Product Development Engineer Proactive Quality

Caterpillar Inc.; Christchurch; On-site; NZD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Caterpillar Inc. in Christchurch, NZ invites applications for a Product Development Engineer – Proactive Quality within Caterpillar Trimble Control Technologies (CTCT).

This role collaborates with product and engineering teams to define CTQ measures and to ensure data-backed decisions that sustain long-term product health and reliability. You will own quality dashboards, support verification and validation efforts, partner across departments, and contribute to continuous value delivery while

Qualifications

• Requires a 4-year Engineering degree and related background.
• Experience in electromechanical or hardware/software integration.
• Ability to capture and document business information clearly.

Responsibilities

• Execute the CTCT Proactive Quality Strategy through engagement with product, project and engineering teams.
• Lead collaborative efforts with Product Management Team stakeholders to define CTQ measures.
• Own creation, monitoring, and maintenance of quality dashboards and disseminate findings to stakeholders.
• Partner with V&V team to ensure testing strategies evaluate system quality.
• Lead Supportability Risk Assessment sessions with Product Support and channel partners.
• Participate in cross-functional project reviews by providing quality data, dashboards, and summaries.
• Create standard processes or tools with SMEs for efficient project execution.
• Balance multiple CTCT initiations and facilitate change management while supporting quality initiatives.

Skills

Engineering degree

System integration

Info capture

Decision making

Communications

Problem solving

Conceptual thinking

Education

4-year Engineering degree

Job description

Career Area: Manufacturing

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.

Caterpillar Trimble Control Technologies (CTCT) is a joint venture between Caterpillar Inc. and Trimble Inc. This division develops positioning, control and automation products for earthmoving and paving machines in the construction and mining industries, using technologies such as GNSS, optical total stations, lasers and sonics. The products are used in a range of applications where the operator of the machine benefits from having accurate horizontal and vertical guidance.

CTCT currently has a job opening for a Product Development Engineer Proactive Quality. This position will report to the CTCT Proactive Quality Manager. The team works in a dynamic global environment delivering the best-in-class quality product based on data backed analysis.

The Product Development Engineer – Proactive Quality works collaboratively with project and product teams to evaluate how new or sustaining development efforts impact the end user. This role guides the establishment of Critical to Quality (CTQ) measures in close partnership with Product and Engineering data SMEs, while owning the ongoing operational tracking of those metrics. By assessing whether a project or development effort contributes a net positive, neutral, or negative effect on overarching in-service quality measures, this role helps leadership balance the critical need for continuous value delivery with the mandate to protect long-term product health and reliability.

Success in this role is reflected in the accuracy, consistency, and clarity of the quality picture provided to decision-makers. Whether a trade-off results in a positive, neutral, or intentionally negative impact to product quality, ensuring that project decisions are deliberate, transparently communicated, and consistently tracked demonstrates a pragmatic, value-add approach to proactive quality.

Key Responsibilities

• Execute the CTCT Proactive Quality Strategy through engagement with product, project and engineering organization.
• Lead collaborative efforts with key Product Management Team stakeholders to define new, or improve existing, Critical to Quality (CTQ) measures.
• Work closely with CTCT analytics and engineering SMEs to own the creation, monitoring, and maintenance of quality dashboards, and actively disseminate key findings to relevant stakeholders.
• Partner with Verification & Validation (V&V) team members to ensure testing strategies adequately evaluate system quality.
• Work closely with Product Support and channel partners to lead Supportability Risk Assessment sessions and execute supportability strategy.
• Actively participate in cross-functional project and product reviews by providing quality-related data, dashboards, and summaries.
• Create standard processes or tools by working with SMEs for effective and efficient project execution.
• Concurrent work on multiple project teams and CTCT initiations and facilitate change management as necessary. Flexibility to support organizations on quality initiatives.

Required Skills

• 4 years Engineering degree.
• System Integration: Have working experience of Electromechanical or hardware & software system Integration.
• Information Capture: Knowledge of the methods, channels and processes to obtain needed information; ability to identify, capture and document relevant business information in an auditable, organized, understandable and easily retrievable manner.
• Decision Making and Critical Thinking: Knowledge of the decision-making process and associated tools and techniques; ability to accurately analyze situations and reach productive decisions based on informed judgment.
• Effective Communications: Understanding of effective communication concepts, tools and techniques; ability to effectively transmit, receive, and accurately interpret ideas, information, and needs through the application of appropriate communication behaviors.
• Problem Solving: Knowledge of approaches, tools, techniques for recognizing, anticipating, and resolving organizational, operational or process problems; ability to apply knowledge of problem solving appropriately to diverse situations.
• Conceptual Thinking: Knowledge of thinking and reasoning at a conceptual level; ability to identify the critical ideas and interdependencies among system elements that impact performance.

Additional Information

• The primary location for this position is Christchurch, NZ

<25% travel is required for this position.

Additional Information

This employer is not currently hiring foreign national applicants that require or will require sponsorship tied to a specific employer, Caterpillar offers many job opportunities which can be found through our employment website at www.Caterpillar.com/Careers

This position requires working onsite five days a week.

Visa Sponsorship is not available for this position.

Posting Dates

September 16, 2026 - September 27, 2026

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