Lead and develop a software engineering team building cloud-native AI agents, assistants, orchestration frameworks, tooling, and observability solutions. Own technical strategy, architecture, delivery, reliability, security, scalability, operational excellence, and production support. Partner with product, data science, architecture, and business teams while managing releases, resources, risks, and multiple initiatives. Coach engineers, improve engineering practices, and ensure responsible AI and governance compliance.
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.
Cat Digital is the digital and technology arm of Caterpillar Inc., leveraging the latest technologies to build industry leading digital solutions for our customers and dealers. With over 1.5 million connected assets worldwide, our teams use data, technology, advanced analytics, telematics and AI capabilities to help our customers build a better, more sustainable world.
Job Summary
We are seeking an experienced Software Engineering Manager to lead a team responsible for designing, building, and operating cloud-native AI agents and tools. In this role, you will provide technical and organizational leadership for a team developing enterprise-scale AI Assistant that transform how Caterpillar customers, dealers, and employees interact with digital products.
You will oversee the end-to-end delivery of AI-powered applications and services, including agentic based architecture, agent orchestration framework and tools services, and observability solutions. The ideal candidate combines strong people leadership with hands-on technical expertise in modern software engineering and Generative AI technologies.
What You Will Do
What You Will Have
Considerations For Top Candidates:
Summary Pay Range:
$147,760.00 - $240,110.00
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.
* These benefits also apply to part-time employees
Visa Sponsorship is not available for this position.
Posting Dates:
September 1, 2026 - September 20, 2026
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.
Not ready to apply? Join our Talent Community.
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.
Cat Digital is the digital and technology arm of Caterpillar Inc., leveraging the latest technologies to build industry leading digital solutions for our customers and dealers. With over 1.5 million connected assets worldwide, our teams use data, technology, advanced analytics, telematics and AI capabilities to help our customers build a better, more sustainable world.
Job Summary
We are seeking an experienced Software Engineering Manager to lead a team responsible for designing, building, and operating cloud-native AI agents and tools. In this role, you will provide technical and organizational leadership for a team developing enterprise-scale AI Assistant that transform how Caterpillar customers, dealers, and employees interact with digital products.
You will oversee the end-to-end delivery of AI-powered applications and services, including agentic based architecture, agent orchestration framework and tools services, and observability solutions. The ideal candidate combines strong people leadership with hands-on technical expertise in modern software engineering and Generative AI technologies.
What You Will Do
- Lead and develop a high-performing team of software engineers responsible for AI agent and AI tooling development.
- Drive technical strategy, architecture, and execution for cloud-native AI solutions.
- Oversee the design, development, deployment, and operation of AI agents, agent orchestration, and supporting services.
- Partner with product owners, architects, data scientists, business stakeholders, and engineering teams to define and deliver AI-enabled capabilities.
- Establish engineering best practices, coding standards, testing frameworks, security controls, and operational excellence processes.
- Own service reliability, scalability, performance, and production support for AI applications and platforms.
- Lead release planning, resource allocation, project execution, and risk management across multiple initiatives.
- Drive continuous improvement in engineering productivity, software quality, observability, and automation.
- Develop team capabilities through coaching, mentoring, career development, and succession planning.
- Foster a culture of innovation, experimentation, collaboration, and accountability.
- Ensure compliance with enterprise security, governance, and responsible AI requirements.
What You Will Have
- Organizational Leadership: Proven ability to lead software engineering teams and deliver results through others. Experience building highly engaged teams and developing engineering talent.
- Software Development: Deep understanding of modern software engineering principles, design patterns, and development practices. Experience leading the delivery of distributed cloud-native applications.
- Software Architecture: Experience designing scalable, resilient, and maintainable software platforms. Ability to evaluate architectural tradeoffs and guide technical decisions.
- Software Quality & Operations: Experience establishing testing strategies, observability standards, monitoring practices, and incident management processes. Knowledge of reliability engineering, security best practices, and operational excellence.
Considerations For Top Candidates:
- Proven experience leading engineering teams.
- Experience building AI assistants, digital copilots, autonomous agents, or AI-powered business applications.
- Experience with AI evaluation, model observability, prompt management, and experimentation frameworks.
- Experience working with cloud AI services and leading foundation models such as OpenAI, Anthropic Claude, Gemini, or open-source alternatives
- Understanding of LLMs, RAG architecture, tool-calling patterns, prompt engineering, and agent orchestration frameworks.
- Familiarity with frameworks such as LangGraph, LangChain, Semantic Kernel, CrewAI, or similar technologies.
- Experience building and operating applications on major cloud platforms such as AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud.
- Knowledge of containerization, CI/CD pipelines, infrastructure-as-code, and platform operations.
- Strong proficiency in Python, Go, Java, or similar programming languages.
- Strong knowledge of Agile development
- Experience working in Azure DevOps
Summary Pay Range:
$147,760.00 - $240,110.00
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
Visa Sponsorship is not available for this position.
Posting Dates:
September 1, 2026 - September 20, 2026
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.
Not ready to apply? Join our Talent Community.
Caterpillar Chicago, Illinois, USA Office
In the heart of Chicago's lively West Loop area, we have easy access to public transport, great bars and restaurants, and an awesome office roof deck.
Similar Jobs at Caterpillar
Artificial Intelligence • Cloud • Internet of Things • Software • Cybersecurity • Industrial
Leads an AI Evaluation Engineering team responsible for validating generative AI products, including intelligent agents and digital assistants. Provides technical direction, manages team performance and development, owns product quality, and establishes engineering best practices. The role requires expertise in GenAI architecture, evaluation methodologies, observability, automated testing, cloud and edge environments, reliability, safety, RAG assessment, and human-in-the-loop validation.
Top Skills:
A2AAgentic SystemsAi ObservabilityAmazon BedrockAmazon SagemakerArizeAutomated TestingAWSAzureAzure Ai FoundryBlue-Green DeploymentsCanary DeploymentsCi/CdDeepevalEmbeddingsFeature FlagsGCPGenerative AiHumanloopLangchainLangfuseLanggraphLangsmithLlmsLoraMcpMultimodal ModelsPhoenixPrompt EngineeringRagRagasReal-Time ModelsSlmsSnowflake CortexSpeech ModelsTelemetryVector Databases
Artificial Intelligence • Cloud • Internet of Things • Software • Cybersecurity • Industrial
Leads a Gen AI engineering team developing intelligent agents, digital assistants, and AI-driven customer experiences. Provides technical direction, manages resources, oversees team performance and development, establishes engineering best practices, and owns product quality. Requires strong software engineering, integration, testing, organizational leadership, program management, and cross-functional project delivery experience in agile, matrixed environments.
Top Skills:
AgileCloud PlatformsEmbedded PlatformsGenerative Ai
Artificial Intelligence • Cloud • Internet of Things • Software • Cybersecurity • Industrial
Develop Python data pipelines and business data objects for applications. Build and deploy CI/CD pipelines, implement source-to-target mappings, resolve complex technical problems, interpret software design requirements, and perform unit and integration testing. The role also promotes software quality practices, cross-functional collaboration, and continuous improvement. It is onsite five days per week in Chicago or Peoria, Illinois.
Top Skills:
Amazon DynamodbAmazon RdsAmazon S3Amazon SagemakerAws FargateAws IamAws LambdaAzure DevopsCi/CdGitGithub ActionsJenkinsMongoDBOraclePostgresPython
What you need to know about the Chicago Tech Scene
With vibrant neighborhoods, great food and more affordable housing than either coast, Chicago might be the most liveable major tech hub. It is the birthplace of modern commodities and futures trading, a national hub for logistics and commerce, and home to the American Medical Association and the American Bar Association. This diverse blend of industry influences has helped Chicago emerge as a major player in verticals like fintech, biotechnology, legal tech, e-commerce and logistics technology. It’s also a major hiring center for tech companies on both coasts.
Key Facts About Chicago Tech
- Number of Tech Workers: 245,800; 5.2% of overall workforce (2024 CompTIA survey)
- Major Tech Employers: McDonald’s, John Deere, Boeing, Morningstar
- Key Industries: Artificial intelligence, biotechnology, fintech, software, logistics technology
- Funding Landscape: $2.5 billion in venture capital funding in 2024 (Pitchbook)
- Notable Investors: Pritzker Group Venture Capital, Arch Venture Partners, MATH Venture Partners, Jump Capital, Hyde Park Venture Partners
- Research Centers and Universities: Northwestern University, University of Chicago, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Illinois Institute of Technology, Argonne National Laboratory, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory

