Lead Software Test Engineer

Caterpillar Inc.•Peoria, IL

19h•$128,470 - $208,770

About The Position

Provides advanced technical leadership in the design, development, and execution of application quality engineering and performance testing strategies for Parts.cat.com, Caterpillar’s global eCommerce platform. Responsible for ensuring that complex, distributed software systems meet defined functional requirements, performance expectations, and production readiness standards. Operates at a system level to influence software design, validate application behavior, and ensure performance integrity across the full software development lifecycle. This role requires deep, hands-on expertise in functional test automation and performance engineering tools, combined with the ability to guide engineering teams and shape practices that improve application stability, scalability, and customer experience.

Requirements

Extensive Experience Evaluates complex technical scenarios and determines solutions based on risk, impact, and system behavior.
Applies structured approaches to analyze issues and guide decision-making.
Advises stakeholders on trade-offs affecting quality, performance, and delivery outcomes.
Extensive Experience Communicates technical information clearly across engineering, product, and leadership audiences.
Adapts messaging based on stakeholder needs and technical depth.
Provides feedback and coaching on technical approaches and testing strategies.
Extensive Experience Demonstrates strong knowledge of modern software development tools, frameworks, and practices.
Evaluates development approaches to ensure alignment with quality and performance requirements.
Provides consulting on tool selection and engineering practices.
Working Knowledge / Advanced Application Applies structured methodology across development, testing, and release phases.
Identifies and resolves issues across the lifecycle to improve delivery quality.
Aligns testing and performance validation with release lifecycle milestones.
Extensive Experience Applies understanding of system architecture and application environments to validate behavior and performance.
Supports development of technical requirements and configuration strategies.
Ensures applications meet both functional specifications and non-functional expectations.
Extensive Experience Designs and leads testing for complex, distributed, multi-platform applications.
Validates interoperability and data flow across systems and environments.
Ensures proper transaction behavior across input, output, and integration layers.
Extensive Experience Designs, plans, and executes comprehensive functional and performance testing strategies.
Validates system behavior across both functional and performance dimensions.
Establishes processes for documenting test results, defects, and validation outcomes.
Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field (or equivalent experience).
Extensive experience in software quality engineering, system testing, or performance engineering.
Proven hands-on experience with: Playwright (or similar modern UI automation framework) k6, JMeter, and/or Artillery for performance testing
Strong experience in UI, API, and integration testing.
Strong understanding of distributed systems and application architecture.
Experience working in Agile and modern software delivery environments.

Nice To Haves

Experience supporting large-scale eCommerce or customer-facing digital platforms.
Experience with observability and monitoring tools (e.g., Grafana, Datadog, OpenSearch).
Experience integrating testing into CI/CD pipelines (Azure DevOps, Jenkins, GitLab).
Experience working in cloud environments (AWS).
Familiarity with HCL Commerce or headless architecture ecosystems.

Responsibilities

Designs and leads execution of functional testing strategies across UI, API, and integration layers using modern automation tools (e.g., Playwright).
Validates behavior of complex, multi-tier, distributed applications, ensuring correct transaction flow across frontend, services, and backend systems.
Defines and enforces test strategies, coverage models, and release readiness criteria.
Leads end-to-end validation across testing phases including in-sprint, regression, system integration (SIT), and E2E.
Ensures software products meet defined functional requirements, customer journeys, and business workflows.
Leads design and execution of performance testing strategies using tools such as k6, JMeter, and Artillery.
Designs and executes load, stress, endurance, and scalability testing aligned to production conditions.
Defines and enforces non-functional requirements (NFRs) and performance service level objectives.
Conducts performance diagnostics using logs, metrics, API traces, and observability data to identify system bottlenecks.
Drives root-cause analysis and resolution of performance issues across application and infrastructure layers.
Ensures performance validation reflects real customer usage patterns and end-to-end system behavior.
Partners with development teams to improve application design, performance, and testability.
Reviews and influences technical solutions and architecture decisions to ensure alignment with quality and performance standards.
Provides technical guidance on automation frameworks, testing tools, and performance engineering approaches.
Supports definition of technical requirements and acceptance criteria, including functional and non-functional considerations.
Applies structured methodologies to support delivery and validation across the SDLC.
Drives adoption of shift-left testing practices, enabling earlier identification of defects and performance risks.
Collaborates with Product, Development, and SRE to align on release scope, quality expectations, and delivery timelines.
Ensures consistent execution of processes across development, testing, and release phases.
Defines and leads implementation of automated testing strategies across: Functional testing (Playwright) Performance testing (k6, JMeter, Artillery)
Integrates testing into CI/CD pipelines to enable: Automated regression validation Performance gating at build and release levels
Promotes scalable automation practices across engineering teams.
Applies advanced decision-making and critical thinking to evaluate technical trade-offs and guide engineering direction.
Advises teams on risk mitigation, testing strategies, and performance optimization.
Reviews technical solutions for alignment with quality, scalability, and maintainability expectations.
Mentors engineers and supports adoption of strong engineering and testing practices across teams.