Principal Perception Architect - Detection and Fusion

Career Area: Technology, Digital and Data 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. 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. Help Build the Future of Caterpillar At Caterpillar, technology always has a purpose, which is to solve our customers’ toughest challenges. Through Cat Technology, we are solving problems by building the intelligence layer that connects machines, data, and people to make jobsites safer, more productive, and more sustainable. By combining deep domain expertise in physical systems with software, connectivity, autonomy, and AI, we deliver solutions that work in the real world—on real jobsites, at global scale.  You’ll build and deploy against one of the most unique data foundations—over 1.6 million connected assets generating real-world data daily.  These data and platform capabilities are enabling the development of AI models, edge computing architectures, and software systems that scale across fleets, products, and industries. The result will be a new generation of machines that continuously learn, improve, and deliver performance at scale. Be Part of What’s Next in Autonomous Construction Sites Construction autonomy is one of the most complex challenges in applied AI, and at Caterpillar, advancements in physical AI, simulation, sensing, and edge computing are turning things that once felt impossible—intelligent machines operating in dynamic jobsites—into reality.  Our connected ecosystem brings together massive volumes of high-quality data to create a foundation where engineers like you can build and deploy against.  If this work motivates you, we invite you to join our team. In these roles, you’ll work at the intersection of the physical and digital worlds. You’ll help design and deliver intelligent systems that enable machines to perceive their environment, make informed decisions, and support safer, more productive operations.  Apply today to build the new era of construction autonomy at Caterpillar.

Own the architecture for modular perception machine learning, sensor fusion, object tracking, object persistence, and 3D mapping using perception sensor data such as camera images, lidar point clouds, 4D radar point clouds, IMU data, GNSS data, and machine state inputs. This role focuses on transforming synchronized sensor data into reliable perception outputs, including detected objects, tracked objects, persistent object representation cross machines, drivable area segmentation, and local-to-global 3D maps. These outputs must be structured for use by robotics, simulation, and safety analysis.

Define the modular perception ML architecture for camera-based object detection and drivable area understanding, point-cloud-based ground plane segmentation and object detection, and 4D radar-aided perception. Own the sensor fusion architecture across camera, lidar, 4D radar, IMU, GNSS, and machine state data to improve perception robustness, spatial consistency, and environmental awareness. Define object tracking and object persistence