Lead AI Automation Engineer, Data Annotation Services

Socket.dev; Irving (TX); On-site; USD 128,000 - 209,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, and vision benefits

Paid time off

401(k) savings plans

Health Savings Account

Job summary

Caterpillar is hiring a Lead AI Automation Engineer for onsite work at the Irving, TX office. You will lead a scrum team focused on annotation automation and AI-driven data production for robotics, autonomy, computer vision, and VLA systems.

You will design and deploy automated labeling and captioning solutions, train AI models for auto-labeling and auto-captioning, and develop scalable data pipelines with a focus on reliability and quality across heavy equipment datasets.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, AI, ML, Robotics, or a related field.
• Experience leading technical delivery for software or AI engineering teams.
• Experience developing production-grade software solutions using Python and modern software practices.
• Experience designing and implementing distributed systems, APIs, and data pipelines.
• Experience training, fine-tuning, or deploying machine learning models.
• Strong problem-solving skills and ability to work across disciplines.
• 3+ years generating and managing camera and LiDAR datasets for perception or ML apps.
• 3+ years experience in data annotation and QA for autonomous systems or CV projects.
• Experience using annotation and dataset tools like Labelbox, Supervisely, RoboFlow.
• Experience with ML frameworks such as PyTorch, TensorFlow, ONNX, Weights & Biases, MLflow.

Responsibilities

• Lead the technical execution of a scrum team focused on annotation automation and AI-driven data production.
• Design, develop, and deploy automated labeling and captioning solutions for perception and VLA datasets.
• Train, fine-tune, and evaluate AI models to support auto-labeling and auto-captioning.
• Build data pipelines moving datasets through labeling, review, validation, and publication.
• Implement and extend platforms such as NVIDIA Cosmos Curator and Cosmos Reason.
• Develop solutions that integrate Caterpillar data systems with external annotation providers and human-in-the-loop workflows.
• Drive reliability, scalability, observability, and operational excellence across annotation automation services.
• Mentor engineers and provide day-to-day technical leadership for the team.

Skills

Leadership experience

Python

Distributed systems

ML models

Problem solving

Camera/LiDAR data pipelines

Data annotation quality

Annotation tools

ML frameworks

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS/SE/AI/Robotics

Tools

Labelbox

Supervisely

RoboFlow

PyTorch

TensorFlow

ONNX

Weights & Biases

MLflow

NVIDIA Cosmos Curator

Cosmos Reason

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.

Help Build the Future of Caterpillar –

At Caterpillar, technology always has a purpose, which is to solve our customers’ toughest challenges. ThroughCat Technology, we are solving problems by building the intelligence layer that connects machines, data, and people to make jobsites safer, more productive, and more sustainable. By combining deep domain expertise in physical systems with software, connectivity, autonomy, and AI, we deliver solutions that work in the real world—on real jobsites, at global scale.

You’ll build and deploy against one of the most unique data foundations—over 1.6 million connected assets generating real-world data daily. These data and platform capabilities are enabling the development of AI models, edge computing architectures, and software systems that scale across fleets, products, and industries. The result will be a new generation of machines that continuously learn, improve, and deliver performance at scale.

Be Part of What’s Next in Autonomous Construction Sites

Construction autonomy is one of the most complex challenges in applied AI, and at Caterpillar, advancements in physical AI, simulation, sensing, and edge computing are turning things that once felt impossible—intelligent machines operating in dynamic jobsites—into reality.

Our connected ecosystem brings together massive volumes of high-quality data to create a foundation where engineers like you can build and deploy against.

If this work motivates you, we invite you to join our team. In these roles, you’ll work at the intersection of the physical and digital worlds. You’ll help design and deliver intelligent systems that enable machines to perceive their environment, make informed decisions, and support safer, more productive operations.

Apply today to build the new era of construction autonomy at Caterpillar.

We are seeking a Lead AI Automation Engineer to provide technical leadership for a scrum team responsible for developing annotation automation solutions used to create training data for robotics, autonomy, computer vision, and Vision-Language-Action (VLA) systems.

This role combines software engineering, machine learning, and data engineering to build automated annotation and captioning capabilities for real-world heavy equipment and construction environments. You will help deploy and extend technologies such as NVIDIA Cosmos Curator and Cosmos Reason while also developing Caterpillar-specific AI models that enable automated labeling, automated captioning, and AI-driven quality assurance.

This is a hands-on technical leadership role focused on turning complex AI and data challenges into scalable production solutions.

What You’ll Do

• Lead the technical execution of a scrum team focused on annotation automation and AI-driven data production.

• Design, develop, and deploy automated labeling and captioning solutions for perception and VLA datasets.

• Train, fine-tune, and evaluate AI models to support auto-labeling, auto-captioning, and annotation quality automation.

• Build data pipelines and workflows that move datasets through automated labeling, human review, quality validation, and dataset publication.

• Implement and extend platforms such as NVIDIA Cosmos Curator, Cosmos Reason, and other emerging AI automation technologies.

• Develop solutions that integrate Caterpillar data systems with external annotation providers and human-in-the-loop workflows.

• Drive reliability, scalability, observability, and operational excellence across annotation automation services.

• Mentor engineers and provide day-to-day technical leadership for the team.

What Makes This Role Unique

Most AI automation solutions are not trained to understand heavy equipment, jobsites, sensor data, or machine operations. In this role, you'll help develop the AI capabilities needed to label and describe Caterpillar-specific data at scale. You'll work on challenges involving computer vision, multimodal AI, robotics, autonomy, and Vision-Language-Action systems while helping create the data foundation that powers the future of intelligent machines.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Robotics, or a related field.

• Experience leading technical delivery for software or AI engineering teams.

• Experience developing production-grade software solutions using Python and modern software engineering practices.

• Experience designing and implementing distributed systems, APIs, and data processing pipelines.

• Experience training, fine-tuning, or deploying machine learning models.

• Strong problem-solving skills and ability to work across multiple technical disciplines.

• 3+ years of experience generating and managing camera and LiDAR sensor datasets for perception or machine learning applications, including data collection pipeline design and ground truth generation.

• 3+ years of experience in data annotation and quality assurance for autonomous systems or computer vision projects, with demonstrated ability to define annotation guidelines, identify labeling defects, and drive measurable improvements in dataset accuracy.

• Experience using annotation and dataset management tools such as Labelbox, Supervisely, RoboFlow or similar toolchains.

• Experience using machine learning frameworks and training tools such as PyTorch, TensorFlow, ONNX, Weights & Biases, MLflow or similar frameworks.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with computer vision, robotics, autonomy, Physical AI, or multimodal AI systems.

• Experience with AI-assisted annotation, auto-labeling, or machine learning data pipelines.

• Experience training or fine-tuning foundation models, vision models, or multimodal models.

• Experience with NVIDIA Cosmos Curator, Cosmos Reason, or similar AI automation platforms.

• Experience with Vision-Language-Action (VLA) datasets and workflows.

• Experience with sensor data such as cameras, LiDAR, radar, or autonomous machine datasets.

• Experience with cloud platforms, MLOps, and machine learning deployment pipelines.

• Experience building human-in-the-loop AI workflows and quality automation systems.

Additional Details:

• This position requires the candidate towork full-time at the Irving, TX office (Dallas)

• Domestic relocation assistance is available for this position.

• Visa sponsorship is available with this position.

* 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 available for eligible applicants.

Why Caterpillar

You'll work on some of the most challenging applications of AI in the physical world, helping build systems that transform vast amounts of machine and sensor data into the intelligence that powers autonomous and AI-enabled equipment. If you're excited about applying AI to real-world machines operating in complex environments, we'd like to hear from you.

Summary Pay Range:

$128,470.00 - $208,770.00

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

Posting Dates:

Any offer of employment is conditioned upon the successful completion of a drug screen.

Caterpillar is an Equal Opportunity Employer, Including Veterans and Individuals with Disabilities. Qualified applicants of any age are encouraged to apply.