Principal Digital Product Manager, Applied AI

Career Area:
Technology, Digital and Data
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.
Job Summary:
The AI Accelerator is a key enabler of Caterpillar's next chapter - designed to enable and scale AI adoption and progress across the enterprise. Its mission is to identify opportunities, run experiments, accelerate adoption, ensure AI value realization, support strategic partner engagement, and help develop the frameworks to scale AI solutions globally.
We are building a team of experienced and visionary Applied AI Product Managers to lead the strategy, development, and launch of AI capabilities across the enterprise. This unique role sits at the intersection of business strategy, technical AI/ML capabilities, and user experience. The ideal candidate will have a deep understanding of AI principles, a passion for solving user problems, and a proven ability to guide technical teams in bringing complex AI capabilities from the lab to production.
What You Will Do:

• Define AI Product Strategy & Roadmap: Partner with key business functions to define the product vision, strategy, and roadmap for one or more AI-driven product areas. Identify high-impact opportunities where applied AI can deliver significant business value and exceptional user experiences.
• Translate Insights to Requirements: Work closely with stakeholders, business analysts, and users to understand needs. Translate these needs into clear, concise Epics, User Stories, and PRDs (Product Requirements Documents) that specifically address the unique constraints and capabilities of AI/ML systems.
• Lead the AI Development Lifecycle: Collaborate daily with Data Scientists, ML Engineers, and Software Engineers to manage the end-to-end product development lifecycle, including data acquisition, model training, model deployment, and production monitoring (MLOps).
• Manage Model Performance & Metrics: Define and monitor key product and model performance metrics (e.g., accuracy, precision, recall, latency, drift). Clearly communicate trade-offs between model performance and business objectives.
• Launch, Adoption & Value: Partner with functional teams across the enterprise to successfully launch new AI products or features, ensuring readiness and clear value proposition and realization.
• Data Ethics and Compliance: Advocate for and ensure that AI products are developed and deployed ethically, complying with all relevant data privacy, bias, and regulatory requirements.

What You Will Have:

• Strategic Vision: Ability to look beyond current constraints and define a compelling long-term AI product strategy.
• Data-Driven Decision Making: Relies heavily on metrics, data, and experimentation to guide product prioritization.
• Bias for Action: Proactive and results-oriented, with a track record of successfully shipping complex products.
• Cross-functional Collaboration: A natural collaborator who can build consensus and drive outcomes across diverse engineering, data science, and business teams.

Considerations for Top Candidates:

• Extensive professional experience (typically 5+ years), with proven experience as a Product Manager focused on Machine Learning, Deep Learning, or AI-powered products (typically 3+ years).
• A solid foundational understanding of the ML lifecycle, common model types (e.g., NLP, Computer Vision, Predictive Models), feature engineering, and the challenges of deploying and monitoring models in production environments (MLOps).
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to articulate complex AI concepts to non-technical business leaders and users, as well as define detailed requirements for technical teams.
• Proven ability to define and execute a product roadmap based on quantitative data, market analysis, and user research.
• Typically a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Data Science, or a related technical field.

• Direct experience or degree in Data Science or Engineering- nice to have.
• Experience with cloud-based ML platforms (e.g., AWS Sagemaker, Google AI Platform, Azure ML) - nice to have.
• Prior experience managing products in a specific industry (e.g., FinTech, Healthcare, E-commerce) - nice to have.
• Familiarity with A/B testing frameworks for evaluating and improving model-driven features - nice to have.

Why This Role Matters:
Caterpillar is investing in purpose-built AI solutions to transform dealer and customer experiences. This role is critical to ensuring our dealers are equipped with intelligent tools that drive efficiency, personalization, and growth. You'll be at the forefront of shaping how AI is adopted across our dealer ecosystem.
Additional Information:
This position will have the option to be based out of our Chicago, IL; Peoria, IL; Denver, CO or Irving, TX offices.
#LI
#BI (used to post on Built In Chicago)
What You Will Get:
Working with a Fortune 100 leader, you can build your career on a global scale and take advantage of development opportunities with emerging technologies. We've created an inclusive environment for you to explore your passions, make an impact and do the work that really matters. Join Us.
About Caterpillar
Caterpillar Inc. is the world's leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, off-highway diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and diesel-electric locomotives. For nearly 100 years, we've been helping customers build a better, more sustainable world and are committed and contributing to a reduced-carbon future. Our innovative products and services, backed by our global dealer network, provide exceptional value that helps customers succeed.
Summary Pay Range:
$156,000.00 - $253,560.00
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
Relocation is available for this position.
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 15, 2025 - October 29, 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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