Engineering Manager – xIL Product Management

Caterpillar•Mossville, IL

9d•Onsite

About The Position

The Engineering Manager – xIL Product Management will lead the strategy, product roadmap, adoption, and execution of Caterpillar’s X-in-the-Loop (xIL) engineering ecosystem within the Intelligent Machine Systems organization. The xIL ecosystem includes Software-in-the-Loop (SIL), Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL), vECUs, simulation, and related virtual and physical validation environments. It enables engineering teams to develop, integrate, test, and validate intelligent machine software earlier and with greater automation. The manager will treat xIL capabilities as engineering products with defined customers, roadmaps, service expectations, adoption targets, and measurable outcomes. The role partners across software, controls, systems engineering, validation, DevOps/software factory, architecture, infrastructure, and product groups to establish a cohesive xIL strategy and move engineering toward virtual-first, continuous development, integration, and validation. The position combines people leadership, technical product management, engineering transformation, and cross-functional execution. This role is based onsite five days per week in Mossville, Illinois. Travel is 20%. Relocation assistance may be available in accordance with Caterpillar policies. Visa sponsorship is unavailable. The position requires successful completion of a drug screen as a condition of employment.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Systems Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
Progressive experience in software, embedded systems, controls, simulation, systems integration, test/validation, or engineering platforms.
Demonstrated leadership experience managing engineering teams, technical products, or complex cross-functional engineering initiatives.
Experience in one or more xIL domains, such as SIL, HIL, simulation, digital twins, embedded software integration, controls validation, or automated testing.
Understanding of modern software engineering practices, including CI/CD, DevOps, automated testing, version control, configuration management, and software quality.
Experience translating engineering or customer needs into technical roadmaps, prioritized backlogs, and executable product plans.
Extensive experience with tactical and strategic planning, technical excellence, customer/market focus, people management, global collaboration, decision-making, and influencing through expertise.

Nice To Haves

Advanced degree in an engineering or technical discipline.
Experience developing or deploying virtual ECUs and virtualized embedded software environments, including different vECU fidelity levels.
Knowledge of automotive, off-highway, robotics, autonomy, or embedded-control development workflows.
Experience with plant modeling, simulation, digital twins, FMI/FMU, co-simulation, model-based development, or distributed simulation.
Experience integrating SIL/HIL environments into enterprise CI/CD pipelines.
Familiarity with embedded software architectures, ECU software stacks, communication networks, and hardware abstraction concepts.
Experience managing commercial engineering tools and strategic supplier relationships.
Understanding of cloud and on-premises compute infrastructure supporting scalable simulation and testing.
Experience defining platform/product KPIs, DORA-style engineering flow metrics, quality metrics, and adoption measures.
Demonstrated success moving engineering organizations toward shift-left, virtual-first, and continuous validation practices.

Responsibilities

Own the vision, strategy, and multi-year roadmap for the IMS xIL ecosystem, including SIL, HIL, vECUs, simulation, and continuous validation capabilities.
Manage xIL capabilities as engineering products with defined customers, backlogs, releases, service expectations, adoption targets, and lifecycle plans.
Drive a virtual-first, shift-left engineering strategy that enables earlier software integration, verification, and validation while reducing dependency on physical hardware and test assets.
Coordinate across systems and software architecture, frameworks, software, plant modeling, DevOps, vECUs, and testing teams to deliver integrated, scalable xIL tools and platforms.
Translate customer and program needs into prioritized product capabilities, technical roadmaps, investment decisions, and build/buy/partner strategies.
Promote xIL adoption, standardization, and reuse across IMS, including reuse of models, simulations, test assets, automation, environments, and workflows.
Define and track KPIs and performance metrics for adoption, engineering effectiveness, platform performance, quality, and business impact; use insights to drive improvement.
Build and lead a high-performing xIL product and engineering organization, partnering with internal teams, suppliers, and technology partners.
Lead, coach, and develop delivery leads, product owners, and technical engineering professionals supporting xIL products.
Manage team performance by setting goals and expectations, providing feedback and coaching, evaluating performance, recognizing contributions, and addressing performance gaps.
Build organizational capability through hiring, talent development, succession planning, and technical skill development.
Create a culture of customer focus, engineering excellence, experimentation, ownership, and continuous improvement.
Enable teams to make data-driven product and engineering decisions.
Contribute to operational, tactical, and strategic planning and align resource allocation with unit goals and technical and business objectives.
Apply informed decision-making and critical-thinking approaches, assess options and their potential impacts, and advise others in analyzing data and alternatives.
Provide technical guidance, engage subject-matter resources, mentor and coach others, and ensure accountability for technical performance.
Communicate effectively with different audiences and influence stakeholders through clear, evidence-based expertise.
Maintain customer responsiveness, recommend capabilities based on changing needs, and deliver customer value.
Manage team relationships and conflicts, seek team input, support employee development, and monitor morale and performance.
Collaborate across global networks and diverse teams to reconcile viewpoints and achieve organizational goals.