Manufacturing IT Operations Manager – Sanford Advanced Manufacturing

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.

Caterpillar is developing a new advanced manufacturing campus in Sanford, North Carolina, to expand production capacity for compact track loaders and telehandlers. The modern, technology-enabled operation is expected to incorporate automation, robotics, digital production systems and integrated logistics capabilities to enhance safety, quality and operational performance. Employees will help build the products our customers rely on while developing skills in advanced manufacturing and supporting the continued growth of Caterpillar’s Cat Compact℠ business.

Job Summary

The Manufacturing IT Operations Manager will be accountable for IT partnership with Operations, internal Caterpillar IT teams and service providers to support the startup of a new advanced manufacturing facility in Sanford, North Carolina. This leader will align infrastructure, cybersecurity, cloud, edge, network, data, application, and support-model decisions to Caterpillar enterprise standards and the requirements of a complex manufacturing environment.

Smart manufacturing is an important part of the context, but the core of the role is partnering with Operations, coordinating Caterpillar IT teams, service providers, vendors, and project stakeholders to successfully deliver, operationalize, and support the facility. The role is accountable for ensuring the right resources are engaged, decisions are made in a timely manner, risks are addressed, and the site is ready to operate and support manufacturing at launch and beyond.

What You Will Do

- Coordinate Caterpillar IT teams, architects, service providers, and technical specialists to ensure technology solutions align with enterprise standards, business priorities, and long-term operating needs.

- Navigate Caterpillar’s enterprise technology, manufacturing, cybersecurity, infrastructure, application, vendor, and site teams to bring the right expertise to the table at the right time.

- Support smart manufacturing priorities by enabling capabilities such as connected equipment, automation, production visibility, industrial data, analytics, and manufacturing systems through the effective deployment of supporting technology platforms and infrastructure.

- Facilitate alignment across information technology and operational technology teams so requirements, dependencies, ownership, cybersecurity, supportability, and implementation risks are understood early.

- Translate business and manufacturing needs into implementation plans, operational priorities, support models, and delivery activities that enable successful facility launch and sustained operations.

- Ensure appropriate architecture reviews, governance processes, support models, documentation, training, and operational standards are established through the relevant Caterpillar IT teams and technical specialists.
- Evaluate technology platforms and vendors by balancing business value, technical feasibility, cybersecurity, safety, scalability, implementation risk, and total cost of ownership.

- Develop roadmaps that sequence foundational capabilities, reduce technology debt, and move solutions from pilots to reliable operations.

- Lead the transition from project delivery to operational support by establishing support models, defining ownership, driving knowledge transfer, managing service providers, and ensuring the facility has the capabilities required for long-term operation.

What You Will Have

Technology leadership: Experience leading complex IT programs, manufacturing technology deployments, site start-ups, or large-scale business transformations involving multiple teams, vendors, and stakeholders.

Strategic thinking: Ability to translate manufacturing and business outcomes into architecture decisions, trade-offs, dependencies, risks, and long-term implications.

Technical leadership: Ability to guide multidisciplinary teams toward secure, scalable, supportable, and practical solutions.

Partnership and communication: Ability to influence business leaders, manufacturing stakeholders, engineers, technology teams, vendors, and systems integrators while navigating a large enterprise and explaining technical trade-offs clearly.

People and change leadership: Experience managing, coaching, mentoring, or directing technical professionals and helping stakeholders adopt new standards, platforms, and ways of working.

Top Candidates Will Also Have

- Degree or equivalent professional experience desired. Relevant skills may have been developed through different industries, career paths, education, military service, or hands-on technical leadership.

- Experience supporting a greenfield plant, major facility expansion, enterprise infrastructure modernization, technology transformation, or complex site launch.

- Exposure to manufacturing technology environments, including industrial networking, edge computing, machine connectivity, factory automation, robotics, or operational technology platforms.

- Knowledge of manufacturing systems and industrial platforms such as manufacturing execution, product lifecycle management, supervisory control, industrial control, plant historians, quality, warehouse automation, or enterprise resource planning integration.

- Experience with operational technology cybersecurity, network segmentation, identity, asset visibility, secure remote access, resilience, disaster recovery, Zero Trust concepts, or industrial cybersecurity practices.

- Familiarity with data architecture, analytics, industrial data, predictive maintenance, simulation, digital twins, artificial intelligence, or machine learning in manufacturing contexts is helpful but not the primary focus of the role.

- Familiarity with architecture frameworks, review boards, cloud or hybrid infrastructure, vendor evaluation, systems integrators, or strategic technology partner management.

- Knowledge of relevant manufacturing or cybersecurity models and standards, such as ISA-95, ISA/IEC 62443, or the NIST Cybersecurity Framework.

What You Will Get

You will influence foundational technology decisions for a new Caterpillar manufacturing environment by shaping the infrastructure architecture, governance, standards, and partnerships needed for successful launch and long-term operations. This role is more than technical design; it requires knowing how to work across Caterpillar, connect the right experts, clarify decision ownership, and turn complex requirements into practical solutions. Smart manufacturing will be part of the environment, but the strongest candidates will be technology leaders who can build alignment across teams, manage trade-offs, coordinate delivery, and deliver reliable operational outcomes. We encourage candidates with transferable experience and varied career paths to apply, even if they do not meet every preferred qualification.

Additional Info:

- Location: Sanford, North Carolina

- Work Arrangement: Onsite, five days per week. Locations may flex between temporary offices while transitioning to new facility.

- Travel: High percentage of travel (50-75%) may be required during construction planning, supplier reviews, equipment installation, commissioning, startup and production ramp-up.