Senior Autonomy Engineer

Career Area:

Job Description:

Your Work Shapes the World at Caterpillar Inc.

When you join Caterpillar yourejoining 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 dontjust 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

As the SAFe Release Train QA Lead for the Autonomy & Automation team this role serves as the quality leader for an Agile Release Train delivering digital solutions for industrial applications. The role champions builtin quality drives scalable test automation and ensures predictable highquality releases across multiple Agile teams building Java backend services APIs and user interfaces. Working closely with the Release Train Engineer System Architects Product Management and key stakeholders the role embeds quality from design through deployment and enables the ART to deliver with confidence at scale.

Key Responsibilities:

• Quality Ownership: Ensure end-to-end product quality across the ARTs Java services APIs and UIs. Define the ARTs Definition of Done and act as the quality gatekeeper for each release.
• Program-Level Integration: Integrate quality into all SAFe program events. Provide test strategy and risk inputs during PI Planning ensure quality in System Demos drive improvements at Inspect & Adapt and address cross-team integration issues.
• Built-In Quality Practices: Champion shift-left testing and built-in quality (e.g. test-driven development clear acceptance criteria early API contract testing designing for testability and accessibility). Work with architects to ensure system design is testable and observable.
• Comprehensive Testing: Develop and enforce a test strategy covering unit integration API UI and end-to-end testing. Coordinate system integration tests and ensure non-functional requirements (performance security etc.) are validated. Manage test environments and data for reliable testing.
• Automation & CI/CD: Lead an automation-first approach to testing. Integrate automated tests (backend API UI) into CI/CD pipelines for continuous feedback. Standardize testing tools and frameworks across teams and continuously improve test coverage and stability.
• Defect Management & Metrics: Oversee program-level defect triage and resolution. Track key quality metrics (defect leakage test coverage release trends) perform root cause analysis for recurring issues and provide clear quality status updates to support Go/No-Go decisions.
• Team Leadership: Mentor QA engineers and foster a culture of quality and continuous improvement across teams. Lead QA communities of practice and develop team capabilities in advanced testing techniques.
• Stakeholder Collaboration: Serve as the point of contact for quality across the ART. Align quality goals with Product Management Architecture and Engineering. Ensure vendor/partner teams meet our quality standards and communicate quality risks and release readiness to stakeholders.

Required Experience and Skills

• Bachelors degree in engineering Computer Science or equivalent experience.
• 12 years in overall experience and 35 years in senior QA leadership roles supporting large programs.
• Strong experience in SAFe / Agile Release Trains.
• Experience in working Mining related products

Skill Descriptors
Industry Knowledge: Knowledge of the organizations industry group trends directions major issues regulatory considerations and trendsetters; ability to apply industry knowledge appropriately to diverse situations.
Level Extensive Experience:
Educates others on own organization in terms of the industry - its market position niche (if any) etc..
Compares and contrasts the latest developments and emerging issues in the industry.
Raises coworkers awareness of industry standards practices and guidelines.
Assesses how regulatory and reporting requirements apply to own organization.
Explains the development of industry segments - trends consequences key issues.
Discusses industry-specific cycles and associated considerations.

Problem Solving: Knowledge of approaches tools techniques for recognizing anticipating and resolving organizational operational or process problems; ability to apply knowledge of problem solving appropriately to diverse situations.
Level Extensive Experience:
Ensures capture of lessons to be learned from a problem-solving effort.
Organizes potential problem solvers and leads problem resolution efforts.
Uses varying problem-solving approaches and techniques as appropriate.
Contributes to standard practices for problem-solving approaches tools and processes.
Analyzes and synthesizes information and devises alternative resolution strategies.
Develops successful resolutions to critical or wide-impact problems.

Software Development Life Cycle: Knowledge of software development life cycle; ability to use a structured methodology for delivering and managing new or enhanced software products to the marketplace.
Level Extensive Experience:
Explains how to use multiple vendor-provided or in-house structured methodologies.
Describes tasks tools and practices for converting software product requirements into a design.
Demonstrates experience with all phases and deliverables of the product development methodology.
Implements the generic functions features and facilities of modern structured methods.
Explores and evaluates major structured methodologies available in the marketplace.
Consults on effective application of structured product development methodologies.

Software Product Testing: Knowledge of software product testing; ability to design plan and execute testing strategies and tactics to ensure software product quality and adherence to stated requirements.
Level Extensive Experience:
Has experience with planning and executing full spectrum of tests for multiple products.
Provides input to design team to ensure testing considerations are incorporated into system design.
Creates test scenarios that ensure all error handling processes perform as expected.
Defines creates and executes test plans and cases; estimates time effort and resources required.
Explains approaches and tools for functional reliability and vulnerability testing.
Discusses applications of iterative testing using agile methodologies.

Application Development Tools: Knowledge of application and system development; ability to utilize a variety of specific tools and toolkits for developing applications.
Level Extensive Experience:
Evaluates toolkits used to support major production systems.
Resolves issues regarding functions features and components of multiple toolkits.
Provides implementation support on toolkit enhancements or changes.
Interprets benefits and drawbacks of procedural and event-driven toolkits.
Oversees the evaluation and recommendation of delivery tools and platforms.
Coaches others on appropriate uses of all major tools in a toolkit for a specific platform.

Artificial Intelligence: Knowledge of the concepts technologies and methodologies of artificial intelligence (AI); ability to develop implement and/or apply artificial intelligence products and services in specific industry domain to achieve business goals.
Level Working Knowledge:
Performs basic tasks within a specific artificial intelligence area such as self-driving cars medical diagnosis playing games financial fraud detection etc.
Assists in business requirements analysis in the AI solution design or deployment process.
Maintains and/or updates AI systems and equipment on a regular basis.
Deploys develops or operates specific AI products equipment systems and/or platforms to achieve certain business goals.
Tests and troubleshoots the functionality of AI applications and systems within a specific area.

Programming: Knowledge of relevant programming languages and tools; ability to test write design debug troubleshoot and maintain source codes and computer programs.
Level Extensive Experience:
Conducts walkthroughs and monitors the quality of development activities.
Assesses the impact of new productivity improvement tools on ones own area of responsibility.
Compares and contrasts similarities and differences between multiple programming languages.
Oversees major developmental efforts adhering to application systems design.
Evaluates characteristics and advantages of different programming techniques.
Coaches juniors on multiple programming languages.

Technical Troubleshooting: Knowledge of technical troubleshooting approaches tools and techniques; ability to anticipate recognize and resolve technical issues on hardware software application or operation.
Level Extensive Experience:
Emphasizes the business impact of failure and the criticality and timing of needed resolution so that problems can be avoided in the future.
Creates trouble reports for all issues found and reviews solutions for completeness and correctness.
Directs the resolution of communications problems in multi-vendor environments.
Resolves a variety of hardware software and communications malfunctions.
Coaches others on advanced diagnostic techniques and tools for unusual or performance-related problems.
Facilitates the distribution of releases reports and correction packages to departments or clients.

Posting Dates:

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

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