Principal Software Engineer – Distributed Systems & Cloud-Native Platform (Java)

• Career Area:

Engineering

• Job Description:

Your Work Shapes the World at Caterpillar Inc.

When you join Caterpillar, you're joining a global team who cares not just about the work we do – but also about each other. We are the makers, problem solvers, and future world builders who are creating stronger, more sustainable communities. We don't just talk about progress and innovation here – we make it happen, with our customers, where we work and live. Together, we are building a better world, so we can all enjoy living in it.

Role Summary

We’re seeking a Principal Software Engineer to build and evolve large-scale, distributed systems that power mission-critical platforms. This is a senior technical leadership role for engineers who thrive on solving hard, ambiguous problems at scale, and who can influence architecture across teams.

You will drive system design, scalability, and engineering excellence, while remaining deeply hands-on in building high-performance backend systems on a modern cloud-native stack.

What You’ll Do

• Architect and build

high-throughput, low-latency distributed systems

using Java and microservices

• Lead

end-to-end system design

across services, data, and platform layers

• Design for

scale, resilience, fault tolerance, and operability

from first principles

• Build and operate

containerized workloads on Kubernetes

(multi-service, production scale)

• Define and raise the bar on

architecture, APIs, and engineering quality standards

• Drive

cross-team technical decisions

and resolve complex system bottlenecks

• Mentor senior engineers and act as a

technical multiplier across teams

• Influence

platform roadmap, modernization, and developer productivity

Basic Qualifications

12+ years

of experience building and operating backend systems at scale

• Strong expertise in

Java, Spring Boot, Microservices, Distributed Systems

• Proven experience designing

highly available, large-scale systems (traffic, data, or compute)

• Hands-on with

Kubernetes and Docker in production environments

• Strong fundamentals in

system design, concurrency, data modeling, and performance optimization

• Deep experience with

PostgreSQL or similar databases

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with

event-driven architectures (Kafka / streaming systems)

• Exposure to

cloud platforms (AWS/Azure) and hybrid architectures

• Experience with

observability, reliability engineering, and production operations

• Contributions to

platform engineering, frameworks, or internal developer platforms

• Track record of

influencing architecture across multiple teams or product

Tech Stack

Java | Spring Boot | Microservices | Kubernetes | Docker | PostgreSQL | CI/CD | Cloud (AWS/Azure)

• Posting Dates:

September 11, 2026 - September 24, 2026

Caterpillar is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Qualified applicants of any age are encouraged to apply

Not ready to apply? Join our Talent Community.

• 12+ years of experience building and operating backend systems at scale
• Strong expertise in Java, Spring Boot, Microservices, Distributed Systems
• Proven experience designing highly available, large-scale systems (traffic, data, or compute)
• Hands-on with Kubernetes and Docker in production environments
• Strong fundamentals in system design, concurrency, data modeling, and performance optimization
• Deep experience with PostgreSQL or similar databases
• Experience with event-driven architectures (Kafka / streaming systems)
• Exposure to cloud platforms (AWS/Azure) and hybrid architectures
• Experience with observability, reliability engineering, and production operations
• Contributions to platform engineering, frameworks, or internal developer platforms
• Track record of influencing architecture across multiple teams or product