Lead Frontend Engineer

Cat Digital is the digital and technology arm of Caterpillar Inc., leveraging the latest technologies to build industry leading digital solutions for our customers and dealers. With over 1.5 million connected assets worldwide, our teams use data, technology, advanced analytics, telematics, and AI capabilities to help our customers build a better, more sustainable world.

Be Part of What’s Next in Autonomous Construction Sites

Construction autonomy is one of the most complex challenges in applied AI, and at Caterpillar, advancements in physical AI, simulation, sensing, and edge computing are turning things that once felt impossible—intelligent machines operating in dynamic jobsites—into reality.

If this work motivates you, we invite you to join our team. In these roles, you’ll work at the intersection of the physical and digital worlds. You’ll help design and deliver intelligent systems that enable machines to perceive their environment, make informed decisions, and support safer, more productive operations.

Job Summary
We are seeking a Lead Frontend Engineer to drive the design and development of next-generation, tablet-first applications that enable and visualize autonomous systems. This role serves as a technical leader across multiple teams, shaping scalable frontend architecture and delivering intuitive, high-performance user experiences.

You will work at the intersection of real-time systems, interactive visualization, and industrial autonomy, leveraging modern web and hybrid mobile technologies to build applications used in the field, including integration with advanced simulation platforms such as NVIDIA Omniverse for digital twin and 3D visualization experiences.

What You Will Do:

• Own and define frontend architecture across teams, including UI frameworks, state management, and application structure 
• Design and deliver tablet-first applications using Angular and Ionic/Capacitor, with support for mobile and console-like environments 
• Build interactive, real-time user interfaces that visualize and control autonomous systems using live data and AI-driven outputs 
• Drive performance optimization for responsive, low-latency behavior across constrained devices (tablets and mobile) 
• Establish engineering standards, reusable components, and best practices for long-term scalability 
• Lead technical design reviews, guide implementation, and mentor engineers across teams 
• Collaborate with product, UX, backend, and AI/robotics teams to deliver integrated solutions 
• Ensure quality through automated testing, CI/CD pipelines, and application observability 

What you will have:

• Decision Making and Critical Thinking: Knowledge of the decision-making process and associated tools and techniques; ability to accurately analyze situations and reach productive decisions based on informed judgment.
• Software Integration Engineering: Knowledge of software integration processes and functions; ability to design, develop and maintain interfaces and linkage to alternative platforms and software packages.
• Software Product Design/Architecture: Knowledge of software product design; ability to convert market requirements into the software product design.
• Software Product Technical Knowledge: Knowledge of technical aspects of a software products; ability to design, configure and integrate technical aspects of software products.
• Software Product Testing: Knowledge of software product testing; ability to design, plan, and execute testing strategies and tactics to ensure software product quality and adherence to stated requirements.

Consideration for top candidates:

• 10–15 years of experience in software engineering, with strong expertise in frontend architecture 
• Strong experience with Angular, RxJS, and state management (NgRx or similar) 
• Expert proficiency in JavaScript/TypeScript and modern frontend design patterns 
• Hands-on experience building hybrid mobile applications using Ionic + and capacitor performance optimization for mobile/tablet environments
• Experience integrating real-time data systems (WebSockets, event-driven architectures) 
• Experience with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP) and backend systems (Node.js or similar) 
• Strong understanding of performance optimization for mobile/tablet environments

What You Will Get: 

• Opportunity to define architecture for cutting-edge autonomous solutions 
• Work on real-world applications that directly impact Caterpillar customers globally 
• Collaborative environment across digital, AI, and engineering teams 
• Career growth through technical leadership and cross-functional influence 

Additional Details:

• This position requires the candidate to be in Chicago, IL, Peoria, IL, Dallas, TX, or Denver, CO
• Domestic relocation assistance is available for this position.
• Visa sponsorship is NOT available with this position.
• This position will require up to 5-10% travel