Lead Software Engineer

Caterpillar•Westminster, CO

About The Position

Caterpillar’s Cat Digital is seeking a Lead Angular Developer to drive the design and development of next-generation applications. The role shapes scalable full-stack architecture across Angular frontends, Node.js services, and GraphQL APIs, while delivering intuitive, high-performance user experiences. It is an AI-first engineering role: the engineer is expected to use tools such as Claude and GitHub Copilot heavily and judiciously in daily work, and help teams adopt them effectively. The position also brings product, UX, backend, and AI partners together around shared outcomes. The role owns frontend architecture across teams, establishes engineering standards and reusable components, and leads technical design reviews while mentoring engineers. It develops GraphQL schemas, resolvers, and Node.js services for real-time, data-rich experiences; ensures quality through automated testing, CI/CD, and observability; and establishes practices and guardrails for AI-assisted engineering, including Spec-Driven Development. The role requires close cross-functional collaboration and may involve up to 5–10% travel. Candidates must be located in Chicago, Illinois; Peoria, Illinois; Dallas, Texas; or Denver, Colorado. Domestic relocation assistance and visa sponsorship are not available.

Requirements

Knowledge of decision-making processes and techniques, with the ability to analyze situations and make productive, informed decisions.
Knowledge of software integration processes and functions, with the ability to design, develop, and maintain interfaces and links to alternative platforms and software packages.
Knowledge of software product design and the ability to convert market requirements into product design.
Knowledge of technical aspects of software products and the ability to design, configure, and integrate them.
Knowledge of software product testing and the ability to design, plan, and execute testing strategies that ensure quality and adherence to requirements.
Ability to build strong relationships across functions, communicate technical ideas to technical and non-technical audiences, and align teams around shared goals.
Must be located in Chicago, IL; Peoria, IL; Dallas, TX; or Denver, CO.
Able to travel up to 5–10%.

Nice To Haves

Experience in software engineering with strong expertise in frontend architecture.
Experience leading a team of engineers, including across multiple time zones.
Strong experience with Angular, RxJS, state management such as NgRx, JavaScript/TypeScript, and modern frontend design patterns.
Hands-on experience building backend services with Node.js, using Express, NestJS, or similar.
Strong experience designing and consuming GraphQL APIs, including schema design, subscriptions, caching, and performance tuning, using Apollo or similar.
Experience integrating real-time data systems such as WebSockets, GraphQL subscriptions, and event-driven architectures.
Experience with cloud platforms such as AWS, Azure, or GCP.
Proven, heavy use of AI coding assistants such as Claude, Claude Code, and GitHub Copilot in production delivery, including agentic workflows and tool/MCP integrations.
Experience with Spec-Driven Development (SDD) or similar spec-first methods that pair executable specifications with AI-generated implementations.
A track record of collaboration, including leading cross-functional initiatives, managing competing priorities, and building trust with product, design, and engineering partners.

Responsibilities

Own and define frontend architecture across teams, including UI frameworks, state management, and application structure.
Design and build GraphQL schemas, resolvers, and Node.js services that power real-time, data-rich frontend experiences.
Establish engineering standards, reusable components, and best practices for long-term scalability across frontend layers.
Lead technical design reviews, guide implementation, and mentor team engineers.
Partner with product, UX, and backend teams to build alignment, resolve trade-offs, and keep cross-team work moving toward integrated solutions.
Ensure quality through automated testing, CI/CD pipelines, and application observability.
Use AI tools in daily delivery across design, implementation, code review, refactoring, testing, and documentation.
Drive AI-augmented delivery using Spec-Driven Development (SDD) while maintaining engineering rigor.
Set team practices, guardrails, and quality gates for AI-assisted engineering, including prompt and spec patterns, review workflows, and verification standards for AI-generated code.
Coach engineers on using AI tools effectively and share patterns, prompts, and workflows that improve productivity across teams.