Principal Robotics Engineer — Autonomy & Perception

Caterpillar; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 163,000 - 264,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical/Dental/Vision

401(k) plans

Tuition Reimbursement

Paid time off

Job summary

Caterpillar is seeking a Principal Robotics Engineer to define and deploy autonomous and semi-autonomous machines. You will lead cross‑disciplinary teams, translate complex problems into concrete tasks, and drive production deployments across perception, planning, and controls.

You’ll mentor engineers and shape system architectures for real-world impact. You will work at the intersection of physical and digital worlds, building robust robotics software and equipment integration for next‑gen

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in CS/Robotics or related field.
• 6+ years in robotics, autonomous systems, perception, or ML.
• Experience taking robotics capabilities from concept to production.
• Proficiency in C++ and Python with strong debugging skills.
• Experience with ROS/ROS 2 and real-time robotics software.

Responsibilities

• Define, develop, and bring to production autonomous and semi-autonomous machines.
• Lead design reviews and mentor engineers across disciplines.
• Translate complex problems into well-defined technical tasks and prototypes.
• Evaluate approaches and drive production deployment of robotic systems.
• Lead architectures spanning perception, planning, controls, and sensor fusion.

Skills

C++ programming

Python programming

Sensor fusion

Localization & mapping

Perception

Machine learning

System debugging

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or related field

Master’s or PhD in CS/Robotics or related field

Tools

ROS / ROS 2

NVIDIA Jetson / CUDA

CUDA / TensorRT / ONNX

Job description

Caterpillar is seeking a Principal Robotics Engineer to define and deploy autonomous and semi-autonomous machines. You will lead cross‑disciplinary teams, translate complex problems into concrete tasks, and drive production deployments across perception, planning, and controls.

You’ll mentor engineers and shape system architectures for real-world impact. You will work at the intersection of physical and digital worlds, building robust robotics software and equipment integration for next‑gen