Senior Autonomy Development Engineer

Caterpillar Caterpillar · Industrial · Irving, TX +2

Senior Autonomy Development Engineer at Caterpillar responsible for developing and delivering production-quality C/C++ software for autonomous and semi-autonomous heavy equipment in mining and construction. The role involves the full software development lifecycle, contributing to system requirements, architecture, and troubleshooting, with a focus on translating research into production-ready autonomy solutions.

What you'd actually do

  1. Develop production‑quality C/C++ software for autonomy and automation systems
  2. Participate across the full software development lifecycle including design, documentation, coding, validation, and release support
  3. Contribute to software and system requirements, architecture decisions, and technical trade‑offs
  4. Troubleshoot and resolve complex software and system issues using structured problem‑solving techniques
  5. Support verification, validation, and functional safety activities

Skills

Required

  • Excellency in C++
  • Strong engineering practices
  • debugging/profiling skills
  • Applies structured programming techniques
  • Identifies common issues, problems, and considerations for each phase of the life cycle
  • Interprets product development plans and functional documentation
  • Identifies and documents specific problems and resolution alternatives
  • Helps to analyze risks and benefits of alternative approaches
  • Uses fact-finding techniques and diagnostic tools
  • Discovers, analyzes, and resolves software or application problems
  • Analyzes code, logs, and current systems
  • Records and reports specific technical problems, solving processes and tools
  • Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field – or commensurate industry experience

Nice to have

  • Experience developing autonomy domains such as planning, positioning, perception, or controls
  • Robotics frameworks (e.g., ROS)
  • Translating prototypes or research into production autonomy software
  • Experience with autonomous or semi‑autonomous machine behavior
  • Experience building autonomy frameworks, middleware, or shared libraries
  • Linux‑based development environments
  • CI/CD pipelines, Git, and modern DevOps practices
  • Hardware/software integration at the platform level
  • Enabling multiple teams through reusable software foundations
  • Embedded C/C++ development in real‑time systems
  • AUTOSAR Classic Platform (BSW, RTE)
  • Remote control or operator‑assist system development
  • CAN, Ethernet, and vehicle/machine networks
  • Model‑based development using Matlab/Simulink
  • Experience in Construction or Mining Industries

What the JD emphasized

  • production-quality software
  • autonomy and automation systems
  • full software development lifecycle
  • complex, real‑world problems
  • robust, safe, and scalable autonomy solutions
  • evolving the state of the art
  • harsh production environments
  • production autonomy software
  • real-time systems

Other signals

  • develops and delivers production-quality software that enables autonomous and semi-autonomous functionality
  • evolving the state of the art and bringing emerging automation & autonomy technology into the harsh production environments
  • Develop production-quality C/C++ software for autonomy and automation systems
  • Translate prototypes or research into production autonomy software