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This position has closed. Caterpillar removed this listing from their careers page on Oct 5, 2026. The interview prep below is still useful, and there are similar open roles at the bottom of this page.

Embedded Software Engineering Specialist

Caterpillar · Mossville, IL · $128,470–$192,710 a year · Full time

Posted Sep 22, 2026 · We last checked this listing on Oct 4, 2026

Likely interview questions for this role

Written from this job description, not a generic list. Each one notes what the interviewer is really checking.

About your past

What architecture standards and design patterns have you set for a team, and how did you get people to follow them?

What they are checking: Experience establishing standards and leading developers through adoption.

Tell me about an architecture decision you made that you later had to change. What did you learn?

What they are checking: Humility and learning, since architecture choices are long-lived and some will be wrong.

How do you guide development teams through implementation without becoming a bottleneck?

What they are checking: Leadership style that scales an architect's influence across several teams.

What would you do

How do you build a technical roadmap for a software platform while product teams keep asking for features now?

What they are checking: Balancing long-term architecture with near-term delivery, which architects face constantly.

A development team wants to bypass the architecture to hit a deadline. What do you do?

What they are checking: Whether they can find a pragmatic path without creating lasting damage to the platform.

About the work

How would you design the embedded software architecture for a collision mitigation system that must work across many construction products?

What they are checking: Ability to define scalable, reusable architecture, which is the first responsibility the posting names.

How do you structure software that fuses camera and radar data while meeting real-time deadlines?

What they are checking: Depth with sensor integration and timing in safety-critical embedded environments.

How does functional safety shape your architecture decisions, such as partitioning, redundancy or diagnostics?

What they are checking: Whether safety is built into the architecture rather than added after the fact.

How do you keep an embedded codebase maintainable as more sensors and products are added?

What they are checking: Thinking about modularity, interfaces and abstraction that keep a growing platform healthy.

What's your approach to testing safety-critical embedded software at the unit, integration and system levels?

What they are checking: Test strategy depth for software that protects people around heavy equipment.

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The full job description

As published by Caterpillar.

Career Area: Engineering 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. As part of a growing engineering team, you will help develop next-generation collision mitigation technologies for Caterpillar construction products. You will design and deliver software solutions that integrate camera, radar, and intelligent sensing technologies to enhance machine safety, performance, and automation capabilities. What You Will Do: • Define the embedded software architecture for next-generation collision mitigation systems, ensuring scalable, reliable, and maintainable solutions across Caterpillar construction products. • Lead the design and integration of software frameworks that support camera, radar, and intelligent sensing technologies within safety-critical embedded environments. • Establish software architecture standards, design patterns, and technical roadmaps while guiding development teams through implementation and integration activities. • Collaborate with systems, software, and validation engineers to translate product requirements into robust architectural solutions that meet performance, safety, and reliability objectives. • Drive software architecture decisions across embedded Linux and real-time environments, balancing technical tradeoffs, product priorities, and long-term platform strategy. What You Will Have: • Software Product Design/Architecture: Knowledge of software product design; ability to convert market requirements into the software product design. • Teamwork: Knowledge of the necessity and value of teamwork; experience with; ability to work cooperatively towards shared goals and being supportive of others at all levels. Technical Excellence: Knowledge of a given technology and various application methods; ability to develop and provide solutions to significant technical challenges. • Requirements Analysis: Knowledge of tools, methods, and techniques of requirement analysis; ability to elicit, analyze and record required business functionality and non-functionality requirements to ensure the success of a system or software development project. • Producing Results: Understanding of the criticality of getting things done in spite of current circumstances and the ability to utilize assigned resources and leverage back-channel resources (individuals or teams) to achieve or exceed planned outcomes. Considerations For Top Candidates: • Extensive experience designing software architectures for complex embedded systems using C++. • Strong background with embedded Linux, real-time systems, and software platform design for connected, autonomous, or safety-critical products. • Experience architecting solutions involving perception technologies, sensor fusion, camera systems, radar integration, or collision avoidance capabilities. • Proven ability to lead technical direction across cross-functional teams and influence software design decisions throughout the product lifecycle. • Experience with ROS/ROS2, distributed software architectures, middleware frameworks, and modern software development practices. • Strong understanding of system-level design, requirements decomposition, integration strategies, and software verification approaches for embedded products. Additional Information: • This position requires the candidate to work full-time at the Mossville, IL office. • Domestic relocation assistance is available for this position. • Visa sponsorship is NOT available with this position. • This position will require up to 10% travel • #LI Summary Pay Range: $128,470.00 - $192,710.00 Compensation and benefits offered may vary depending on multiple individualized factors, job level, market location, job-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 This position requires working onsite five days a week. Relocation is available for this position. Visa Sponsorship is not available for this position. 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. Not ready to apply? Join our Talent Community .