Principal Software Engineer – Physical AI, Autonomy & Data Platform Engineering

Caterpillar

Quick summary

Work type
On-site
Location
Chicago, IL
Salary
$159,120–$258,570 / yr
Posted
2 days ago
Closes
Jul 10, 2026

Market check

Salary context

Competitive pay

How this pay compares to similar roles

Similar $197k
This role $209k
$130k most similar roles pay here $275k

This role pays more than 60% of similar roles. Most pay $167,100–$226,375 — the shaded band above. At the midpoint, this role pays about $209k versus about $197k for comparable roles.

Based on 239 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 39 open roles on FindRole.

Listed pay typically runs $128,470–$208,770 across 39 roles with salary data.

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View all roles at Caterpillar

At a glance

TL;DR · Principal Software Engineer – Physical AI, Autonomy & Data Platform Engineering

The Principal Software Engineer will lead technical strategy and engineering execution for large-scale data ingestion and processing platforms supporting physical AI and autonomous systems, working closely with architects and product owners. This hands-on role involves designing scalable cloud-native solutions for high-volume sensor and telematics data, driving iterative development practices, and evaluating emerging technologies to support long-term platform evolution. The ideal candidate has expertise in Python or Java, distributed systems, and cloud architecture on AWS, Azure, or GCP, with experience in streaming and batch data processing at enterprise scale. They will foster a culture of innovation and continuous learning while ensuring data pipelines are performant, fault-tolerant, observable, secure, and cost-optimized, supporting advanced analytics and machine learning initiatives.

What you'll do

  • Lead technical strategy and engineering execution for large-scale data ingestion and processing platforms.
  • Design scalable, cloud-native solutions for ingesting high-volume sensor and telematics data including LiDAR, radar, video, image, and vehicle telemetry streams.
  • Partner with Principal Data Architects to define reusable data platform capabilities supporting advanced analytics and machine learning initiatives.
  • Evaluate emerging technologies and frameworks to support long-term platform evolution in rapidly changing technical domains.
  • Drive architectural decisions for large-scale distributed compute and storage systems on AWS or comparable cloud platforms.
  • Establish engineering practices that balance rapid innovation with production-grade engineering discipline, ensuring reliability and observability.

What we're looking for

  • 10+ years of software engineering experience with significant leadership roles.
  • Expert proficiency in Python and/or Java for large-scale systems.
  • Deep expertise in distributed systems, cloud-native architectures, and system design.
  • Strong experience designing and implementing streaming and batch data processing systems.
  • Hands-on experience with AWS or equivalent cloud services and architecture patterns.
  • Proven ability to lead technical strategy across multiple agile engineering teams.
  • Demonstrated success operating effectively in ambiguous or rapidly evolving environments.

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