Senior Autonomy Systems Engineer

Caterpillar Financial Services Corporation; Washington (IL); On-site; USD 113,000 - 183,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, and vision benefits

401(k) savings plans

HSA

Tuition Reimbursement

Relocation assistance

Job summary

Caterpillar seeks a Sr. Autonomy Systems Engineer for the Surface Loading Autonomy team. You will integrate autonomy solutions with base machines, define system requirements, and coordinate multi-team testing in lab and field environments.

You will lead or support integration, validation, and documentation efforts while communicating tradeoffs and technical risks to stakeholders. This role requires onsite work in Peoria area with travel.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Computer Science, or related field.
• Strong experience as a Systems Engineer in software/hardware development.
• Experience with systems integration and validation in engineering product development.
• Knowledge of Wheel Loaders, Excavators, or Articulated Trucks preferred.
• Construction or Mining industry experience preferred.

Responsibilities

• Integrate autonomy solutions with the base machine.
• Define requirements and system architecture for autonomous machine systems.
• Coordinate with onboard electronics and lab/on-machine testing.
• Lead or support system integration, functional tests, and validation.
• Document design decisions and ensure traceability.
• Communicate readiness and risks to stakeholders.
• Collaborate with autonomy development and validation teams.

Skills

Autonomy systems

System integration

Requirements decomposition

Documentation

Communication

Stakeholder management

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Computer Science, or related field

Tools

CAN

Ethernet

ROS2

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.

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.

Help Build the Future of Caterpillar –

At Caterpillar, technology always has a purpose, which is to solve our customers’ toughest challenges. Through Cat 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.

Job Summary:

As a Sr. Autonomy Systems Engineer on the Surface Loading Autonomy team, you will be an integral part of the Caterpillar team developing the next generation of autonomous machines for the construction industry. In this role you will be responsible for integrating autonomy solutions with the base machine. This includes helping to define the requirements and system architecture for bringing autonomous machine systems together, working with many different types of onboard electronics systems, including hands on work in both lab and on machine environments, and coordinating with other teams to implement, validate and demonstrate autonomous solutions on machine. The successful candidate will be very detail oriented, help to develop and execute standard work and work well with and through others. Additionally, the incumbent will also need to be capable of making and communicating good decisions around the trade-offs between time, resources, and quality.

What You Will Do:

• Apply new autonomous system solutions and technologies to machines working in the Construction industry, including Excavators, Wheel Loaders and Articulated Trucks.
• Work closely with Machine Development teams (L6) to determine the best way to deliver on machine autonomous features.
• Lead or support system integration, functional tests, and validation activities
• Issue resolution through triage and troubleshooting
• Collaborate with and coordinate activities between the various autonomy development teams, machine and machine system development teams and machine validation teams
• Decomposition of Customer requirements into (L6) system level requirements
• Ensure clear documentation and traceability of system architecture, design decisions, and success criteria
• Serve as a subject matter expert for Surface Loading Machine Autonomous Solutions
• Communicate system readiness and technical risk to stakeholders

What You Will Have:

Communicating Complex Concepts:

• Work with a global team to communicate the Why’s and develop the How’s of agreed features.
• Clearly document the details for the system and ensure understanding and compliance with each subsystem team.
• Communicate designs and tradeoffs with stakeholders at multiple levels.

Technical Excellence:

• Proven ability to work on production products through design, implementation, customer rollout, and support.
• Ability to decompose complex customer requirements into achievable technical requirements for the systems that make up the product.
• Knowledge and experience with autonomous systems and hardware, including vision systems (e.g. Camera, Lidar, and Radar), GNSS, and IMU.
• Knowledge of on machine electrical systems and best practices, including harnessing, wiring, etc.
• Integration of autonomy systems protocols and software including experience with CAN, Ethernet, ROS2

Influencing Through Expertise:

• Strong working knowledge of the Autonomy ecosystem in mining or construction, or other autonomous system control system architectures which can be drawn upon for design proposals and decisions.
• Constantly staying abreast of advancements in the Autonomy and construction industries.
• Provides evidentiary support while giving opinions or recommendations to influence decision making.
• Conducts tasks in such a way as to build a strong reputation and credibility as an expert in the field.

Effective Communications:

• Effectively communicates ideas and design tradeoffs to team members and stakeholders
• Willing to spend the time to document designs, requirements, and success criteria to ensure team member alignment
• Clearly explains project goals to team members, keeps leadership informed of progress, and shares relevant updates with external partners
• Uses data-driven arguments, active listening, and tailored messaging to persuade stakeholders and achieve consensus.

Top Candidates Will Have:

• A Bachelor’s degree in an accredited Engineering, Computer Science, or related field.
• Strong professional experience as a Systems Engineer supporting product development teams focusing on software and hardware development
• Prior experience collaborating with systems integration and validation teams for engineering product development
• Experience in Construction or Mining industry preferred
• Knowledge and experience with Wheel Loaders, Excavators, and/or Articulated Trucks preferred

Additional Details:

• While the long-term intent is for this position to be based in Dallas (Irving), Texas, the current program work is located in the Peoria, Illinois area, primarily at Caterpillar’s Peoria Proving Ground in Washington, Illinois, and Caterpillar’s Technical Center in Mossville, Illinois.
• Travel Requirements:
• For candidates who begin the role in the Peoria area, travel associated with current project work is expected to be approximately 15%.
• For candidates based in the Dallas area, travel is expected to be approximately 75% due to the hands‑on, machine‑based nature of the work located in Illinois.
• As a result, the preferred arrangement is for the successful candidate to be based in the Peoria area initially to support current project needs, with a future relocation to Dallas (Irving), Texas when business needs align. The timing of the relocation is to be determined based on project and organizational requirements.
• This position requires the candidate to work full time at their designated Caterpillar facility or Caterpillar facility where the current work is taking place. Remote work is NOT available for this position.
• Visa sponsorship is NOT available with this position.

Summary Pay Range:

$112,710.00 - $183,140.00

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

This position requires working onsite five days a week.Relocation is available for this position.Visa Sponsorship is not available for this position.

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.