Development & Research Senior Engineering Specialist (Heat Treat Supplier Assessment Lead)

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.

Your Work Shapes the World

Whether it be groundbreaking products, best in class solutions or creating a lifelong career, you can do the work that matters at Caterpillar. With a 95-year legacy of quality and innovation and 150 locations in countries around the world, your impact spans the globe.

When you join Caterpillar, you are joining a team of makers, innovators, and doers. We are the people who roll up our sleeves and do the work to build a better world. We don’t just talk about progress and innovation. We make it happen. And we are proud of that, because it helps our customers build and power the world we live in – the roads, hospitals, homes, and infrastructure.  Without a dedicated workforce Caterpillar could not effectively meet our customer’s needs.  Join us.

Job Summary:

Caterpillar’s Advanced Materials Technology (AMT) division supports the company’s heat treat manufacturing equipment, processes, and technological development around the world. AMT is currently seeking an experienced metallurgical or materials engineer to deliver world-class support to our business unit customers. In this role you will lead Caterpillar’s heat treat supplier assessment team to develop high quality suppliers for heat treatment and related processes. The supplier assessment team provides troubleshooting, design support, and guidance for business units to meet quality, velocity, and cost requirements.  The successful candidate will be an expert in heat treatment, manufacturing processes, and APQP.

What You Will Do:

• Lead global heat treat assessment process, including budgeting, planning, tracking, and corrective actions.
• Conduct 20-30 domestic and international assessments annually.
• Train and qualify new auditors; maintain audit processes and materials.
• Solve high-impact metallurgical problems and lead corrective actions.
• Participate in APQP, New Supplier Introduction, and New Product Introduction processes for various business units.
• Plan and manage audits, including funding requests, prioritization, and oversight for teams in USA, Mexico, UK, Brazil, India, and China.
• Track audit completion, distribute reports, and maintain audit data to client business units
• Provide technical support to procurement personnel & suppliers
• Provide metallurgical & manufacturing engineering technical support for heat treat components across the enterprise (Cat manufacturing facilities as well as suppliers)

Education Requirement:

• Requires a degree in an accredited Metallurgical Engineering or Materials Science curriculum.

What Skills You Will Have:

Planning:

• Develops, refines, and communicates tactical plans for own responsibilities.
• Provides the right level of detail as input for strategic plan development.
• Demonstrates the value and necessity of linking tactical plans to overall strategic plan.
• Ensures attention to the detail and dependencies of existing departmental-level plans.
• Plans for allocation of resources in line with unit goals, technical and business objectives.
• Ensures the planning process is integrated with the overall business plan.

Analytical Thinking:

• Seeks discrepancies and inconsistencies in available information; explains variances.

• Organizes and prioritizes the sequence of steps to be taken to remedy the situation.
• Identifies many possible causes for a problem based on prior experience and current research.
• Quantifies the costs, benefits, risks and chances for success before recommending a course of action.
• Approaches a complex problem by breaking it down into its component parts.
• Chooses among a diverse set of analytical tools according to the nature of the situation.

Decision Making and Critical Thinking:

• Differentiates assumptions, perspectives, and historical frameworks.

• Evaluates past decisions for insights to improve decision-making process.
• Assesses and validates decision options and points and predicts their potential impact.
• Advises others in analyzing and synthesizing relevant data and assessing alternatives.
• Uses effective decision-making approaches such as consultative, command, or consensus.
• Ensures that assumptions and received wisdom are objectively analyzed in decisions.

Effective Communications:

• Reviews others' writing or presentations and provides feedback and coaching.

• Adapts documents and presentations for the intended audience.
• Demonstrates both empathy and assertiveness when communicating a need or defending a position.
• Communicates well downward, upward, and outward.
• Employs appropriate methods of persuasion when soliciting agreement.
• Maintains focus on the topic at hand.

Technical Excellence:

• Fosters an environment that encourages, supports and rewards technical excellence.
• Provides recognized technical leadership to an organization that includes vision, innovation, superior technical competence and the desire to excel.
• Provides highly effective solutions to very complex technical challenges, applying outstanding technical competence to understand and resolve issues.
• Champions the use of new innovations and technologies that solve technical business problems.
• Consistently applies the latest developments, practices and technologies to resolve complex technical challenges in one's general area of competence.
• Develops organizational policies, best practices and management methods that are highly conducive to technical excellence.

Project Management:

• Utilizes preferred tools, techniques and methods for estimating project cost and time.
• Plans, estimates, staffs, organizes and monitors significant projects.
• Identifies risks and vulnerabilities; creates contingency plans.
• Conducts regular and ad-hoc project reviews with project team, sponsors, and clients.
• Maintains open communication among project participants and interested parties.
• Communicates reporting requirements; creates monitoring and control mechanisms.

Product Testing:

• Predicts industry and marketplace trends; explores new methods and technologies.
• Leads the evaluation, selection, and implementation of testing approaches, tools and scenarios.
• Mentors others in improving the throughput and efficiency of the manufacturing test processes.
• Oversees the testing processes of multiple products in a high-volume manufacturing environment.
• Consults on product-testing costs, tools, approaches and benefits.
• Directs the development of standards, guidelines and best practices for testing.

Troubleshooting Technical Problems:

• Evaluates business impact of failure and the criticality and timing of needed resolution.
• Resolves difficult or high-impact equipment and systems problems.
• Monitors machine performance and history; addresses excessive maintenance or repair needs.
• Coaches others how to resolve integration or communications problems in multi-vendor environment.
• Applies specific techniques for isolating a problem and defining resolution approach.
• Uses advanced diagnostic techniques and tools for unusual or performance-related problems.
• Previous experience of furnace atmosphere and thermocouple probes
• High level understanding of various Heat Treat furnaces & quench machines
• Knowledge of Heat treat processes (Carburizing, Nitride, Induction, Direct hardening, quench processes and tooling)
• Strong manufacturing engineering experience and understanding of SFMEA, APQP, PPAP & Control plans
• Demonstrated experience of lean manufacturing engineering concepts and principles

Additional Information

This location for this position is East Peoria, IL

Domestic relocation assistance is available for this position.

This position may require up to 40% travel.

Visa sponsorship is available for this position.

What You Will Get:

Our goal at Caterpillar is for you to have a rewarding career. Our teams are critical to the success of our customers who build a better world. Here you earn more than just wage, because we value your performance, we offer a total rewards package that provides:

• Competitive Base Salary
• Annual incentive bonus plan*
• Medical, dental, and vision coverage
• Paid time off plan (Vacation, Holiday, Volunteer, Etc.)
• 401k savings plan
• Health savings account (HSA)
• Flexible spending accounts (FSAs)
• Short and long-term disability coverage
• Life Insurance
• Paid parental leave
• Healthy Lifestyle Programs
• Employee Assistance Programs
• Voluntary Benefits (Ex. Accident, Identity Theft Protection)

*Subject to annual eligibility and incentive plan guidelines.

Final details

Please frequently check the email associated with your application, including the junk/spam folder, as this is the primary correspondence method. If you wish to know the status of your application – please use the candidate log-in on our career website as it will reflect any updates to your status.

For more information, visit caterpillar.com. To connect with us on social media, visit caterpillar.com/social-media

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Relocation is available for this position.Visa sponsorship available for eligible applicants.

Posting Dates:

November 20, 2024 - December 4, 2024

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

EEO/AA Employer.  All qualified individuals - Including minorities, females, veterans and individuals with disabilities - are encouraged to apply.

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