# Principal Architect – Simulation Engine (Physical AI) Source: https://realanalystjobs.com/job/principal-architect-simulation-engine-physical-ai-caterpillar-dda08f1f Principal Architect – Simulation Engine (Physical AI) at Caterpillar, an on-site role based in Irving, Texas, USA. Posted on 15 October 2026, read from Caterpillar's own careers page (Workday), which RealAnalystJobs re-checks daily and removes the role when it closes. Caterpillar has approved H-1B petitions on USCIS record (employer-wide, not a promise for this role). Updated 15 November 2026. ## Key facts - Company: [Caterpillar](https://realanalystjobs.com/companies/caterpillar) - Location: Irving, Texas, USA - Work mode: On-site - Posted: Oct 15, 2026 - Employment type: Full time - Source: Caterpillar's careers page (Workday), re-checked daily Skills: [Python](https://realanalystjobs.com/skills/python) ## Visa sponsorship The posting does not say. Caterpillar had H-1B petitions approved for 373 workers in fiscal year 2026 (USCIS). That is history, not a promise for this role. [See the record](https://realanalystjobs.com/companies/caterpillar#h1b-record) ## About this role 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. Help Build the Future of Caterpillar - At Caterpillar, technology always has a purpose, which is to solve our customers’ toughest challenges. Through Cat Technology, we are solving problems by building the intelligence layer that connects machines, data, and people to make jobsites safer, more productive, and more sustainable. By combining deep domain expertise in physical systems with software, connectivity, autonomy, and AI, we deliver solutions that work in the real world - on real jobsites, at global scale. You’ll build and deploy against one of the most unique data foundations - over 1.6 million connected assets generating real-world data daily. These data and platform capabilities are enabling the development of AI models, edge computing architectures, and software systems that scale across fleets, products, and industries. The result will be a new generation of machines that continuously learn, improve, and deliver performance at scale. Be Part of What’s Next in Autonomous Construction Sites Construction autonomy is one of the most complex challenges in applied AI, and at Caterpillar, advancements in physical AI, simulation, sensing, and edge computing are turning things that once felt impossible - intelligent machines operating in dynamic jobsites - into reality. Our connected ecosystem brings together massive volumes of high-quality data to create a foundation where engineers like you can build and deploy against. If this work motivates you, we invite you to join our team. In these roles, you’ll work at the intersection of the physical and digital worlds. You’ll help design and deliver intelligent systems that enable machines to perceive their environment, make informed decisions, and support safer, more productive operations. Apply today to build the new era of construction autonomy at Caterpillar. Job Summary: The Simulation Engine Architect owns how our virtual world runs - the physics, sensors, scenarios, time, determinism, and scale that let autonomy be developed, trained, and proven before it ever touches a real machine. The Principal Digital Architect - Simulation Engine defines the technical vision, architecture, and roadmap for the simulation platform that underpins Physical AI and autonomy development for Caterpillar’s construction and mining machines. This platform must reproduce the physical behavior of excavators, dozers, loaders, and haul trucks interacting with deformable terrain and material; the behavior of cameras, LiDAR, radar, GNSS, and inertial sensors in dust, rain, low light, and vibration; and the behavior of dynamic jobsites with people, vehicles, and changing ground. It must do this deterministically, at high fidelity where fidelity matters, and at a scale of millions of scenario executions per day across GPU clusters. The architect sets direction for the core simulation abstractions - world and asset representation (OpenUSD), the physics and rendering stack (NVIDIA Omniverse / Isaac Sim, PhysX, Unreal Engine), sensor models, scenario definition and generation, the execution model for open-loop replay and closed-loop software-in-the-loop / hardware-in-the-loop runs, and the interfaces that expose the simulator as a training environment for reinforcement learning and world-model-based (“neural”) simulation. The role establishes measurable standards for fidelity, determinism, performance, and developer experience, and leads the sim-to-real correlation program that keeps the simulator trustworthy against field data. The architect works with the simulation engineering team, the Digital Twin and AI Factory architects, autonomy and perception teams, and controls and machine engineering to converge on one platform, reduce fragmentation, and raise engineering velocity across the organization. What You Will Do: • Developing detailed architecture deliverables to solve business problems. • Designing an application's technical infrastructure, such as specific databases, programming languages, utilities, and testing approaches • Leading the evaluation and deployment of new technologies to add or enhance existing digital technical capabilities. • Participating in addressing business requirements for applications and collaborating with cross-functional teams to deliver digital solutions that meets business results. What You Will Have: • Requirements Analysis: Knowledge of tools, methods, and techniques of requirement analysis; ability to elicit, analyze and record required business functionality and non-functionality requirements to ensure the success of a system or software development project. • 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. • Platform Architecture: Knowledge of technologies and methods to design processing mechanisms and roadmaps to execute business application systems; ability to design these roadmaps and deploy supportive interfaces for end-users to access related systems, in accordance with standards and processes. • Target Architecture: Knowledge of target architecture; ability to develop the IT blueprint and roadmap while aligning the architecture and processes with business strategies and objectives. • Effective Communications: Understanding of effective communication concepts, tools and techniques; ability to effectively tra Description from Caterpillar's public careers feed, reproduced so you can read the role here. Apply on the company's own site; Real Analyst Jobs never submits anything for you. ## How to apply Open [this role on Real Analyst Jobs](https://realanalystjobs.com/job/principal-architect-simulation-engine-physical-ai-caterpillar-dda08f1f) and use Apply now there to reach the employer's application. The listing is re-checked against Caterpillar's careers page daily and removed when it closes. ## Caterpillar 44 open analyst roles on Real Analyst Jobs. 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