Senior Product Designer

Career Area:

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.

Senior Product Designer

Job Summary

At Caterpillar, User Experience extends beyond the display. We design how people interact with machines, digital products, and connected ecosystems to create experiences that are intuitive, integrated, and trusted.

We're seeking a Senior Product Designer who thrives on simplifying complexity and taking

ownership of the end-to-end product experience. This role partners closely with Product Management, Engineering, Software teams, and business stakeholders to identify opportunities, define product requirements, shape experience strategy, and deliver solutions that help customers accomplish their work safely, efficiently, and confidently.

Success in this role requires systems thinking, curiosity, and the ability to navigate ambiguity while balancing customer needs, technical constraints, and business objectives. The ideal candidate is equally comfortable participating in discovery activities, defining requirements, creating interaction and visual designs, facilitating alignment across teams, and ensuring solutions are successfully delivered.

You’ll have the opportunity to influence products from early concept through production, ensuring customer needs, business goals, and technical realities are thoughtfully integrated throughout the entire product lifecycle.

What You’ll Do

• Own the end-to-end product design process from discovery and requirements definition through design, implementation, and continuous improvement.
• Partner with Product Managers, Engineers, Software teams, and stakeholders to identify customer needs, define product requirements, and influence product strategy.
• Translate customer insights, business objectives, and technical constraints into intuitive and scalable product experiences.
• Leverage and synthesize customer research, stakeholder feedback, workshop outputs, and other discovery insights to uncover opportunities and inform product direction.
• Design user journeys, workflows, information architecture, interaction models, and visual interfaces across machine, application, and connected experiences.
• Create wireframes, prototypes, high-fidelity designs, and detailed specifications that effectively communicate design intent.
• Collaborate closely with Engineering throughout implementation to ensure quality execution and alignment with the intended experience.
• Facilitate workshops and design sessions that align cross-functional teams around customer needs, business priorities, and product outcomes.
• Use customer feedback, usability testing results, analytics, and other insights to validate solutions and continuously improve experiences.
• Contribute to and evolve design systems, interaction patterns, accessibility standards, and design best practices.
• Advocate for Human-Centered Design and Product Design excellence throughout the product development process.
• Mentor designers and contribute to a collaborative, customer-focused design culture.

What You Will Have

Creativity: Knowledge of the approaches, tools, and techniques for promoting creative, original thinking and ability to apply it to a variety of business situations.
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.
Computer Software Industry: Knowledge of computer software industry; ability to understand future products, vendors, technologies, issues, and trends and directions.
Web Software Design: Knowledge of web software design; ability to design, develop, maintain and enhance web-based or web-enabled software.
Human-Centered Design (HCD): Knowledge of Human-Centered Design model, principle, and concepts; ability to understand the perspective of people who experience a problem, their needs, and provide them with a solution which truly meets their needs effectively.
User Experience Design: Knowledge of user experience design tools, techniques and approaches; ability to design applications that are valued, positively perceived and used by clients.
User Interface Design: Knowledge of user-centered design principles and human-computer interaction; ability to design and develop intuitive, visually appealing, and user-friendly interfaces that meet business goals and user needs.

Considerations for Top Candidates

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience.
• Professional experience in Product Design, User Experience Design, Human-Centered Design, or a related field.
• Experience owning products or experiences from discovery through delivery.
• Experience defining product requirements and translating customer needs into successful solutions.
• Strong portfolio demonstrating systems thinking, visual design capability, and end-to- end product design process.
• Experience designing complex software, digital products, or connected systems.
• Experience collaborating closely with Product Management, Engineering, and business stakeholders.
• Strong communication, facilitation, storytelling, and presentation skills.
• Experience creating user flows, journey maps, wireframes, prototypes, high-fidelity interfaces, and design specifications.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience designing products that combine hardware and software experiences.

• Familiarity with Human Machine Interface (HMI) design principles.

• Experience working with embedded systems or resource-constrained platforms.

• Experience designing enterprise, industrial, manufacturing, robotics, construction, mining, agriculture, or automotive products.

• Experience with connected products, IoT platforms, and digital ecosystems.

• Experience using customer research, analytics, and data to inform design decisions.

• Familiarity with design systems, scalable component libraries, and accessibility standards.

• Experience working in Agile product development environments.

What You'll Bring

• We are looking for someone who sees beyond individual screens and understands the complete customer and product experience.

• The ideal candidate is naturally curious, comfortable working through ambiguity, and energized by solving complex problems.

• They think strategically while remaining hands-on throughout the design process.

• They ask thoughtful questions, build strong partnerships, and drive alignment across teams.

• They take ownership of outcomes and understand that successful product design requires balancing customer needs, business goals, and technical realities.

• They recognize that great design isn't about adding more. It's about helping sophisticated technology feel simple, predictable, trustworthy, and valuable.

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 to 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:

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

Posting Dates:

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.

Not ready to apply? Join our Talent Community.