JOB DESCRIPTION

Description

We are looking for API Product Manager to lead our Dealer/Customer facing API and our developer portal development and adoption as part of an innovative, cross-platform, customer-centric team, working in a high pace environment. 

We are actively seeking a strong API Product Manager who will lead with our API development teams to architect and develop industry leading API solutions. This role is expected to strategize, define, architect, lead, coach, and mentor development and adoption team. This high-profile position within our organization is vital to continued success of the Cat Digital business objectives.

API Product Manager will work as part of cross functional, passionate agile project team to ensure quality is driven into the heart of the development process from requirements definition to delivery and to the adoption. As an Product Manager of dealer/customer facing API development team, you will apply product vision/definition, architecture, API development and integration expertise to lead and assist developers in development of API portfolio as well as assist adoption team in promoting adoption of Caterpillar APIs.

Understanding Caterpillar Digital strategy, dealer/customer business needs and aligning it to the road map of API development will be key to the success of this role.

You will be accountable for creation of business and technical roadmap of API, architecture artifacts, developer guides, code quality, test driven development, and other development best practices to ensure high quality deliverable in timely manner.  

Job Description

• Provide technology leadership and guidance to API development projects within Application division

• Collaborate with Cat digital leaders, industry digital leaders, dealers, customers to define API strategy, vision, API product capabilities, API product roadmap and API commercialization strategy by focusing on optimizing developer experience

• Collaborate with API developers to define requirement specifications, establish service contracts, ensure features/user stories are developer-ready, easy to understand, and testable and acceptance criteria are clear and prescriptive

• Bring technical excellence, project management, and hands-on expertise to the API architecture. design, implementation, support and delivery of dealer/customer facing API team and Digital Marketplace team. 

• Be a hands-on with role, where at times operate as a working member of the group in all stages of projects.

• Drive operational improvements, improve departmental working environment, and set goals both tactical and strategic in support of current and future program

• Maintain a high level of awareness and enthusiasm for the new API development projects within Application division

• Design and develop scalable APIs in a cloud environment (AWS/Azure)

• Provide technical leadership in API architecture and design technical standards as well as Logical, Technical & Physical views of architecture  

• Provides guidance to developers regarding API development guiding principles, API coding and design standards, best practices, and API performance and availability

• Collaborate and pair with other development team members to design and develop new, scalable, secure, and reliable APIs

• Review the quality of implementation by developers

• Mentor junior team members

• Guide developers to write unit, regression, integration, security and performance test cases including “destructive testing” to ensure adequate resiliency in production

• Guide developers to write clean, maintainable code and perform unit tests and peer code reviews

• Optimizes API design for performance, maintainability, scalability, extensibility as needed.

• Provides Tier III support for APIs running in production

• Help developers drive incident/defect towards resolution; proposes and designs retest cases, scripts and data. 

• Collaborate in multi-cultural technical environments with global teams.  

• Communicate technical solutions to internal SMEs and enterprise architects

The position manages the completion of its own work assignments and coordinates work with others.  The position normally works independently with minimal management input and review of end results.

Typical customers include Caterpillar customers, dealers, other external companies who uses API developed by Industry and Aftermarket division and/or supplies underlying technology components. The position is challenged to quickly and correctly identify problems that may not be obvious. The incumbent solves problems by determining the best course of action, within departmental guidelines, from many existing solutions. The incumbent sets priorities and establishes a work plan in order to complete broadly defined assignments and achieve desired results. The position participates in brainstorming sessions focused on developing new approaches to meeting quality goals in the measure(s) stated.

Qualifications

Basic Qualifications: 

• Position requires a four year degree from an accredited college or university.

• 7 plus years of Information Technology experience in APIs architecture and development

• 3 plus years of experience with telemetry data (on or off board) 

• 5 plus years of deep experience in implementing large scale API architecture, design and development including but not limited to

        o Defining SOA/API technical reference architecture and road maps 

        o Discovery, definition and modeling of APIs and implementing security aspects leveraging OAuth etc.  

        o Message modeling, XML, JSON, XSLT  

        o RestFul development

• 3 plus years of Lifecycle management for Software Applications including integration/API life cycle 

Top candidates will also have: 

• Bachelor's degree preferably in computer science or software engineering or Bachelor's degree in business/marketing

• Excellent communication with internal stakeholders, customers and dealers

• Strong knowledge of administrative back-ends and can train others on using these tools

• Organized, detail-oriented and manages stress well

• Good understanding of architecture principles and ability to simplify complex technical problems 

• Experience automating and scripting processes  

• 3+ years of experience in Agile development 

• Experience in designing high availability environments with clustering, failover/recovery and load balancing strategies 

• Demonstrated strong problem solving and technical skills 

• Strong communication and collaboration skills

• Proven ability to manage and prioritize multiple, diverse projects simultaneously.

• Must be flexible, independent and self-motivate

• Excellent team member, good judgment and the ability to work effectively with a diverse workforce. 

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills. 

• Strong analytical, problem solving and planning ability. Detailed oriented. Observational. 

• Ability to multi-task to accomplish workload efficiently. Excellent time management.

• Good work ethic and general business acumen

Relocation assistance is available for this position.

EEO/AA Employer. All qualified individuals – including minorities, females, veterans and individuals with disabilities – are encouraged to apply.