C++ Architect

Career Area:

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 Definition
Leads the design, development, testing, and architectural oversight of safety‑critical autonomy applications; collaborates with cross‑functional teams to meet internal and external needs.

Responsibilities
•    Designing safety‑critical features end‑to‑end — translating requirements into technical designs for sensor data processing, object detection, threat assessment, and automated safety responses
•    Guiding teams on real‑time embedded software design practices, ensuring components are modular, testable, and maintainable.
•     Documenting architecture specifications, software design descriptions, verification plans, test cases, operating procedures, and safety procedures.
•    Supporting developers in building and validating detection and decision‑making algorithms across multiple vehicle and machine configurations 
•    Utilizing appropriate tools to debug, test, and maintain software and hardware systems, leading verification and validation activities.
•    Lead design and code reviews with focus on safety, correctness, numerical stability, and handling of degraded or missing data

Degree Requirement
• Requires a degree in Electronic/Electrical Engineering or Computer Science curriculum.
• More than 10 years of relevant industry experience in developing C++ applications  

Skill Descriptors

Real‑Time Systems Integration 
Knowledge of real‑time system architecture and multi‑system integration across sensing, compute, and actuation domains. 
 Level Working Knowledge:
• Designs and validates end‑to‑end data flows meeting real‑time latency and throughput requirements. 
• Integrates software across CAN, Ethernet, and middleware in multi‑ECU architectures. 
• Diagnoses timing, synchronization, and data‑consistency issues in distributed systems. 
• Defines interface contracts including schemas, timing budgets, and failure modes. 
• Evaluates system‑level trade‑offs between compute load, bandwidth, and safety margins. 

Artificial Intelligence & Sensor Fusion 
Knowledge of AI and sensor fusion concepts and methods, with awareness of applicable industry standards and safety expectations; ability to develop and apply perception and prediction algorithms for autonomous systems. 
 Level Working Knowledge:
• Designs and implements sensor fusion pipelines integrating radar, camera, and lidar data into a unified world model. 
• Develops and tunes object detection, tracking, and prediction algorithms for real‑time autonomous decision‑making in safety‑critical contexts. 
• Evaluates trade‑offs between algorithmic accuracy, latency, computational cost, and system‑level safety constraints on embedded platforms. 
• Applies probabilistic and statistical techniques to noisy sensor data, accounting for uncertainty and failure modes. 
• Supports validation of perception and prediction systems against ground truth, field data, and applicable standards or guidelines. 
• Mentors others on integrating AI/ML components into safety‑critical software architectures. 

Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) 
Knowledge of SDLC methodologies with ability to deliver, validate, and manage high‑quality software products. 
 Level Working Knowledge:
• Applies multiple vendor‑provided or in‑house SDLC methodologies with testing embedded across all phases. 
• Converts requirements into robust, reviewable designs with explicit verification and testability considerations. 
• Leads activities across all SDLC phases including design, implementation, integration, testing, validation, and release. 
• Defines and executes test strategies, plans, and cases to validate functionality, error handling, reliability, and failure modes. 
• Evaluates and consults on effective SDLC and testing practices using iterative and agile approaches. 

Software Development
Knowledge of programming languages, tools, and Linux‑based development; ability to design, implement, debug, and maintain software for embedded and distributed systems. 
Level Working Knowledge:
• Designs and develops software on Linux platforms, including embedded and system‑level components. 
• Applies modern C++ (C++11/14/17), including concurrency, RAII, smart pointers, and memory‑safe patterns, in Linux environments. 
• Uses Linux debugging and profiling tools to diagnose functional and performance issues. 
• Oversees large development efforts aligned with system and architectural design. 
• Evaluates programming trade‑offs across performance, memory, safety, and maintainability. 
• Coaches junior engineers on programming best practices and Linux workflows. 

Problem Solving & Technical Troubleshooting 
Knowledge of structured problem‑solving methods and advanced troubleshooting techniques across organizational, hardware, software, and system domains; ability to resolve high‑impact issues. 
Level Working Knowledge:
• Leads structured problem resolution and root‑cause analysis for complex, high‑impact issues. 
• Analyzes complex technical problems and applies appropriate diagnostic techniques based on context and impact. 
• Resolves critical or wide‑impact hardware, software, and communication failures. 
• Drives urgency, prioritization, and decision‑making based on business impact. 
• Directs cross‑team and multi‑vendor issue resolution and coach others on advanced troubleshooting techniques.

Additional Information
This position requires working onsite five days a week.

Posting Dates:

Caterpillar is an Equal Opportunity Employer.  Qualified applicants of any age are encouraged to apply

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