Senior Engineering Manager – Non-Functional Quality and Performance Engineering

Role Overview Caterpillar Inc. is seeking a seasoned Senior Engineering Manager to lead Non-Functional Quality Engineering across its enterprise digital platforms, with core accountability for Performance Engineering, scalability, reliability, and resilience. This is a high-impact horizontal leadership role where you will embed performance and reliability into system design, validate them early in the lifecycle, and sustain them at production scale. You will collaborate closely with Architecture, SRE, and QE delivery leaders to champion a performance-first culture and enable data-driven decisions at the release and architecture level. Key Responsibilities - Own and define the enterprise Non-Functional Quality strategy and operating model covering performance, scalability, reliability, and resilience - Lead performance engineering lifecycle including workload modeling, test strategy, certification, and production validation across distributed platforms - Drive shift-left performance integration within CI/CD pipelines and establish performance budgets and certification frameworks - Influence system architecture using performance-first principles and define reusable QE architecture patterns and automation frameworks - Align with SRE teams on SLOs and SLIs, drive resilience engineering practices, and connect production telemetry back to performance validation - Define NFR governance metrics, present risk analysis in executive forums, and translate technical risks into business-level impact - Spearhead AI-assisted testing initiatives including anomaly detection and automated root cause analysis - Build and scale the Non-Functional QE capability, mentor engineers and architects, and establish a Non-Functional Excellence Guild Required Qualifications - 20 or more years of experience in Quality Engineering or Performance Engineering - 8 or more years leading large, distributed engineering teams at an enterprise scale - Proven track record of cross-functional influence across Architecture, SRE, and Product functions - Strong hands-on knowledge of distributed systems, microservices, and APIs - Experience with cloud platforms such as AWS or Azure and familiarity with observability and APM ecosystems - Excellent executive communication and stakeholder management skills - Preferred: exposure to large-scale digital platforms and AI/ML-driven testing methodologies Why Join Us At Caterpillar, you will be part of a global team of makers and problem solvers who are building stronger, more sustainable communities through technology and innovation. This role offers a unique opportunity to shape enterprise quality engineering strategy and grow into broader QE leadership over time.

- 20+ years in Quality Engineering or Performance Engineering - 8+ years leading large distributed engineering teams - Enterprise performance engineering leadership experience - Expertise in distributed systems, microservices, and APIs - Hands-on knowledge of cloud platforms such as AWS or Azure - Familiarity with observability tools and APM ecosystems - Cross-functional influence across Architecture, SRE, and Product teams - Strong executive communication and presentation skills - Preferred: experience with AI/ML-driven testing and large-scale digital platforms

- Work with a globally respected engineering organisation - Opportunity to lead enterprise-wide quality engineering strategy - Collaborative culture with access to cross-functional leadership - Equal opportunity employer welcoming applicants of all backgrounds - Long-term career growth into broader Quality Engineering leadership