C++ Architect

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.

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