How one Hokie engineer drives innovation at Caterpillar

Craig Keys ’11 dreamed of driving fast. But his 1990 Honda Accord with more than 250,000 miles, and nearly as many problems, made that a challenge. 

As a kid, he’d sit in the passenger seat while his mom guided their Honda along Philadelphia’s famously winding Kelly Drive. She’d switch it into “Sport Mode,” grin, and tell him the car had wings. In that moment, something clicked for Keys — an early spark that ignited his love for cars and anything that moved fast.

In 2004, when he turned 16 and his mom handed him the keys to that same Honda, it didn’t feel quite as fast as it had in his childhood imagination. Still, he spent long summer afternoons in South Boston, Virginia, where his family had moved when he was in the fifth grade, washing and detailing it. His mechanical knowledge was limited then, but when he wasn’t polishing the car, he was poking around under the hood, trying to figure out how things worked. Curiosity slowly transformed his passion from driving fast to understanding what makes fast possible. 

Somewhere between the oil stains and the trial‑and‑error tinkering, an engineer began to take shape.

“I always wanted to be a race car driver — still do — but I realized there was probably a more realistic option out there that still allowed me to embrace my love for cars and anything with four wheels and rubber tires,” Keys said.  

That turned out to be studying mechanical engineering at Virginia Tech, which he still considers his happiest place on earth. Today, Keys is a senior engineer for Caterpillar, working on the drivetrain systems for small wheel loaders, the machines with the big front bucket that are often used to transport dirt and gravel at construction sites.

They may not go as fast, but he loves the career he’s built around off-highway vehicles, all thanks to that run-down Honda and his time at Virginia Tech. 

Finding his lane at Virginia Tech

As a student, Keys worked to blend rigorous engineering classes with a community that broadened his perspective.

 “As an engineer, the work you do is not just numbers and data,” he said. “It’s how you work with people, and Virginia Tech greatly prepared me for that.”

On campus in Blacksburg, he joined multiple student organizations, including the National Society of Black Engineers and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and was a founding brother of the Psi Gamma Chapter of Theta Tau, an engineering fraternity. He credits those experiences with shaping him as the engineer he is today.

He also spent a summer studying abroad at Technische Universität Darmstadt, in Darmstadt, Germany, where he learned about hands-on automotive engineering and witnessed the testing of Audi’s R18 diesel car. 

“My study abroad experience showed me how teams operate differently around the world and how cultural nuances shape collaboration — I would recommend it to anyone,” Keys said. “That early exposure to diverse teams and ways of thinking became a foundation I still rely on when I’m working with international suppliers today.”

His senior design project in associate professor of mechanical engineering, Jan Helge Bøhn’s lab — designing an experimental electric car for General Motors — had him presenting ideas and getting real industry feedback as part of a transdisciplinary team of engineers.

“Working on a team means you’re all driving toward the same end goal, even if each person brings a different set of skills to the table,” Keys said. “Learning how to work with people across disciplines and collaborate effectively was one of the most important skills I learned.”

Engineering at Caterpillar

After graduating from Virginia Tech with his bachelor’s in mechanical engineering, Keys came across a test engineer role with Caterpillar, and after going through the interview process, he was offered his first official job out of college in 2011.

Now, Keys spends his days working on off-highway vehicles. At Caterpillar, his work sits at the system level: supporting axles, drive shafts, gearboxes, wheels, tires, and transmissions into integrated drivetrains, with the goal of hitting performance, cost, and durability targets. Some days that means specialized component design; others, it’s orchestrating the whole system to meet a product group’s specifications.

“If the machine has to lift a lot, move fast, and do it all day long, it’s my job to pull together the system that makes that possible,” he said.

Across nearly 14 years at Caterpillar, he has held roles in machine testing, utility vehicle development, excavator design, and now small wheel loader drivetrain. Throughout every new role and project he has been a part of, the problem-solving techniques he learned at Virginia Tech have served him well.

During his time on the excavator team, customers notified the company of a sound that, after eight hours in the cab of the excavator, became quite a nuisance. The machines passed the International Organization for Standardization certifications for noise — but no one had measured how a subtle frequency felt after a full day’s work.

Keys led the team’s detective work to find the source of the sound. Using accelerometers and microphones, they traced the path from source to ear until Keys finally pinpointed the culprit: a standing pressure wave in a hydraulic line. He developed a solution to add a tuned fluid hose to eliminate the specific frequency. The fix then rolled into production changes and dealer kits.

“I was never taught how to tune noise or fix hydraulic pressure waves,” Keys said. “But even better, Virginia Tech taught me how to think — how to break a big problem into small pieces and keep going until you get to the root.”

Recruiting future Hokie engineers

Currently, Keys leads Virginia Tech recruiting for Caterpillar, working to bring more Hokie engineers into his world. His recruiting team is all alumni — from recent grads to veterans with decades at Caterpillar. They review resumés, offer feedback, run mock interviews, and help students think through competing offers, even if it means choosing another employer. It’s a pay‑it‑forward philosophy inspired by his industry mentor and fellow engineering alumnus, George Ellis ’80, M.S. ’83, and he has been determined to make the process more personal than a resumé disappearing into the void.

“One of the biggest things I try to do is humanize the company,” he said. “I want students to feel like they’re talking to a fellow Hokie — because they are.”

Outside of work, Keys is still a Hokie through and through. He and his wife Dana Keys (formerly Comber) ’10, M.S. ’11 met while they were at Virginia Tech through mutual friends, but made it official after graduation when they were both working in Raleigh. They now have two boys who are already being indoctrinated with the Hokie Spirit. 

“Whenever my kids are in Blacksburg, the answer is always yes,” Keys said. “I want them to associate Blacksburg with pure happiness, just like I do. It’s my not‑so‑secret plan to plant that Hokie seed early.”

Each fall, when Keys is back on campus recruiting students at the Student Engineers' Council Engineering Expo, with the leaves turning maroon and orange, his coworkers joke that he becomes “100% Craig.” 

“At work, I’m known as the ‘Virginia Tech guy,’ he said. “From my water bottle, to my license plate and my clothes, even my desk, Virginia Tech is just part of who I am, and it feels great to stay involved.”

One thing that has changed since high school is his ride. These days, he’s behind the wheel of a 2020 Camaro ZL1 1LE. He may not be a professional driver — yet — but he regularly finds himself at the Virginia International Raceway, fine-tuning his skills at the amateur level and keeping alive the same love for vehicles that first drew him to engineering.

Photos courtesy of  Craig Keys