Senior Supplier Development Engineer

Career Area:

Procurement

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.

Caterpillar is Seeking a highly skilled and collaborative Senior Supplier Development Engineer to strengthen performance within our electronics supply base to ensure quality, capacity, and resilience needed to support current and next generation product. This role, bridges engineering, procurement, and supplier operations – driving quality, capacity, and delivery excellence through proactive engagement and technical leadership.

What you can look forward to in this role:

• Developing supplier inspection, testing, and evaluation mechanism to ensure all products are free from defects and are following manufacturing specifications and legal standards.
• Generating reports on supplier quality, by monitoring their defect rates and areas that can lead to potential flaws; Guiding suppliers to reduce these defect rates.
• Supporting suppliers in improving their performance through process enhancements, implementing process controls, and developing quality assurance plans. Lead supplier capability assessments, process validation, and performance improvement initiatives to drive world-class quality and delivery.
• Collaborate closely with electronics engineering teams, buyers, and supply chain performance engineers to align sourcing decisions with technical and capacity requirements.
• Support new product introductions through supplier qualification, tooling readiness, and production validation activities.
• Facilitate structured problem-solving, root cause analysis, and implementation of corrective/preventive actions with suppliers.
• Provide guidance on manufacturing process control, advanced, product quality planning (APQP) and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Develop strong partnerships that balance cost, risk, and long-term value creation across the global supply base.

A successful candidate in this role will showcase their skills in:

• Production Part Approval Process (PPAP): Knowledge of Production Part Approval Processes (PPAP) elements, submissions, and objectives; ability to determine whether a supplier can manufacture products that meet the quality requirements and standards of their customers consistently.
• Supplier Management - MFG: Knowledge of processes and methods to effectively manage business relationships and transactions with suppliers of raw materials or product components; ability to apply related knowledge, experience and skills into real practice.
• Supplier Evaluations and Certification: Knowledge of supplier evaluations and certification; ability to identify the methods, tools and documentation for evaluating, selecting and certifying vendors, suppliers and partners.

Top Candidates for this position may also have:

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical, Electronics, Manufacturing, or Industrial Engineering
• 5+ years of experience in supplier development, quality engineering, or manufacturing engineering within electronics or electromechanical systems.
• Proven ability to collaborate with cross-functional global teams to deliver measurable performance improvements.
• Strong project management skills with demonstrated success leading initiatives across diverse teams in a global environment.
• Solid understanding of electronic component manufacturing, PCB assembly, and validation processes.
• Working knowledge of APQP, PPAP, PFMEA, and Lean methodologies.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills across multiple regions and cultures.
• Willingness to travel globally as needed to engage suppliers and support on-site performance improvement initiatives.

Additional Information:

The primary location for this position is Clayton, NC.

Domestic relocation assistance is available

Sponsorship is not available

Summary Pay Range:

$126,000.00 - $189,000.00

Compensation and benefits offered may vary depending on multiple individualized factors, job level, market location, job-related knowledge, skills, individual performance and experience. Please note that salary is only one component of total compensation at Caterpillar.

Benefits:

Subject to plan eligibility, terms, and guidelines. This is a summary list of benefits.

• Medical, dental, and vision benefits*

• Paid time off plan (Vacation, Holidays, Volunteer, etc.)*

• 401(k) savings plans*

• Health Savings Account (HSA)*

• Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs)*

• Health Lifestyle Programs*

• Employee Assistance Program*

• Voluntary Benefits and Employee Discounts*

• Career Development*

• Incentive bonus*

• Disability benefits

• Life Insurance

• Parental leave

• Adoption benefits

• Tuition Reimbursement

• These benefits also apply to part-time employees

This position requires working onsite five days a week. Visa Sponsorship is not available for this position. This employer is not currently hiring foreign national applicants that require or will require sponsorship tied to a specific employer, such as, H, L, TN, F, J, E, O. As a global company, Caterpillar offers many job opportunities outside of the U.S which can be found through our employment website at www.caterpillar.com/careers.

Posting Dates:

October 23, 2025 - November 5, 2025

Any offer of employment is conditioned upon the successful completion of a drug screen.

Caterpillar is an Equal Opportunity Employer, Including Veterans and Individuals with Disabilities. Qualified applicants of any age are encouraged to apply.

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