Senior Engineer-Validation

About the Role

As a Senior Engineer - Validation at Caterpillar, you will play a key role in shaping the future of Hydraulic Mining Shovels (HMS) by ensuring our machines deliver world-class performance, durability, reliability, quality, and serviceability. In this highly collaborative role, you will lead and influence validation strategies and testing activities, working closely with teams at Tucson Proving Grounds (TPG), global engineering partners, and customers around the world. Your expertise will help bring innovative products to life, mitigate risk, and drive continuous improvement across Caterpillar's mining portfolio.

Responsibilities

• Create HMS validation strategy and activity plan, collaboratively, with product, systems, and global machine development groups (in some cases, lead that validation strategy/plan).
• Collaborate with test and validation peers at Tucson Proving Grounds regarding HMS validation needs.
• Build relationships and leverage corporate validation experts for support as needed.
• Budget program validation costs based on development plans and collaboration with supporting organizations.
• Drive usage of tools such as the Proactive Reliability Process, Design Verification Plan & Report’s (DVP&R), and Requirement Based Virtual Product Development to evaluate the effectiveness of the validation activity plan on critical failure modes, and direct activities to mitigate risk.
• Share best practices with the design teams, using tools such as Machine Readiness Summary (MRS) and presentations from the best practitioners.
• Collaborate with teams to assess risk and develop a plan for validation needs where no robust validation method exists.
• Participate in regular product design reviews.
• Support validation deliverables throughout the NPI (New Product Introduction) program cycle.
• Determine new engineering content percentage for NPI programs.
• Prepare and present Machine Readiness Summary and Risk Assessment for NPI programs.
• Collaborate with CPI (Continuous Product Improvement) Black Belts for key CPI projects regarding validation requirements.
• Maintain and regularly report out on product validation schedule and status to product leadership.
• Maintain product group Obeya validation status.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in an accredited Engineering curriculum.

Skills

• Technical Excellence: Demonstrate experience in machine validation, durability, reliability, and quality processes for heavy equipment or complex engineered systems. Knowledge of validation methodologies, risk assessment tools, and engineering processes used to evaluate product performance and ensure design requirements are met.
• Analytical Thinking: Strong ability to analyze test results, identify failure modes, assess technical risks, and develop data-driven solutions to improve product performance, reliability, and serviceability. Skilled at making sound engineering decisions in complex and evolving situations.
• Effective Communications: Ability to communicate technical information clearly and effectively to engineers, product groups, validation teams, customers, and leadership. Experience presenting validation status, risk assessments, and recommendations while fostering collaboration across global and cross-functional teams.
• Product Design and Development: Understanding of new product development and continuous product improvement processes, including validation planning, product readiness assessments, and design reviews. Experience supporting product development activities by ensuring validation requirements are aligned with performance, durability, and quality objectives.

Preferred Qualifications

• Hydraulic Mining Shovel product experience.
• Hydraulic system design and troubleshooting experience.
• Experience validating off-highway equipment powered by diesel engines and/or AC motors.
• Knowledge of Caterpillar processes (i.e., NPI, NTI, CPI, etc.).
• Strong analytical skills and mechanical aptitude.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Experience working in a global engineering environment.
• Ability to multitask and adjust to changing priorities as needs arise.
• Prior off-highway machine design experience.

Location & Schedule

The location for this position is Tucson, AZ. Candidate will be expected to work from our Tucson Proving Grounds and Tucson Mining Center locations based on project needs. This position requires working onsite five days a week. Occasional travel (10%) is required to support validation activities at manufacturing and/or customer sites.

Domestic relocation is available. Visa sponsorship is not available for this position.

Pay

Summary pay range: $112,710.00 - $169,060.00. Compensation and benefits offered may vary depending on multiple individualized factors, including job level, market location, job-related knowledge, skills, individual performance, and experience.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, and vision benefits (subject to plan eligibility, terms, and guidelines).
• 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.