Lead Physical AI Engineer — Digital Twins & Autonomy

Caterpillar Brazil; Irving (TX); On-site; USD 148,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, and vision benefits

401(k) savings plans

Paid time off

Job summary

Caterpillar Irving, TX is seeking a Lead Physical AI Engineer to develop high-fidelity digital twins and physics-based machine models for construction equipment. You will lead NVIDIA Newton adoption, establish modeling standards, and collaborate across autonomy, robotics, and AI teams.

The role emphasizes reinforcement learning, synthetic data, and software-in-the-loop testing to accelerate AI-enabled engineering workflows while ensuring model validity and performance across real-world scenarios.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s, Master’s, or 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 development of high-fidelity digital twins and machine dynamics models for Caterpillar construction machines.
• Establish modeling standards, simulation methodologies, and best practices using NVIDIA Newton, Isaac Sim, Omniverse, and OpenUSD.
• Bridge machine physics, robotics simulation, autonomy development, and Physical AI initiatives.
• Develop and validate machine models representing behavior, performance, and operating characteristics.
• Collaborate with autonomy, robotics, and AI teams to support reinforcement learning, synthetic data generation, and software-in-the-loop testing.
• Establish validation processes with domain experts to ensure realism of simulations.

Skills

Python

C++

Project leadership

Communication skills

Robotics

Education

Bachelor’s/Master’s/Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering/Robotics/Mechatronics/Aerospace/Computer Engineering

Tools

NVIDIA Newton

Isaac Sim

Omniverse

OpenUSD

NVIDIA Warp

Isaac Lab

ROS2

Job description

Caterpillar Irving, TX is seeking a Lead Physical AI Engineer to develop high-fidelity digital twins and physics-based machine models for construction equipment. You will lead NVIDIA Newton adoption, establish modeling standards, and collaborate across autonomy, robotics, and AI teams.

The role emphasizes reinforcement learning, synthetic data, and software-in-the-loop testing to accelerate AI-enabled engineering workflows while ensuring model validity and performance across real-world scenarios.