Senior Technical Product Owner

Chicago, Illinois

Full time

R0000405113

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:

We at CAT Digital are building a state-of-the-art platform to springboard a wide range of customer-focused applications. We are looking for a Senior Technical Product Owner to join our Platform Services team to help maximize the value of our products and work of our scrum development teams.

What You Will Do:

The Technical Product Owner works intimately with the Scrum Team with the primary task of creating and managing the Product Backlog and to ensure everyone knows the priorities and assisting the scrum team to meet the objectives of each sprint.

• Act as Product Owner for complex, high-value projects, maximizing the value of the product and the Development Team's work.

• Own the product vision and convey it to the team, including goals at the start of each sprint.

• Create, maintain and prioritize the Product Backlog by business value, and communicate priorities to the team.

• Make key decisions on product features, release dates and content.

• Partner with Lead Engineers to break epics and features into sprint-sized user stories.

• Write clear, structured specifications (requirements, acceptance criteria, API contracts) using spec-driven development.

• Drive AI-based software development, using AI coding assistants and agents to speed delivery without sacrificing quality.

• Contribute to AWS cloud architecture decisions, balancing scalability, security and cost.

• Represent the customer and engage stakeholders, negotiating requirements and release dates and communicating team status.

• Lead Scrum ceremonies: daily scrum, sprint planning, backlog grooming, retrospectives and demos.

• Own defect management and prioritization, and accept or reject completed sprint work.

• Model Scrum values and champion the agile community across the organization.

What you will have:

• Business Analysis: Knowledge of business analysis and the set of tasks, techniques and tools required to identify business needs; ability to recommend solutions that deliver value to stakeholders.

• 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.

• 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.

• Software Engineering: Knowledge of software engineering; ability to deliver new or enhanced fee-based software products.

• Software Product Business Knowledge: Knowledge of and experience with the business aspects and operation of a software product; ability to manage install base, current uses, future plans, and product vision.

• AI-Based Software Development: Knowledge of AI-assisted and agentic software development tools and practices; ability to apply them across the product lifecycle, from requirements and design through coding, testing and documentation.

• Spec-Driven Development: Knowledge of spec-driven development methods; ability to translate business needs into precise, testable specifications that guide both human and AI-driven implementation.

• AWS Cloud: Knowledge of AWS cloud services and architecture; ability to make informed product decisions about cloud-native solutions built on AWS.

Consideration For Top Candidates:

• Experience as a technical product owner

• Previous experience working with or leading a technical team while simultaneously managing multiple projects.

• Must have a strong understanding and proven experience in software development, including Java 17 or newer, RESTful APIs, databases, and AWS cloud development, with a focus on designing and developing cloud-native software solutions at scale.

• Experience managing product backlogs using Agile software tools such as Azure DevOps, JIRA, Mingle, VSTS, Team Services, Rally.

• Hands-on experience with AI-based software development tools such as GitHub Copilot, Claude Code or similar, as well as GenAI productivity tools like Microsoft 365 Copilot.

• Experience practicing spec-driven development, writing specifications (e.g., PRDs, OpenAPI contracts, Given/When/Then acceptance criteria) that drive implementation by development teams and AI agents.

• Working knowledge of AWS services (e.g., Lambda, API Gateway, ECS/EKS, S3, DynamoDB, RDS, IAM); AWS certification (e.g., Cloud Practitioner or Solutions Architect – Associate) is a plus.

Additional Details:

• This position requires the candidate to be based in Chicago, IL

• Relocation assistance is NOT available for this position

• Visa sponsorship is NOT available for this position

Summary Pay Range:

$112,710.00 - $183,140.00

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

Visa Sponsorship is not available for this position.

Posting Dates:

November 11, 2026 - November 29, 2026

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 (http://flows.beamery.com/caterpillarinc/talcom) .

There’s more to work at Caterpillar than just the work itself. We hire smart, friendly people and it shows in our culture. We hold ourselves to high standards and make sure our values of integrity, excellence, teamwork, commitment and sustainability come to life in the way we work. We make sure our employees feel continuously challenged while also supported. We provide professional growth opportunities, including leadership programs. We celebrate the diversity of our team, while also working together as one Caterpillar.

Our culture, like everything at our company, is made possible by each employee’s contribution. Person by person, we create the environment we work in, and we are proud of the Caterpillar we’ve built.