Senior Validation Engineer

Career Area:

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.

Role Definition:

Lead and execute system and software integration validation activities for underground mining programs, with a strong focus on simulation environments, test frameworks, automation, and validation infrastructure development. You will design, build, and evolve scalable validation ecosystems that leverage automation and AI‑assisted techniques to improve coverage, efficiency, and system confidence

Responsibilities
•    Take end‑to‑end ownership of system and software integration validation for underground mining programs, ensuring solutions meet functional, performance, safety, and quality requirements.
•    Own validation outcomes and align to KPIs, including quality, coverage, efficiency, and delivery and drive corrective actions.
•    Design, develop, and maintain simulation environments, test frameworks, automation pipelines, and validation infrastructure supporting SIL, HIL, and system‑level testing.
•    Define and implement test automation strategies that balance automation and manual testing, aligned to risk and KPI impact..
•    Perform manual testing when required, including exploratory testing, edge cases, new features, customer‑reported issues, and areas not suitable for automation.
•    Lead a small team, including task planning, progress tracking, technical guidance, and KPI‑aligned execution.
•    Collaborate closely with program management, providing regular updates on validation status, risks, dependencies, and KPI performance.
•    Work with systems, software, integration, and hardware teams to ensure validation priorities and dependencies are aligned with program objectives.
•    Drive continuous improvement initiatives in validation processes, automation, and infrastructure based on KPI trends, retrospectives, and lessons learned.

Qualification and Experience:

Degree required in an accredited Engineering in Electronics/CS/IT/Instrumentation curriculum

More than 7 years of relevant industry experience in system and software integration validation, automation, simulation, or large‑scale system validation environments.

Skill Descriptors
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 Working Knowledge: 
•    Identifies and documents specific problems and resolution alternatives.
•    Examines a specific problem and understands the perspective of each involved stakeholder.
•    Develops alternative techniques for assessing accuracy and relevance of information.
•    Helps to analyze risks and benefits of alternative approaches and obtain decision on resolution.
•    Uses fact-finding techniques and diagnostic tools to identify problems.

Software Product Testing: Strong working knowledge of system and software integration validation, simulation platforms, test frameworks, and automation infrastructure
 Level Working Knowledge: 
•    Designs, executes, and maintains functional, regression, integration, performance, and reliability testing using both automated and manual approaches as appropriate.
•    Participates in test readiness reviews and milestone‑based validation activities
•    Maintains end‑to‑end traceability between requirements, test cases, automation assets, defects, and validation outcomes
•    Builds and evolves scalable test frameworks, simulation environments, and validation infrastructure

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 Basic Understanding: 
•    Explains the methodology and technologies of artificial intelligence.
•    Applies AI‑assisted approaches for test generation, intelligent test selection, log analysis, anomaly detection, and validation analytics.
•    Uses AI‑driven insights to improve defect discovery, test effectiveness, and data‑driven decision‑making.

Project Management: Working experience of coordination within the team and working experience in agile environment.
 Level Working Knowledge: 
•    Able to manage self and a small team of testers.
•    Plans, tracks, and balances automation development, manual testing, operational support, and delivery commitments
•    Able to understand the program priorities and manage the team

Communication and Vigor: Clear Communicator and follow structured documentation on results and align with process
Level Working Knowledge: 
•    Clearly communicates validation status, risks, root causes, and KPI performance to engineering, operations, and program stakeholders.
•    Maintains high precision across validation artifacts, simulation outputs, automation results, and traceability.
•    Produces concise, structured, and technically accurate documentation, reports, and summaries suitable for reviews, audits, and decision‑making.

Additional Information
This position requires working onsite five days a week.

Posting Dates:

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

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