AI Engineer

Career Area:Technology, Digital and DataJob 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.As an AI Engineer, you will design, develop, and optimize advanced AI interactions to power production-grade software applications. You will move beyond basic prompt drafting to build robust, scalable, and reliable AI systems utilizing state-of-the-art Large Language Models (LLMs). Your role is critical in orchestrating autonomous AI agents, implementing Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) pipelines, and establishing rigorous testing and observability frameworks. You will bridge the gap between complex business logic and machine intelligence, ensuring high-quality, safe, and deterministic AI behaviors.What You Will Do:Prompt Architecture & TuningDesign Advanced Prompts: Architect, version, and refine highly effective system, contextual, and dynamic prompts using advanced techniques (e.g., Chain-of-Thought, Tree-of-Thoughts, ReAct, Few-Shot learning).Mitigate Risks: Minimize model hallucinations, jailbreaking, and prompt injections through programmatic guardrails and robust adversarial prompting strategies.Model Agnostic Tuning: Adapt, benchmark, and fine-tune prompt structures across diverse open-source and proprietary frontier models.Agentic Workflows & RAG SystemsBuild AI Agents: Design and orchestrate multi-agent systems and multi-step reasoning workflows using frameworks like LangGraph, LangChain.Optimize RAG Pipelines: Integrate and fine-tune Retrieval-Augmented Generation architectures, managing semantic search, chunking strategies, embedding models, and vector database queries.Tool Execution: Implement precise function-calling and tool-use prompts enabling LLMs to interact reliably with external APIs, databases, and legacy codebases.Testing, Evaluation & ObservabilityBuild automated testing suites using RAGAS and Evals frameworks to assess RAG accuracy and enable continuous validation and benchmarking of Retrieval‑Augmented Generation outputs across datasets and Models .Agent Testing: Build automated regression testing suites and CI/CD pipelines to validate prompt stability, agent trajectory correctness, and tool-calling accuracy.Implement LLM Observability: Set up production monitoring and observability systems using platforms like Azure Application insights, Microsoft Foundry.Monitor Metrics: Track, analyze, and optimize production runtime metrics including semantic drift, token usage, cost efficiencies, and end-to-end latency.Collaboration & Continuous InnovationCross-Functional Delivery: Work alongside Product Managers, Data Scientists, and Software Engineers to translate commercial requirements into deterministic AI capabilities.Technology Scouting: Keep pace with rapid weekly advancements in LLM capabilities, evaluation frameworks, and orchestration libraries to sustain a competitive edge.What You Have:Core Prompt Engineering: Expert-level mastery of structured prompt formats (XML, JSON wrappers), system-level steering, and context-window optimization.Production Programming: High proficiency in Python or TypeScript for constructing backend AI logic, processing asynchronous data streams, and handling API integrations.Orchestration Frameworks: Hands-on experience building apps using LangChain, LangGraph, native SDKs.Vector Infrastructure: Solid experience working with vector databases (e.g., Azure AI Search, AWS Open Search) and hybrid search retrieval methods.Data & ML Fundamentals: Strong capabilities in data manipulation (Pandas, NumPy), data cleaning, token handling, and foundational understanding of NLP transformers.Top Candidates Will HaveAI Observability Stacks: Prior implementation of Application Insights, OpenLLMetry, or custom evaluation/guardrail layers.Machine Learning Systems: Knowledge of deep learning architectures, fine-tuning frameworks (QLoRA, PEFT), and platforms like Hugging Face, PyTorch, or TensorFlow.Cloud Infrastructure: Experience deploying containerized AI microservices using Docker, Kubernetes, AWS, or GCP.Education: Bachelor’s or master’s degree in computer science, Data Science, Artificial Intelligence, Computational Linguistics, Mathematics, or a highly technical discipline.Experience: 2+ years of dedicated professional experience developing production software integrated with GenAI/LLM pipelines.Track Record: Proven portfolio demonstrating successfully deployed RAG systems or operational AI agents in commercial environments.Additional Info:• The required location for this role is East Peoria-IL, Irving-TXAbout Caterpillar –For more than a century, Caterpillar has helped build a better, more sustainable world. With 2025 sales and revenues of $67.6 billion, Caterpillar Inc. is shaping the future as the world’s leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, off-highway diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and diesel-electric locomotives. Backed by one of the largest independent global dealer networks and financing services through Cat Financial, the company’s primary business segments: Power & Energy, Construction Industries and Resource Industries are solving customers’ toughest challenges through commercial excellence and advanced technology, driven by a highly skilled, dedicated global team. Learn more at .Summary Pay Range:$97,530.00 - $158,480.00Compensation 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 benefitsLife InsuranceParental leaveAdoption benefitsTuition Reimbursement* These benefits also apply to part-time employeesThis position requires working onsite five days a week.Visa Sponsorship is not available for this position.Posting Dates:October 27, 2026 - November 8, 2026Any 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.Not ready to apply? Join our Talent Community.SummaryLocation: East Peoria, Illinois; Irving, TexasType: Full time