Lead Software Engineer - Search

Caterpillar Inc.•Peoria, IL

13h•Onsite

About The Position

The Cat Digital group is the digital and technology arm of Caterpillar Inc., responsible for bringing world class capabilities to our products and services. With over 1.5 million connected assets worldwide, we're focused on using data, advanced analytics, and AI capabilities to help our customers build a better world. eCommerce is a key digital enabler to Caterpillar’s aftermarket parts and services growth strategy. Delivering on the Caterpillar brand promise of premium, high-quality solutions is an important element in accelerating the development and deployment of Caterpillar’s expanded capabilities in eCommerce. The Lead Software engineer – Ecommerce Search is responsible for setting the technical direction and overseeing the execution of advanced search solutions. This role combines strategic vision, hands-on technical expertise, and leadership to build scalable, high-performance search platforms that deliver exceptional user experiences.

Requirements

Progressively complex professional experience.
Experience as a lead software engineer, Architect , engineering manager.
Experience leading technical teams and managing multiple projects simultaneously.
Experience working within ITSM processes (incident, change, problem).
Strong communication, organization, and stakeholder management skills.
Ability to handle sensitive, complex, or high-visibility issues.
Excellent written and verbal communication abilities.
Experience in eCommerce Search deployments.
Previous experience with Search products such as OpenSearch, Elastic Search, SOLR, Lucene, Coveo, and LucidWorks Fusion.
Strong expertise in building head-less frameworks to integrate with ecommerce applications.
Proven experience building large-scale, highly available systems.
Proficiency in Java, Python, or Scala, including source control tools and practices for managing code and changes to it.
Proficiency in software debugging and problem-solving techniques.
Proficiency in AI code generation tools such as Claude Code, ChatGPT, or GitHub Copilot.
Familiarity with DevOps tools and techniques for cloud deployment.
Producing and consuming APIs.
Familiarity with event streaming and cloud platforms.
Practical experience applying ML to improve search relevance.
Bachelor’s or master’s degree in computer science or related field.
7+ years of experience in search engineering.
3+ years in a technical leadership role.
Strong understanding of modern search technologies and frameworks.
Working experience with heavy equipment engineering or data analysis.
Working experience with building Low-latency API in AWS using Memory-storage solutions.
Familiarity with A/B testing frameworks for evaluating and improving.
Strong knowledge with cloud technologies (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, etc.).
Advanced experience with version control / repositories such as GitHub.
Experience operating in an Agile / Global team environment.
Must demonstrate strong initiative, interpersonal skills, and the ability to communicate effectively.

Responsibilities

Define and implement a long-term technical vision for the search platform to ensure scalability and adaptability to growing data volumes and query complexity.
Mentor and guide a team of search engineers through technical reviews, best practices, and collaborative problem-solving.
Introduce advanced capabilities such as NLP, vector search, and personalization to enhance relevance and accuracy.
Build search capabilities with measurable KPIs (e.g., CTR, Query Distribution, Zero Search) and leverage analytics to continuously improve search performance.
Partner with product managers, data scientists, and engineering teams to align search initiatives with business objectives.