Lead Physical AI Engineer: Digital Twins & Autonomous Systems

Caterpillar Inc.; Irving (IA); On-site; USD 148,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, and vision benefits

401(k) with company match

Paid time off and holidays

Career development

Job summary

Caterpillar Inc. is seeking a Lead Physical AI engineer to drive high-fidelity digital twins and physics-based models for construction machines. You will lead Newton-based simulation adoption and collaborate across autonomy, robotics, and AI to accelerate development.

You will validate models with domain experts and enable real-time analysis through ROM development, aligning with Caterpillar's digital twin strategy and AI-enabled engineering workflows.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's/Master's/Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, Robotics, Mechatronics, Aerospace Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related field.
• 8+ years of experience in simulation, robotics, autonomous systems, digital twins, or machine dynamics.
• Demonstrated expertise in NVIDIA Newton or similar tools, including multibody dynamics, articulated systems, and machine physics simulation.
• Strong knowledge of vehicle dynamics, hydraulics, powertrain systems, kinematics, and machine-terrain interaction.
• Proficiency in Python and C++.
• Experience developing and validating high-fidelity simulation models for complex mechanical systems or the CAE software tools used to build them.
• Experience leading technical projects and collaborating across multidisciplinary engineering teams.
• Excellent communication and problem-solving skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead the NVIDIA Newton technical leadership and adoption across Caterpillar.
• Develop high-fidelity machine models: rigid-body dynamics, hydraulics, powertrains, and terrain interaction.
• Validate models against engineering analyses, test results, and telemetry.
• Lead Reduced Order Model (ROM) development for real-time analysis and AI workflows.
• Collaborate with autonomy, robotics, and AI teams to enable reinforcement learning and virtual validation.

Skills

Python

C++

Communication

Problem-solving

Team collaboration

Education

Bachelor's/Master's/Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering or related field

Tools

NVIDIA Newton

Isaac Sim

Omniverse

OpenUSD

ROS2

Job description

Caterpillar Inc. is seeking a Lead Physical AI engineer to drive high-fidelity digital twins and physics-based models for construction machines. You will lead Newton-based simulation adoption and collaborate across autonomy, robotics, and AI to accelerate development.

You will validate models with domain experts and enable real-time analysis through ROM development, aligning with Caterpillar's digital twin strategy and AI-enabled engineering workflows.