Software Engineer, Advanced Rail Technology - Southlake, Texas, United States

Job DescriptionProgress Rail is seeking an experienced Software Engineer to support software development and deployment for the Autonomous Train Operation team in Fort Worth, TX. · The purpose of this position is to contribute to the design, development and deployment of world-cl ...

Job description

Job Description

Progress Rail is seeking an experienced Software Engineer to support software development and deployment for the Autonomous Train Operation team in Fort Worth, TX.

The purpose of this position is to contribute to the design, development and deployment of world-class rail products and services vital to our customer's needs.

This role will enable innovative, strategic, and high-tech solutions for the rail industry through the application of specialized knowledge, skills, and abilities.

Work involves independent judgement, problem solving skills, resourcefulness, teamwork, and creativity in ambiguous situations. A high degree of personal initiative is a prerequisite.

Typical software development efforts are a combination of some or all of the key job elements listed below.

Management and leadership are available to provide additional guidance for unusual, non-standard situations.

The ideal candidate is a self-starter, willing to take on different tasks to facilitate the design, implementation, and testing of the prototypes and deployment systems.

The Software Engineer will be responsible for software development in a fast-paced software engineering environment.

An essential attribute is the ability to function extremely well as a team member, at times conceding personal preferred solutions to those that make business, functional and strategic sense.

This is a full-time position working in the Progress Rail Fort Worth, TX and reports directly to the Director of Artificial Intelligence in the ATO team.

Company Description
Progress Rail stands at the intersection of legacy and innovation—driving the future of rail with a pioneering spirit.

Since its founding in 1983, the company has grown to become one of the world's largest and most trusted providers of railroad products, services, and technologies.

Today, Progress Rail delivers a comprehensive portfolio of cost-effective solutions to railway customers around the globe.

From the rails themselves to the EMD locomotives that ride them, the company's products are in operation across more than 100 countries—powering progress and connecting communities.

In 2006, Progress Rail joined Caterpillar Inc., further strengthening its ability to lead the rail industry with cutting-edge technology, unmatched expertise, and a commitment to excellence.

At Progress Rail, the team is not just building the future of rail—they are making history every day.

Education / Training

• Bachelor's degree in computer science/engineering, software engineering, from an ABET accredited university or college.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master's degree in computer science, Computer Engineering, or a related field.
• Familiarity with machine learning or AI model deployment workflows.
• Prior experience in rail, transportation, or other heavy industry sectors is a strong plus.

Key Job Elements

• Lead the design and implementation of assigned software components, primarily using the Rust programming language.
• Design and support the deployment of railway systems operating in the United States and internationally, with up to 10% travel required.
• Collaborate with the team to develop solutions for significant and complex technical challenges within control systems.
• Partner with cross-functional teams to shape the platform's architectural vision, define the roadmap for future evolution, and work directly with engineers to ensure successful implementation.
• Evaluate and determine the value of emerging technologies.
• Mentor, train, and provide guidance to team members.
• Utilize CI/CD pipelines to build, test, and deploy applications.
• Create new programming documentation and update existing documentation as needed.
• Report to the Director of Artificial Intelligence and work closely with engineering teams to deploy practical, high-performance systems for railway applications.

Qualifications and Experience
Core Experience

• 5+ years of professional software development experience in production environments.
• 3+ years of hands-on Rust experience (preferred) or 5+ years of professional C++ development experience.
• 3+ years of Python experience for scripting, automation, data processing, and analysis.
• Demonstrated ability to design, implement, test, and maintain complex software systems.

Technical Skill Requirements

• Strong proficiency in code optimization, including the use of profiling, benchmarking, and performance tuning tools.
• Experience building applications that handle high volume data processing and compute intensive workloads.
• Experience developing software for embedded systems, including deployment, hardware interaction, and debugging.
• Familiarity with Machine Learning, Simulation, and/or Digital Twin systems.
• Experience with GPU/CPU workload offloading, including cloud-based acceleration (AWS preferred).
• Ability to read, interpret, and create ICDs (Interface Control Documents) and UML diagrams.
• Solid understanding of scalable application design, multi-threaded programming, and information processing fundamentals.
• Strong foundation in version control systems (Git required; SVN a plus).
• Experience with CI/CD pipelines, including automated builds, testing, and deployment.
• Hands-on experience with Docker or other container technologies (Snap, Kubernetes, etc.).
• Experience using PowerShell and Bash for automation.
• Comfortable working in both Microsoft Windows and Ubuntu Linux environments in embedded or functional contexts.

Cloud & Distributed Systems

• Experience deploying or integrating with cloud platforms; AWS experience or certification strongly preferred.
• Understanding of distributed workloads, cloud infrastructure components, and cost-effective scaling strategies.

Soft Skills & Ways of Working

• Proven ability to identify, analyze, and resolve complex system issues.
• Strong analytical, conceptual, and troubleshooting abilities.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including technical documentation.
• Experience working in Agile/Scrum environments.
• Ability to excel in ambiguous or fast-moving situations.
• Strong interpersonal skills enabling effective collaboration across engineering, operations, and product teams.
• Highly self-motivated, detail oriented, and able to prioritize work under pressure.
• Consistent track record of writing clean, maintainable, and reusable code (Rust and Python preferred).

Essential Physical Activities Functions

• Strength – Position typically involves work in an office environment with occasional visits to an industrial environment. Frequent/constant sitting. Occasional standing and walking. Occasional light to medium- level lifting or carrying (up to 50 pounds).
• Motion – Position regularly requires standard motions associated with working in an office environment. Depending on assigned project, position may occasionally require motions involved in an industrial working environment, including some low to intense levels of pushing, pulling, climbing, balancing, crouching, stooping, kneeling, reaching, grasping.
• Vision/Hearing Requirements – Frequent verbal communications, including both talking and hearing.
• Work Environment – Position is typically located in an office environment with occasional visits to an industrial environment which may include a non-temperature-controlled environment, as well as exposure to noise (85+ decibels), occasional exposure to temperature changes, heavy machinery and other hazardous working conditions requiring the use of PPE. Position may require travel as necessary, both domestic and international.
• Emotional Demands – Very high level of responsibility. Must be able to coordinate diverse aspects of a project. Requires significant interpersonal skills while sustaining very high standards.
• Safety – Position may occasionally require the use of Personal Protective Equipment during visits.

EEO
Progress Rail is an Equal Opportunity Employer, including Veterans and Individuals with Disabilities.