Senior Data Scientist Artificial Intelligence R&D

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.

Cat Digital is the digital and technology arm of Caterpillar Inc. leveraging the latest technologies to build industry leading digital solutions for our customers and over 1.5 million connected assets worldwide our teams use data technology advanced analytics telematics and AI capabilities to help our customers build a better more sustainable world.

Job Summary:

Join the AI Research & Development team of Cat Digital and play a central role in advancing the frontier of applied AI for one of the worlds largest industrial enterprises. As a Senior Data Scientist you will design build and evaluate cutting-edge AI systems spanning generative AI large language models (LLMs) multimodal intelligence retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) and autonomous agents delivering high-impact Proofs of Concept (POCs) with clear production intent while exploring longer-horizon research opportunities.

What You Will Do:

• Design and execute AI experiments across the full model lifecycle: hypothesis formulation data preparation model development evaluation and iteration maintaining research rigor in an ambiguous fast-moving environment.
• Develop fine-tune and benchmark LLMs and multimodal AI models (text vision speech) including systematic evaluation of quality latency cost and safety tradeoffs across model variants and providers.
• Explore and optimize knowledge retrieval systems (RAG pipelines vector databases hybrid search) and agentic workflows ensuring relevance accuracy and scalability for enterprise use cases.
• Lead data preparation workstreams for model training fine-tuning and validation including dataset curation labeling strategy synthetic data generation and quality assurance.
• Instrument AI systems for observability and reproducibility using experiment tracking frameworks (e.g. Langfuse MLflow) maintaining clear documentation of model versions evaluation datasets and performance baselines.
• Translate research findings into production-ready prototypes collaborating with Engineering and Product teams to define technical requirements integration paths and deployment readiness criteria.
• Evaluate emerging AI capabilities and tools (open-source and commercial) providing structured assessments and recommendations to inform the teams technology strategy.
• Mentor and coach junior Data Scientists establishing best practices for experimentation model evaluation and responsible AI development across the team.
• Communicate insights and results to technical and non-technical stakeholders including product managers engineers and senior leadership with clarity and business impact framing.

What You Will Have:

• Applied Statistics & Quantitative Methods: Experience applying statistical thinking to experimentation evaluation and decisionmaking in ambiguous researchdriven environments.
• Analytical Rigor & Attention to Detail: Proven ability to design precise experiments validate assumptions and ensure accuracy and reproducibility of results.
• Advanced Machine Learning & AI: Knowledge of modern ML techniques including deep learning generative AI NLP computer vision and multimodal systems with handson implementation experience.
• Model Evaluation & Optimization: Strong experience evaluating model quality and systemlevel tradeoffs across accuracy latency cost and scalability dimensions.
• Programming Expertise: Proficiency in Python for AI and ML development including use of modern AI frameworks and tooling.
• Data Engineering & Access: Strong understanding of data storage retrieval and processing systems required to support largescale training and experimentation workflows.
• Requirements & Systems Thinking: Ability to define technical and nonfunctional requirements that bridge research engineering and production concerns.

Considerations for Top Candidates:

• Bachelors Masters or PhD degree in Data Science Computer Science Machine Learning Statistics Applied Mathematics Engineering or a closely related technical field.
• Proven experience building and deploying advanced ML models beyond traditional analytics use cases.
• Extensive proficiency in Python (NumPy Pandas PyTorch LangChain etc.); ability to write clean maintainable production-oriented code and contribute to shared AI infrastructure.
• Strong handson experience with generative AI large language models deep neural networks and modern ML frameworks.
• Demonstrated experience designing evaluation frameworks and benchmarks for AI systems.
• Familiarity with AI infrastructure cloud platforms (AWS Azure) and scalable experimentation environments.
• Advanced experience with version control experiment tracking and collaborative development (e.g. Gitbased workflows).
• Experience working in Agile crossfunctional product development environments.
• Prior exposure to industrial manufacturing heavy equipment or complex physical systems is a strong plus but not required.

Summary Pay Range:

Compensation and benefits offered may vary depending on multiple individualized factors job level market locationjob-related knowledge skills individual performance and experience. Please note that salary is only one component of total compensation at Caterpillar.

Benefits:

Subject to plan eligibility terms and guidelines. This is a summary list of benefits.

• Medical dental and vision benefits*

• Paid time off plan (Vacation Holidays Volunteer etc.)*

• 401(k) savings plans*

• Health Savings Account (HSA)*

• Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs)*

• Health Lifestyle Programs*

• Employee Assistance Program*

• Voluntary Benefits and Employee Discounts*

• Career Development*

• Incentive bonus*

• Disability benefits

• Life Insurance

• Parental leave

• Adoption benefits

• Tuition Reimbursement

* These benefits also apply to part-time employees

Posting Dates:

Any offer of employment is conditioned upon the successful completion of a drug screen.

Caterpillar is an Equal Opportunity Employer Including Veterans and Individuals with Disabilities. Qualified applicants of any age are encouraged to apply.

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