Sr. Design Engineering Specialist

About the role

Caterpillar’s BCP division is hiring a Sr. Design Engineering Specialist located in Sanford, NC. This role provides technical and project leadership for the performance, tuning, and integration of machine control systems on Compact Track Loader (CTL) and Skid Steer Loader (SSL) products. 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.

Responsibilities

• Use customer feedback, competitive benchmarking, field performance data, emerging-technology evaluation, and engineering analysis to identify and prioritize continuous improvement opportunities.
• Collaborate with customers and product, commercial, and systems engineering teams to develop and execute multi-generational product plans for CTL and SSL machine systems.
• Perform hands-on machine tuning, calibration, and performance evaluation activities to optimize machine behavior, validate control-system performance, and deliver customer-valued features.
• Ensure machine hardware and software meet customer, product, and production requirements by developing and validating control systems that deliver best-in-class performance and customer value.
• Coordinate activities across hydraulics, engines, electrical, and software teams while building stakeholder alignment.
• Own system-level technical requirements and performance targets with validation plans for assigned machine systems.
• Support factory testing and calibration of production machines and ensure control system design is robust for manufacturability.
• Mentor and develop engineers through technical leadership, knowledge sharing, work reviews, and promotion of engineering best practices.

Requirements

Education: Bachelor's degree from an accredited Engineering, Computer Science, or Materials Science curriculum, or equivalent industry experience.

Core Skills:

• Systems Engineering and Technical Excellence – Demonstrated ability to solve significant technical challenges involving complex machine controls and integrated software and hydraulic systems.
• Analytical Thinking – Ability to break complex problems into component parts, identify potential root causes, recognize discrepancies in available information, select appropriate analytical methods, and develop effective alternative solutions.
• Decision-Making and Critical Thinking – Ability to evaluate alternatives with multiple stakeholders, distinguish between the technical content and organizational context of a decision, anticipate risks, and make timely, informed recommendations.
• Product Development – Knowledge of product-development methodologies and the associated requirements, design, integration, testing, production, and support activities needed to deliver new or enhanced products.
• Troubleshooting Technical Problems – Ability to anticipate, detect, isolate, and resolve complex or non-recurring problems involving interactions among mechanical, hydraulic, electrical, controls, software, and machine systems.

Qualifications

• Proven experience with on-machine tuning of complex control and hydraulic systems, including system-level ownership of requirements, performance, and customer outcomes.
• Experience translating customer, competitive, field, and engineering insights into successful product improvements.
• Demonstrated success leading complex technology, performance, or integration projects from concept through production by communicating effectively, building alignment, and influencing stakeholders across engineering, product, commercial, and manufacturing organizations.
• Software and controls design experience, including the ability to interpret and evaluate implementations developed in MATLAB, C, and Simulink.