Test & Validation Senior Associate Engineer
Caterpillar

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.

Description

Implements and improves testing, development and validation techniques, processes, tooling and machinery to maximize product quality.

This position will be responsible for managing the heat treat processes utilized in Building BB located in East Peoria, IL. These technologies include direct hardening, carburizing, induction hardening and nitride. The candidate will work closely with the operations and quality teams to ensure the area is safe and meets PQVC requirements. The individual must have experience creating standard work, control plans, PFMEAs, SFMEAs, equipment procedures and performing near miss investigations and corrective actions. The candidate will also manage new product introduction, metallurgical testing and PPAP documentation within their scope of influence. Individuals must be able to work with shop floor personnel and 3rd party maintenance suppliers to maximize equipment performance and uptime.

Job Duties

• Resolving issues regarding the design or manufacturing. Ensuring design acceptance and manufacturing readiness.
• Participating in the adoption of new technologies and processes (automation, robotics, computer aided manufacturing software, etc.) to achieve greater efficiency, cost reduction and quality improvement.
• Planning and improving testing procedures and operations to make the test more reliable, efficient and cost-effective.
• Monitoring results, machine and process capabilities and performance reliability.
• Ensuring Safety via Standard Work, Safe Job Procedures, SFMEA analysis, Continuous Improvement and Safety Walks.
• Ensuring Quality via CP, PFMEA, RCCA, Product Deviations, Process Audits and Operator Training.
• Ensuring Velocity via OEE Analysis, Capacity Planning and Collaboration with Maintenance teams.
• Improving Cost via Value Add / Engineering Projects and Process Improvements.

Skill Descriptors

Accuracy and Attention to Detail: Understanding the necessity and value of accuracy; ability to complete tasks with high levels of precision.
Level Basic Understanding:
• Explains the importance of accuracy in own function or unit.
• Identifies tasks or outputs that require accuracy and detail-level attention.
• Identifies the procedures for making sure that results are mistake-free.
• Describes consequences of errors within own unit or function.

Analytical Thinking: Knowledge of techniques and tools that promote effective analysis; ability to determine the root cause of organizational problems and create alternative solutions that resolve these problems.
Level Working Knowledge:
• Approaches a situation or problem by defining the problem or issue and determining its significance.
• Makes a systematic comparison of two or more alternative solutions.
• Uses flow charts, Pareto charts, fish diagrams, etc. to disclose meaningful data patterns.
• Identifies the major forces, events and people impacting and impacted by the situation at hand.
• Uses logic and intuition to make inferences about the meaning of the data and arrive at conclusions.

Decision Making and Critical Thinking: Knowledge of the decision-making process and associated tools and techniques; ability to accurately analyze situations and reach productive decisions based on informed judgment.
Level Basic Understanding:
• Explains characteristics and steps in an effective decision-making process.
• Identifies issues and communicates with others when a decision needs to be made.
• Names decision makers in own environment and cites examples of past decisions.
• Describes types of decisions incumbent may and may not make in own job or function.

Effective Communications: Understanding of effective communication concepts, tools and techniques; ability to effectively transmit, receive, and accurately interpret ideas, information, and needs through the application of appropriate communication behaviors.
Level Working Knowledge:
• Delivers helpful feedback that focuses on behaviors without offending the recipient.
• Listens to feedback without defensiveness and uses it for own communication effectiveness.
• Makes oral presentations and writes reports needed for own work.
• Avoids technical jargon when inappropriate.
• Looks for and considers non-verbal cues from individuals and groups.

Technical Excellence: Knowledge of a given technology and various application methods; ability to develop and provide solutions to significant technical challenges.
Level Basic Understanding:
• Uses a structured approach in analyzing and resolving technical problems.
• Seeks opportunities for continual learning to maintain technical competence in pursuit of technical excellence.
• Provides examples or case studies demonstrating technical excellence in actual business scenarios.
• Pursues, prepares for and assumes new technical assignments and challenges.

Project Management: Knowledge of effective project management strategies and tactics; ability to plan, organize, monitor, and control projects, ensuring efficient utilization of technical and administrative resources to achieve project objectives.
Level Basic Understanding:
• Identifies project management tools and requirements within own function.
• Describes the key objectives, phases and deliverables of a current project.
• Explains the concepts of phase, activity, task, and deliverable.
• Gives examples of critical paths in projects.

Product Testing: Knowledge of product testing approaches, techniques and tools; ability to design, plan and execute testing strategies and tactics to ensure product quality at all stages of manufacturing.
Level Working Knowledge:
• Documents test process and results; prepares and analyzes defect-tracking reports.
• Summarizes features of a specific product-testing process and associated procedures.
• Tests components for compliance with functional requirements and established conventions.
• Discusses and compares usability, safety and integration testing.
• Develops product-testing procedures; participates in selecting testing environment and tools.

Troubleshooting Technical Problems: Knowledge of troubleshooting approaches, tools and techniques; ability to anticipate, detect and resolve technical problems in a manufacturing environment.
Level Working Knowledge:
• Documents common hardware, software and communications problems and likely resolutions.
• Troubleshoots typical technical problems in a specific area.
• Works with vendor-specific diagnostic guides, tools and utilities to discover application problems.
• Adheres to standard troubleshooting procedures to ensure effectiveness of resolutions.
• Participates in setting evaluation standards and criterion for troubleshooting.

Basic Qualifications

• BS Materials Engineering
• Intermediate experience with Microsoft Word, Excel, One Note, Teams
• Minimum 1-year of experience with standard work, control plans and PFMEAs.
• Minimum 1-year of experience with continuous improvement, safety investigations and root cause analysis.
• Minimum 1-year of experience with PPAP documentation.
• Experience calculating OEE and capacity.

Top Candidates will also have

• Strong planning, communication, problem solving and prioritization skills.
• Ferrous Metallurgy experience a plus.
• Knowledge of heat treat process controls (atmosphere control, heating time/rate, quench media controls, scan rate, etc).
• 1-year of experience with SAP software.
• Knowledge of Caterpillar part prints and specifications.

Additional Information

The location for this position is East Peoria, IL

Domestic relocation assistance is available for this position.

This position may require 10% travel

Employee benefit details

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 a salary because we value your performance. We offer a total rewards package that provides benefits on day one (medical, dental, vision, RX, and 401K) along with the potential of an annual bonus.

Additional benefits include paid vacation days and paid holidays (prorated based upon hire date).

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.

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 .

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

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Posting Dates:
March 21, 2024 - April 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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