Software Test Engineering Manager

Caterpillar•Chicago, IL

About The Position

As the Software Test Engineering Manager, you will lead a System Integration Testing team supporting programs within the Platform Engineering organization. You will own the integration test strategy, focusing primarily on back-end testing of APIs, services, data pipelines, and system interfaces, and set quality standards for end-to-end data flow across system boundaries. The role manages test automation frameworks, environments, and schedules to keep releases on track, and partners with software engineering, product, and architecture teams to confirm release readiness. You will also hire, mentor, and develop test engineers, and report quality, risk, and test coverage to stakeholders. The position requires the candidate to be based in Chicago, Illinois. Relocation assistance and visa sponsorship are not available. The summary pay range is $128,470 to $208,770. Compensation and benefits may vary based on individualized factors. Benefits are subject to plan eligibility, terms, and guidelines. Any offer is conditioned on successful completion of a drug screen.

Requirements

Knowledge of organizational leadership concepts and ability to enlist others in setting, embracing, and achieving objectives.
Knowledge of the software development life cycle and ability to use a structured methodology for delivering and managing software products.
Knowledge of software quality assurance and testing and ability to apply processes, tools, and techniques to assure quality in software products and systems.
Knowledge of software integration processes and functions and ability to design, develop, and maintain interfaces and linkages to alternative platforms and software packages.
Strong communication skills, including the ability to report quality risks and test metrics to engineering and product leaders and influence release decisions.

Nice To Haves

Experience leading, mentoring, and developing test engineers and automation specialists across multiple programs.
Experience reviewing test strategies, test plans, and release readiness to ensure quality standards are met.
Experience managing automated pipeline health and test triage, and working with engineering leads to identify and reduce flaky tests and false positives.
Ability to define testing priorities and align quality strategy with product, engineering, and business goals.
Understanding of Gen AI capabilities and development tools, with ability to identify opportunities to improve engineering productivity, automation, and team efficiency.

Responsibilities

Lead, mentor, and develop a team of test engineers, including hiring, performance management, and training.
Define and own test strategy, test plans, and quality standards across the software development life cycle.
Oversee the design, development, and maintenance of automated test frameworks for regression, integration, performance, and system-level testing.
Partner with software engineering, product, and architecture teams to define requirements, acceptance criteria, and release readiness.
Build and manage test schedules, estimates, and resource plans, and report status, risks, and quality metrics to stakeholders.
Drive CI/CD test integration, test environments, and tooling to speed up feedback and improve release quality.
Oversee defect triage and root-cause analysis and drive continuous improvement in test coverage and efficiency.
Ensure compliance with company standards, safety and security requirements, and industry best practices.