Instrumentation Manager

Instrumentation Manager

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: Lead the instrumentation capability that powers Caterpillar's next generation of construction equipment. As Instrumentation Manager for the Building Construction Products (BCP) Product Development-West Test Team in North Carolina, you will shape instrumentation strategy, technical capability, resources, and team development, ensuring safe, efficient test preparation and accurate, reliable measurement data from concept through customer delivery.

You will lead a team of instrumentation technicians across the Clayton Machine Development Center (CMDC) and Sanford Machine Development Center (SMDC), overseeing workload planning, equipment readiness, calibration, quality systems, process standardization, and technology development. Partnering closely with test and development engineers, operations, facilities, quality, and EHS teams, you will support New Product Introduction (NPI) and Current Product Improvement (CPI) programs.

You will also build a unified cross-site operating model and drive continuous improvement in safety, 5S, measurement quality, equipment uptime, setup efficiency, and responsiveness to internal customers.

What You Will Do (Job Duties):

• Lead, coach, and develop instrumentation technicians across CMDC and SMDC by setting clear expectations, prioritizing work, and supporting onboarding, mentoring, skills growth, and performance.
• Plan instrumentation workload, setup schedules, bay space, equipment availability, and cross-site resource sharing to keep product-development priorities on track.
• Standardize instrumentation methods, documentation, naming conventions, calibration, data verification, troubleshooting, and issue resolution to deliver safe, accurate, and repeatable results.
• Manage sensors, data acquisition systems, calibration status, inventory, and related equipment to ensure test readiness.
• Own ISO 17025 and quality-system compliance, including calibration, measurement traceability, documentation, and operational controls.
• Proactively communicate resource constraints, equipment concerns, schedule risks, and data-quality issues to internal customers and partners.
• Build and maintain standard work, training materials, onboarding plans, skills matrices, troubleshooting guides, and technical references.
• Drive continuous improvement in safety, quality, test readiness, setup efficiency, equipment uptime, resource utilization, technical capability, and cross-site integration.
• Plan capital and expense investments for sensors, data acquisition systems, calibration tools, test equipment, and technology upgrades, and coordinate procurement and supplier support.
• Turn lessons learned into lasting process, training, and technical improvements.

What You Have (Core Skills):

• Education: Bachelor's degree in engineering, or an associate degree in a technical field with 6+ years of experience in testing, validation, or product development.
• Technical Excellence: Strong working knowledge of sensors, instrumentation, data acquisition, calibration, measurement traceability, test setup, troubleshooting, and data verification.
• People Leadership: Experience leading, coaching, and developing technicians or technical support teams through delegation, feedback, performance support, and capability building.
• Planning and Decisions: Balance daily execution with long-term capability needs, using data, risk, resource availability, issue history, and stakeholder input to set priorities.
• Problem Solving: Effectively resolve equipment downtime, setup issues, sensor failures, calibration concerns, data-quality problems, and operational constraints.
• Customer Focus and Communication: Build strong relationships, communicate clearly, adapt to shifting priorities, respond with urgency, and escalate risks appropriately.
• Project Management and Collaboration: Experience delivering technical projects across locations and functions while managing cost, schedule, resources, risks, and stakeholder actions.

Top Candidates Will Have:

• Leadership experience in product development, testing, instrumentation, manufacturing, laboratory, or engineering support environments.
• Hands-on test experience with construction or agricultural equipment, including machines, systems, components, attachments, or work tools.
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