• Experience with observability, reliability engineering, and production operations
• Contributions to platform engineering, frameworks, or internal developer platforms
• Track record of influencing architecture across multiple teams or product

Tech Stack

Java | Spring Boot | Microservices | Kubernetes | Docker | PostgreSQL | CI/CD | Cloud (AWS/Azure)

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