Job description

Career Area: Engineering 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. Role Overview: We are seeking an experienced Software Architect to provide technical leadership and architectural direction for embedded software systems and platforms. In this role, you will translate customer, product, and system needs into scalable software architectures, guide teams through critical design decisions, and help ensure solutions are reliable, maintainable, testable, secure, and aligned with long-term product strategy. What You Will Do: Lead the definition and evolution of embedded software architectures across products, platforms, and reusable software components. Translate customer, product, system, safety, cybersecurity, and performance requirements into clear software architecture and design specifications. Define architectural principles, interfaces, design patterns, and technical standards that improve scalability, modularity, reuse, maintainability, and testability. Evaluate architecture alternatives and document technical tradeoffs involving performance, reliability, schedule, lifecycle support, and implementation risk. Facilitate architecture reviews, design reviews, technical walkthroughs, and risk assessments; drive decisions to closure with appropriate stakeholders. Partner with systems, controls, hardware, validation, cybersecurity, product, and software teams to manage interfaces and resolve cross-domain technical issues. Mentor engineers in software design, requirements analysis, system testing, troubleshooting, and sound engineering practices. Contribute to technology roadmaps and identify opportunities for platform reuse, modernization, automation, and continuous improvement. What You Will Have: Analytical Thinking: Knowledge of techniques and tools that promote effective analysis; ability to determine the root cause of organizational problems and create alternative solutions that resolve these problems. Effective Communications: Understanding of effective communication concepts, tools and techniques; ability to effectively transmit, receive, and accurately interpret ideas, information, and needs through the application of appropriate communication behaviors. Teamwork: Knowledge of the necessity and value of teamwork; experience with; ability to work cooperatively towards shared goals and being supportive of others at all levels. Technical Excellence: Knowledge of a given technology and various application methods; ability to develop and provide solutions to significant technical challenges. Software Development: Knowledge of software development tools and activities; ability to produce software products or systems in line with product requirements. System Testing: Knowledge of system and software testing; ability to design, plan and execute system testing strategies and tactics to ensure the quality of software at all stages of the system life cycle. Top Candidates May Also Have: Demonstrated experience defining architecture for complex embedded or distributed software systems used across multiple products or programs. Strong C/C experience and working knowledge of real-time operating systems, communications protocols, hardware/software interfaces, and resource-constrained systems. Experience with architecture modeling, interface definition, requirements traceability, design documentation, and formal architecture or design reviews. Experience applying functional safety, cybersecurity, diagnostics, reliability, and software quality principles to product development. Experience with automated testing, continuous integration, software-in-the-loop or hardware-in-the-loop environments, and modern development toolchains. Ability to influence technical direction without direct authority and build alignment across multiple teams and stakeholders. Experience mentoring engineers and raising technical capability across a software organization. Familiarity with AI-assisted software development tools and responsible use in engineering workflows. Advanced degree from an accredited program in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Software Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related engineering discipline. Progressive professional experience in embedded software development, including responsibility for software design or architecture decisions. Experience across the software development lifecycle, including requirements, design, implementation, integration, verification, release, and support. Additional Information: On-site work is required Monday through Friday in Mossville, IL. Domestic relocation assistance is available. Employment sponsorship is available for this position. This role may require up to 10% travel. #LI Summary Pay Range: $128,470.00 - $192,710.00 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 available for eligible applicants. Posting Dates: October 22, 2026 - November 3, 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 .

Requirements

Must-haves

Your Work Shapes the World at Caterpillar Inc.
Lead the definition and evolution of embedded software architectures across products, platforms, and reusable software components.
Translate customer, product, system, safety, cybersecurity, and performance requirements into clear software architecture and design specifications.
Define architectural principles, interfaces, design patterns, and technical standards that improve scalability, modularity, reuse, maintainability, and testability.
Evaluate architecture alternatives and document technical tradeoffs involving performance, reliability, schedule, lifecycle support, and implementation risk.
Facilitate architecture reviews, design reviews, technical walkthroughs, and risk assessments; drive decisions to closure with appropriate stakeholders.
Partner with systems, controls, hardware, validation, cybersecurity, product, and software teams to manage interfaces and resolve cross-domain technical issues.
Mentor engineers in software design, requirements analysis, system testing, troubleshooting, and sound engineering practices.
Contribute to technology roadmaps and identify opportunities for platform reuse, modernization, automation, and continuous improvement.
Analytical Thinking: Knowledge of techniques and tools that promote effective analysis; ability to determine the root cause of organizational problems and create alternative solutions that resolve these problems.
Teamwork: Knowledge of the necessity and value of teamwork; experience with; ability to work cooperatively towards shared goals and being supportive of others at all levels.
Technical Excellence: Knowledge of a given technology and various application methods; ability to develop and provide solutions to significant technical challenges.
Software Development: Knowledge of software development tools and activities; ability to produce software products or systems in line with product requirements.
System Testing: Knowledge of system and software testing; ability to design, plan and execute system testing strategies and tactics to ensure the quality of software at all stages of the system life cycle.
Demonstrated experience defining architecture for complex embedded or distributed software systems used across multiple products or programs.
Strong C/C experience and working knowledge of real-time operating systems, communications protocols, hardware/software interfaces, and resource-constrained systems.
Experience with architecture modeling, interface definition, requirements traceability, design documentation, and formal architecture or design reviews.
Experience applying functional safety, cybersecurity, diagnostics, reliability, and software quality principles to product development.
Experience with automated testing, continuous integration, software-in-the-loop or hardware-in-the-loop environments, and modern development toolchains.
Ability to influence technical direction without direct authority and build alignment across multiple teams and stakeholders.
Experience mentoring engineers and raising technical capability across a software organization.
Familiarity with AI-assisted software development tools and responsible use in engineering workflows.
Advanced degree from an accredited program in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Software Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related engineering discipline.
Progressive professional experience in embedded software development, including responsibility for software design or architecture decisions.

Nice-to-haves

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Application prep

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Keywords to mirror

Platform: workday
Effort: long

Benefits

Benefits detected in the listing.

Dental

Vision

401(K)

Paid Time Off

Parental Leave