Sr. Electrical Engineer, Special Projects

Rivian is on a mission to keep the world adventurous forever. This goes for the emissions-free Electric Adventure Vehicles we build, and the curious, courageous souls we seek to attract.

As a company, we constantly challenge what’s possible, never simply accepting what has always been done. We reframe old problems, seek new solutions and operate comfortably in areas that are unknown. Our backgrounds are diverse, but our team shares a love of the outdoors and a desire to protect it for future generations.

Role Summary

Based in Irvine, CA, the Special Projects Team is the hands-on heartbeat of Rivian's future, where you’ll get out from behind the desk to turn ambitious concepts into physical reality. We are responsible for everything from clean-sheet electrical architecture and rapid prototyping to full-vehicle builds, including engineering the show-stopping prototypes for the R2, R3, and R3X unveils. Our mission is to rapidly construct early-stage development assets that drive Rivian’s critical production decisions, meaning you will be actively translating design intent into functioning physical assemblies right on the shop floor.

You won’t just be building future models; you'll also get your hands dirty retro-fitting existing vehicles for high-pro file, unique applications like a Grey's Anatomy Ambulance or the Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream Van. We prioritize agility and rapid problem-solving over bureaucratic red tape, allowing you to work shoulder-to-shoulder with an elite crew of fabricators, machinists, and designers at breakneck speeds. This role is highly collaborative and fast-paced while offering experience working on a wide range of interesting projects.

Responsibilities

• Design ground-up hardware for show cars and early prototypes,

• flexing your expertise across mechatronics, LV/HV wiring, and power electronics.

• Program microcontrollers and write embedded software to transform static assemblies into dynamic, fully functional electromechanical systems.

• Partner with cross-functional teams to translate ambitious ideas into reality, designing clever surrogate hardware to bypass bottlenecks and hit aggressive timelines.

• Maintain clean, actionable documentation so your custom architectures can be easily serviced, duplicated, or evolved for future projects.

Qualifications

• An understanding of LV and HV vehicle architecture for circuit and wiring design
• Ability to design PCBs and integrate their functions into vehicle architectures
• The ability to collaborate to find solutions complex problems in unfamiliar systems
• Experience with mechatronics systems such as powering and actuating motors for testing applications
• The ability to quickly make tradeoffs and decisions to drive progress
• The ability to develop software for custom prototypes designed within this same role.
• Strong teamwork skills, the ability to collaborate, and a positive attitude

Pay Disclosure

The salary range for this role is $107,800 - $134,800 for Irvine, California based applicants. This is the lowest to highest salary we in good faith believe we would pay for this role at the time of this posting. An employee’s position within the salary range will be based on several factors including, but not limited to, specific competencies, relevant education, qualifications, certifications, experience, skills, geographic location, shift, and organizational needs.

The successful candidate may be eligible for annual performance bonus and equity awards.

We offer a comprehensive package of benefits for full-time and part-time employees, their spouse or domestic partner, and children up to age 26, including but not limited to paid vacation, paid sick leave, and a competitive portfolio of insurance benefits including life, medical, dental, vision, short-term disability insurance, and long-term disability insurance to eligible employees. You may also have the opportunity to participate in Rivian’s 401(k) Plan and Employee Stock Purchase Program if you meet certain eligibility requirements. Full-time employee coverage is effective on their first day of employment. Part-time employee coverage is effective the first of the month following 90 days of employment. More information about benefits is available atrivianbenefits.com.

You can apply for this role through careers.rivian.com (or throughinternal-careers-rivian.icims.com if you are a current employee). There is no fixed deadline for this application; applications are accepted on an ongoing basis until the role is filled or the opening is no longer needed.

Equal Opportunity

Rivian is an equal opportunity employer and complies with all applicable federal, state, and local fair employment practices laws. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information or characteristics, physical or mental disability, marital/domestic partner status, age, military/veteran status, medical condition, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Rivian is committed to ensuring that our hiring process is accessible for persons with disabilities. If you have a disability or limitation, such as those covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act, that requires accommodations to assist you in the search and application process, please email us at [email protected].

Candidate Data Privacy and Technology

Rivian may collect, use and disclose your personal information or personal data (within the meaning of the applicable data protection laws) when you apply for employment and/or participate in our recruitment processes (“Candidate Personal Data”). This data includes contact, demographic, communications, educational, professional, employment, social media/website, network/device, recruiting system usage/interaction, security and preference information. Rivian may use your Candidate Personal Data for the purposes of (i) tracking interactions with our recruiting system; (ii) carrying out, analyzing and improving our application and recruitment process, including assessing you and your application and conducting employment, background and reference checks; (iii) establishing an employment relationship or entering into an employment contract with you; (iv) complying with our legal, regulatory and corporate governance obligations; (v) recordkeeping; (vi) ensuring network and information security and preventing fraud; and (vii) as otherwise required or permitted by applicable law.

Rivian may share your Candidate Personal Data with (i) internal personnel who have a need to know such information in order to perform their duties, including individuals on our People Team, Finance, Legal, and the team(s) with the position(s) for which you are applying; (ii) Rivian affiliates; and (iii) Rivian’s service providers, including providers of background checks, staffing services, and cloud services.

Rivian may transfer or store internationally your Candidate Personal Data, including to or in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the European Union and in the cloud, and this data may be subject to the laws and accessible to the courts, law enforcement and national security authorities of such jurisdictions.

How We Use AI in Our Hiring Process: To ensure transparency, we want candidates to know that Rivian uses iCIMS Talent Cloud Artificial Intelligence (TCAI) and AI-enabled tools to assist with screening, reviewing, organizing and highlighting profiles and applications that match the key requirements for each role.

AI does not make hiring decisions: Qualified candidate applications are reviewed by a member of our team, and all decisions throughout the process are made by humans. We use AI to support efficiency and consistency, not to replace human judgment. We are committed to a fair, thoughtful, and equitable experience for every candidate.

Participation in AI profile matching is entirely voluntary. If you prefer that your profile not be used in this process, you can opt out at any time. Opting out means your profile will be excluded from automated matching and will not be surfaced for additional roles through this system. Your current application remains active and will not be affected in any way.

Please note that we are currently not accepting applications from third party application services.