Senior Autonomy Development Engineer

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.

The Operator Safety Systems Senior Developer develops and delivers production-quality software that helps protect operators, personnel, and equipment in heavy equipment environments. This role applies strong software engineering practices to design, implement, integrate, validate, and support software for operator safety capabilities used in mining, construction, and other demanding applications.

Working with a high degree of independence, this developer contributes hands-on technical expertise to the Operator Safety Systems team, with responsibility for robust C++ software, sensor and camera integration, operator awareness features, machine interaction logic, diagnostics, and field-supportable software solutions. The role collaborates closely with systems, validation, product, UI/UX, hardware, and field teams to translate safety-system needs into reliable software that can be deployed and supported across machine platforms.

What You Will Do:

• Design, implement, test, and release production-quality C/C++ software for Operator Safety Systems on heavy equipment
• Develop and integrate software components that support operator awareness, personnel detection, collision mitigation support, in-cab alerts, event capture, diagnostics, and safety-oriented machine responses
• Build and maintain camera, sensor, perception, and data-processing pipelines for real-time or near-real-time safety applications
• Participate across the full software development lifecycle including design, documentation, coding, unit testing, integration, validation support, and release readiness
• Collaborate with systems engineering, validation, product, UI/UX, hardware, and field teams to translate operator safety needs into clear software requirements and implementation plans
• Support implementation of operator-facing workflows, displays, configuration screens, alerts, and user interactions in partnership with UI/UX teams
• Troubleshoot complex software and system issues using logs, traces, telemetry, sensor data, profiling tools, and field observations
• Contribute to software architecture and design trade-off discussions with a focus on reliability, maintainability, latency, diagnosability, usability, and field supportability
• Facilitate and participate in design reviews, code reviews, debugging sessions, and technical discussions across cross-functional engineering teams
• Communicate technical designs, trade-offs, risks, and status clearly to developers, systems engineers, stakeholders, and leadership
• Mentor and support other engineers through collaboration, technical guidance, and strong development practices

What You Have:

• Programming:
  • Advanced C/C++ development experience for production software in embedded, edge, robotics, perception, machine control, or safety-oriented systems
  • Ability to interpret system designs, software requirements, interface definitions, and test expectations for complex operator safety features
  • Strong engineering practices, including modular design, debugging, profiling, code review, static analysis, and maintainable implementation
  • Ability to apply structured software design practices in systems with real-time, reliability, usability, and field-support constraints
• Software Development Life Cycle:
  • Experience contributing across software development phases from requirements and design through implementation, integration, validation, and release
  • Ability to interpret product development plans, software requirements, functional documentation, and validation expectations
  • Experience working with cross-functional development processes, issue tracking, configuration management, and release readiness activities
• Problem Solving:
  • Ability to identify and document software or system problems and develop resolution alternatives
  • Ability to analyze risks and benefits of alternative approaches and support decisions on technical resolution
  • Uses fact-finding techniques, diagnostic tools, logs, traces, and test data to identify root causes and verify corrective actions
• Technical Troubleshooting:
  • Discovers, analyzes, and resolves software, application, integration, or system behavior issues
  • Analyzes code, logs, sensor data, system traces, and current software behavior as part of advanced troubleshooting
  • Records and reports specific technical problems, solving processes, tools used, and recommended corrective actions
• Cross-Functional Collaboration and Communication:
  • Ability to clearly communicate technical concepts, software designs, risks, and trade-offs to engineering and non-engineering audiences
  • Ability to collaborate effectively with systems, validation, hardware, product, UI/UX, supplier, and field teams
  • Ability to simplify complex technical information and adapt communication to the audience
• Education Requirements: Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Software Engineering, Robotics, Engineering, or related field — or commensurate industry experience.

Consideration for Top Candidates:

• Extensive experience as a software developer supporting engineering projects on operator safety, robotics, autonomous, semi-autonomous, embedded, perception-enabled, or machine-control systems
• Strong experience with C++ software development for real-time, embedded Linux, edge computing, or field-deployed compute platforms
• Experience developing or integrating operator awareness, driver monitoring, personnel detection, collision mitigation, proximity awareness, in-cab alerting, or other operator safety features
• Experience with camera, radar, LiDAR, ultrasonic, GNSS/GPS, inertial, thermal, stereo vision, or other machine sensing technologies
• Experience developing machine vision or perception software, including camera calibration, image processing, object detection, tracking, model integration, or performance tuning on edge hardware
• Experience using GStreamer or similar frameworks to build, debug, optimize, or integrate camera and video-processing pipelines
• Experience developing operator-facing software, displays, configuration workflows, alerts, or event-reporting features
• Some experience with UI/UX design and implementation preferred, including working from wireframes, collaborating with UX designers, implementing user workflows, and improving usability of operator-facing or technician-facing software
• Experience with Figma, HTML5, Angular, Qt, or similar UI technologies for embedded, web, or onboard applications preferred
• Experience with CI/CD pipelines, Git, automated testing, Linux-based development environments, and modern DevOps practices
• Experience troubleshooting software on machines, benches, simulators, hardware-in-the-loop environments, or field-deployed systems
• Experience in construction, mining, off-highway, automotive, industrial automation, robotics, or heavy equipment industries preferred

Additional Information:

• This position is to work onsite at our Irving, TX office.
• Relocation assistance is NOT available for this position.
• Visa sponsorship is NOT available for this position.
• This position may require travel up to 30%.
• #LI

Summary Pay Range:

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

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.

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