Data Specialist

Caterpillar; Mossville (IL); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Caterpillar is seeking a Data Specialist within the SPPD Digital team to design, build, and maintain analytical data products and pipelines using Snowflake, SQL, and Python. You will modernize legacy SAS-based processes into scalable Snowflake solutions while collaborating with stakeholders to enable data-driven procurement and supply chain decisions.

You'll work across data engineering, investigation, quality, and governance, partnering with Product Owners and Analytics teams to deliver

Qualifications

• Design, build, maintain data pipelines and analytical data products using Snowflake, SQL, and modern development tools.
• Modernize legacy SAS-based processes into scalable Snowflake-based data solutions.
• Develop reliable, repeatable data products that support Procurement and Supply Chain decisions.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, maintain, and support data pipelines, data transformations, and analytical data products using Snowflake, SQL, and modern development tools.
• Support the modernization of legacy SAS-based processes into scalable Snowflake-based data solutions.
• Develop reliable, repeatable, and well-documented data products that support Procurement and Supply Chain decision-making.
• Follow established coding standards, version control practices, and development workflows utilizing tools such as GitHub, VS Code, and GitHub Copilot.
• Contribute to cloud-based data architecture initiatives that improve data accessibility, maintainability, and performance.

Skills

Data engineering

Snowflake

SQL

Python

GitHub

VS Code

GitHub Copilot

Tools

Snowflake

SAS

GitHub

VS Code

Job description

Career Area:

Technology, Digital and Data

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’s SPPD Digital team is seeking a Data Specialist to support Procurement and Supply Chain decision-making through modern cloud-based data engineering and analytics solutions. This role sits within the Data Engineering team and supports the foundational data platforms that power digital products, reporting, analytics, and decision-making across SPPD. In this role, you will design, build, maintain, and troubleshoot analytical data products and data pipelines using Snowflake, SQL, Python, and modern development tools while helping improve data quality, consistency, and governance across multiple platforms. This position combines hands-on data engineering, data investigation, production support, and stakeholder engagement, requiring an individual who can solve complex problems and communicate technical concepts effectively to both technical and business audiences.

What Makes This Role Exciting

This is more than a traditional data specialist role. You’ll work at the foundation of SPPD Digital’s data ecosystem, helping create trusted, standardized data that supports critical Procurement and Supply Chain decisions across the enterprise. No two days are exactly alike. One day you may be building and modernizing data pipelines in Snowflake, and the next you may be investigating a complex data issue, partnering with business stakeholders to identify the root cause, and helping improve data quality and consistency across multiple systems. You’ll have the opportunity to support cloud modernization initiatives, work with emerging technologies and AI-enabled tools, and learn from experienced data engineers and platform specialists while making a visible impact across the broader organization.

What you will do:

Data Engineering & Delivery

• Design, build, maintain, and support data pipelines, data transformations, and analytical data products using Snowflake, SQL, and modern development tools.
• Support the modernization of legacy SAS-based processes into scalable Snowflake-based data solutions, including rebuilding, validating, and retiring legacy processes where appropriate.
• Develop reliable, repeatable, and well-documented data products that support Procurement and Supply Chain decision-making.
• Follow established coding standards, version control practices, and development workflows utilizing tools such as GitHub, VS Code, and GitHub Copilot.
• Contribute to cloud-based data architecture initiatives that improve data accessibility, maintainability, and performance.

Data Investigation & Problem Solving

• Investigate data discrepancies, reporting inconsistencies, and production issues by tracing data through source systems, transformation logic, and downstream applications.
• Identify root causes related to data quality, mapping, lineage, source-system changes, and analytical reporting.
• Resolve production support issues across analytical applications and backend data products, escalating issues appropriately when resolution requires upstream teams or platform owners.
• Analyze large datasets to identify accuracy concerns, recommend corrective actions, and improve overall data reliability.
• Balance project-based work with changing priorities, urgent business requests, troubleshooting activities, and production support needs.

Data Quality & Governance

• Support efforts to establish trusted, standardized data definitions across Procurement and Supply Chain systems and platforms.
• Help improve and maintain data quality standards, governance practices, and approved-source alignment across the SPPD Digital landscape.
• Partner with Data Platform teams to support consistent data flows, business definitions, and enterprise data quality initiatives.

Collaboration & Business Partnership

• Partner with Product Owners, Business Process Owners, Data Stewards, and Analytics teams to translate business needs into scalable technical solutions.
• Communicate technical concepts, issue-resolution details, and data impacts clearly to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Develop practical documentation describing data definitions, transformations, technical specifications, and lineage, while participating in Agile development, team reviews, and continuous improvement initiatives.

What skills you will have:

Communicating Complex Concepts Ability to communicate technical concepts, data definitions, root-cause findings, and solution recommendations in a clear and understandable manner fo