Principal Software Engineer

Caterpillar

Confirmed live today High trust

Quick summary

Work type
On-site
Location
Irving, TX
Salary
$147,760–$240,110 / yr
Posted
31 days ago
Freshness
Confirmed live today
Closes
Oct 29, 2026

Market check

Salary context

Below market

How this pay compares to similar roles

Similar $221k
This role $194k
$133k most similar roles pay here $290k

This role pays less than 72% of similar roles. Most pay $187,237–$254,812 — the shaded band above. At the midpoint, this role pays about $194k versus about $221k for comparable roles.

Based on 240 similar postings.

Employer

About Caterpillar

Caterpillar Inc. is the world''s largest manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives. Industry: Heavy Equipment & Manufacturing

Caterpillar currently has 76 open roles on FindRole.

Listed pay typically runs $128,470–$190,176 across 74 roles with salary data.

Most-posted roles

View all roles at Caterpillar

At a glance

TL;DR · Principal Software Engineer

The Principal Software Engineer (Nvidia Platform) provides technical leadership for Physical AI and Digital Twin integration within the Cat Technology team. This role focuses on shaping architecture and integration strategies across simulation platforms, digital twin systems, and cloud-native backend microservices. The engineer will define end-to-end architectures, establish service contracts using REST and gRPC, and drive engineering excellence in CI/CD and observability. Key responsibilities include mentoring engineers and leading the adoption of AI-assisted development workflows. Candidates should possess expertise in distributed systems, industrial automation, or the NVIDIA ecosystem. Required technical skills include Python or Java for production-grade APIs, along with experience in agentic development workflows. The role addresses the challenge of building an intelligence layer that connects machines, data, and people to create autonomous, scalable systems for heavy machinery and industrial assets.

What does a Software Engineer earn in Texas?

Median $174200 from 133 postings across 36 companies.

See salary data

What you'll do

  • Define end-to-end architecture and integration strategies for simulation platforms, digital twin systems, and backend microservices.
  • Lead the design and delivery of scalable cloud-native services and data exchange systems.
  • Establish and enforce technical standards for REST, gRPC, and event-driven distributed systems.
  • Review code, APIs, and data contracts to ensure security, performance, and maintainability.
  • Drive engineering excellence across testing, CI/CD pipelines, and system observability.
  • Lead the adoption of AI-assisted development workflows and define standards for prompt quality and validation.
  • Mentor engineers on backend engineering, system design, and integration best practices.

What we're looking for

  • Ability to convert market requirements into software product design and strategic technical direction.
  • Knowledge of technical aspects of software products including design, configuration, and integration.
  • Proficiency in decision-making processes and critical thinking to reach productive decisions based on informed judgment.
  • Strong communication skills to transmit, receive, and interpret ideas and information effectively.
  • Experience designing cloud-native microservices and distributed systems with REST, gRPC, or event-driven APIs (preferred).
  • Experience in simulation, NVIDIA ecosystem, robotics, digital twin, or industrial automation platforms (preferred).
  • Expertise in defining scalable integration architectures, service contracts, and observability patterns (preferred).
  • Backend development using Python (preferred) or Java for production-grade APIs and platforms (preferred).

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