Principal Architect IT – Product Engineering

Caterpillar Inc.•Irving, TX

2d•Onsite

About The Position

The Principal Architect for Product Engineering is a senior technical leadership role responsible for defining the architectural strategy that connects product engineering systems with modern manufacturing platforms across a globally distributed enterprise. This role establishes the digital engineering foundation required to enable the digital thread from design to production, ensuring product engineering platforms seamlessly integrate with manufacturing execution systems, quality systems, supply chain and digital manufacturing platforms. The role partners closely with engineering, manufacturing, and IT leadership to modernize legacy engineering ecosystems and enable model-based engineering, digital twins, AI-enabled engineering workflows, and advanced simulation environments. The mission is to accelerate the journey to data driven, digitally integrated and increasingly autonomous manufacturing operations.

Requirements

Experience in enterprise architecture, engineering platforms, or digital engineering environments.
Deep experience with product engineering ecosystems in industrial manufacturing
Demonstrated experience architecting PLM and engineering platform integrations
Strong understanding of engineering-to-manufacturing digital workflows
Expertise in integration architecture and enterprise platform design

Nice To Haves

Qualification in Architectural Framework e.g. TOGAF
Experience with leading PLM platforms including Siemens Teamcenter, PTC Windchill, Dassault 3DEXPERIENCE.
Experience integrating PLM with ERPs, MES, digital manufacturing systems
Understanding of model-based systems engineering (MBSE)
Enabled digital twins and simulation environments
Exposure to AI-enabled engineering platforms or generative design
Experience supporting large-scale manufacturing organizations
Direct Leadership Experience would be beneficial

Responsibilities

Define the enterprise architecture strategy for product engineering platforms including PLM, CAD, simulation, and engineering data ecosystems.
Establish architecture patterns supporting digital engineering and model-based development.
Lead modernization or legacy engineering technology environments
Architect end-to-end digital thread connecting product design, manufacturing, and lifecycle management
Enable seamless integration between PLM, ERP, MES, quality systems, and digital manufacturing platforms
Define standards supporting configuration management, engineering change management, and traceability
Architect patterns enabling engineering-to-manufacturing data flow across global manufacturing operations
Enable connectivity between engineering platforms and MES, industrial IoT, factory automation systems, and quality and inspection platforms
Enable platforms supporting engineering simulation environments, AI-assisted design and optimization, generative engineering workflows and digital twin ecosystems
Define event driven integration, API-first engineering ecosystems, and engineering data interoperability to architect scalable solutions for global engineering collaboration and product development.
Partner across the enterprise with key stakeholders and translate the product engineering strategy into technology roadmaps and architectural blueprints.
Provide architecture governance and guidance across engineering initiatives.