Instrumentation Manager - Building Construction Products

Caterpillar•Clayton, NC

3d•Onsite

About The Position

Lead the instrumentation capability for Caterpillar’s next generation of construction equipment as the Instrumentation Manager for the Building Construction Products (BCP) Product Development–West Test Team. Based in Clayton, North Carolina, or Sanford, North Carolina, this role shapes instrumentation strategy, technical capability, resources, and team development to support safe, efficient test preparation and accurate, reliable measurement data from concept through customer delivery. The manager leads instrumentation technicians across the Clayton Machine Development Center (CMDC) and Sanford Machine Development Center (SMDC). Responsibilities include workload planning, equipment readiness, calibration, quality systems, process standardization, and technology development. The role partners with test and development engineers, operations, facilities, quality, and EHS teams in support of New Product Introduction (NPI) and Current Product Improvement (CPI) programs. It also establishes a unified cross-site operating model and drives improvement in safety, 5S, measurement quality, equipment uptime, setup efficiency, and responsiveness to internal customers. This is a fully onsite position, Monday through Friday, with work across office, laboratory, shop, and outdoor test-field environments at the Clayton and Sanford sites. The employee must be comfortable working safely around prototype and production construction equipment and adapting to changing product-development priorities. Domestic or international travel of up to 10% may be required. Relocation assistance is available; sponsorship and ISE assignments are not available. The role requires the ability to lift up to 35 pounds.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in engineering, or an associate degree in a technical field with at least 6 years of experience in testing, validation, or product development.
Strong working knowledge of sensors, instrumentation, data acquisition, calibration, measurement traceability, test setup, troubleshooting, and data verification.
Experience leading, coaching, and developing technicians or technical support teams through delegation, feedback, performance support, and capability building.
Ability to balance daily execution with long-term capability needs and use data, risk, resource availability, issue history, and stakeholder input to set priorities.
Ability to resolve equipment downtime, setup issues, sensor failures, calibration concerns, data-quality problems, and operational constraints.
Ability to build relationships, communicate clearly, adapt to shifting priorities, respond with urgency, and escalate risks appropriately.
Experience delivering technical projects across locations and functions while managing cost, schedule, resources, risks, and stakeholder actions.
Must be comfortable working safely around prototype and production construction equipment and adapting to evolving product-development priorities.
Must be able to lift up to 35 pounds.
Able to work onsite five days a week across office, laboratory, shop, and outdoor test-field environments.

Nice To Haves

Leadership experience in product development, testing, instrumentation, manufacturing, laboratory, or engineering support environments.
Hands-on test experience with construction or agricultural equipment, including machines, systems, components, attachments, or work tools.
Experience with DEWESoft, HBM/HBK eDAQ, or comparable instrumentation and data acquisition platforms.
Familiarity with LENS, inventory and calibration management systems, Validation Manager Workflow, Power BI, or similar tools.
Expertise in ISO 17025 implementation and compliance, including measurement uncertainty, verification, calibration traceability, and controlled test documentation.
Track record of standardizing work, developing technical training, and leading process alignment and change across multiple sites.
Experience managing instrumentation assets, capital investments, and technology refresh strategies, including evaluating new measurement technologies for accuracy, traceability, reliability, and fit-for-purpose application.
Demonstrated results improving safety, quality, readiness, efficiency, data consistency, or internal customer satisfaction.
Knowledge of construction equipment hydraulics, engines, drivetrains, electrical systems, controls, software, or telematics.

Responsibilities

Lead, coach, and develop instrumentation technicians across CMDC and SMDC by setting expectations, prioritizing work, and supporting onboarding, mentoring, skills growth, and performance.
Plan instrumentation workload, setup schedules, bay space, equipment availability, and cross-site resource sharing to keep product-development priorities on track.
Standardize instrumentation methods, documentation, naming conventions, calibration, data verification, troubleshooting, and issue resolution to deliver safe, accurate, and repeatable results.
Manage sensors, data acquisition systems, calibration status, inventory, and related equipment to ensure test readiness.
Own ISO 17025 and quality-system compliance, including calibration, measurement traceability, documentation, and operational controls.
Communicate resource constraints, equipment concerns, schedule risks, and data-quality issues to internal customers and partners.
Build and maintain standard work, training materials, onboarding plans, skills matrices, troubleshooting guides, and technical references.
Drive continuous improvement in safety, quality, test readiness, setup efficiency, equipment uptime, resource utilization, technical capability, and cross-site integration.
Plan capital and expense investments for sensors, data acquisition systems, calibration tools, test equipment, and technology upgrades, and coordinate procurement and supplier support.
Turn lessons learned into lasting process, training, and technical improvements.
Support New Product Introduction (NPI) and Current Product Improvement (CPI) programs in collaboration with test and development engineering, operations, facilities, quality, and EHS teams.