Senior Developer Experience Engineer (Agentic IDE)

Your Title: Senior Developer Experience Engineer (Agentic IDE)

Job Location: Christchurch, NZ (Onsite/Hybrid)

Our Department: Caterpillar Trimble Control Technologies (CTCT)

What if our IDE wasn't just a tool, but an intelligent, collaborative partner? What if it understood the unique constraints of our embedded C++, Android, and Web platforms, proactively identifying issues, generating boilerplate, and optimising code before it's even written? At Caterpillar Trimble Control Technologies, we build the technology that powers the global earth-moving industry. Now, we're looking for a visionary engineer to build the tools that will transform how our own engineers build that technology.

As our founding Senior Developer Experience Engineer for AI Agentic Tooling, you will be the architect and lead practitioner defining our strategy for the next generation of developer experience. You will pioneer an 'Agentic IDE' concept tailored for our unique, offline-first, embedded systems environment. This isn't about plugging into a simple cloud API; it's about fundamentally re-imagining the developer workflow for a world of C++, Android, modern web tech, and heavy machinery.

With CTCT being a globally distributed group, travel to India and the USA will also be a requirement from time to time.

What You Will Do

• Architect the Vision: Define and champion the roadmap for our AI-powered developer tools, creating an 'agentic' experience where the IDE acts as an expert partner to our engineers.

• Lead & Build: This is a hands-on role. You will design, prototype, and build the core components of these new tools, from custom IDE extensions and CLIs to intelligent code generation and analysis services.

• Deeply Collaborate: Work side-by-side with our embedded C++, Android, and Web engineers. You will live in their world to understand their deepest pain points and build the solutions they truly need.

• Integrate & Optimise: Evaluate and integrate Large Language Models (LLMs), static analysis tools, and other AI techniques into our existing CI/CD pipelines and development environments (e.g., VS Code, CLion, etc.).

• Mentor & Evangelise: Act as the subject matter expert, advocating for best practices and mentoring other engineers in the art of the possible with AI-driven development.

What skills & experience you should bring

We know 'Senior Developer Experience Engineer (Agentic IDE)' isn't a common title, and you may not have heard it before, so please don’t be put off! We're looking for a seasoned engineer with a track record of building exceptional developer tools and a deep curiosity for the potential of AI.

• A Proven Platform Builder: You have 8+ years of experience and a history of architecting and building complex developer platforms, infrastructure, or sophisticated tooling from the ground up.

• Polyglot Programmer: You are an expert in high-level languages like Python or TypeScript (for tooling and services) and are comfortable diving into, or at least deeply understanding, the complexities of C++ and its build systems.

• Pragmatic AI Practitioner: You have demonstrable experience applying AI/ML to software development. This could include:

  • Integrating LLM APIs (e.g., OpenAI, Anthropic) and/or running smaller, local models (e.g., Llama, Mistral).

  • Familiarity with frameworks like LangChain, or experience building custom AI agentic workflows.

  • A strong understanding of Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), prompt engineering, and fine-tuning.

• Systems Thinker: You excel at understanding complex, interconnected systems—from our embedded C++ firmware running on custom hardware to our Android and Web front-ends.

• Empathetic Communicator: You have an exceptional ability to listen, synthesise needs from diverse engineering groups, and articulate a clear, compelling vision that gets others excited. You build consensus, not just code.

Nice to Have’s:

• Direct experience building IDE extensions for tools like VS Code, CLion, or Android Studio.

• A background in compilers, static/dynamic code analysis, or working with Abstract Syntax Trees (ASTs).

• Experience with embedded systems, Web (Angular), or Android (AOSP) development.

• Contributions to open-source developer tools or AI frameworks.

Please note: Only applicants legally entitled to work in New Zealand will be considered. 

Information About Your Location

Based at Trimble’s NZ headquarters in Christchurch, New Zealand (handily located on the Little River Link Cycleway), home to over 300 Trimble employees, enjoy free parking, securely covered bike sheds, an onsite gym, showers, an active social club, and a great team environment where people love working with leading technology solutions.

At Trimble, you'll find the inspiration and opportunity to be yourself and thrive. The global community of Team Trimble, including more than 400 people in New Zealand, is passionate about bringing new ideas and innovations to life and building a better, more sustainable future.

About Caterpillar Trimble Control Technologies (CTCT)

Our division develops machine control products that use site design information combined with positioning technology to semi-automatically control machines. These products are used in a range of applications to enable a machine operator to perform their work safely, accurately, efficiently, sustainably, and effectively through the use of sophisticated yet intuitive user-centric technology.

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