Autonomy Systems Validation - Vehicle Operations Staff TPM

Rivian•Palo Alto, CA

4d•Onsite

About The Position

As a Technical Program Manager on Rivian’s Autonomy Systems Validation team, you’ll define and execute the strategies that scale our end-to-end data collection fleet (people, deployment sites, and the metrics that measure fleet performance) as it rapidly scales. This hands-on, cross-functional role sits at the intersection of operations, autonomy, engineering and program management. You’ll be a force multiplier navigating technical complexity while driving alignment and execution across stakeholders.

Requirements

Proven delivery with a bias for action: 5+ years in program/project management, operations management, management consulting or vehicle testing and validation in fast-paced or early-stage environments, with a track record of delivering projects and getting things done.
Strong program management fundamentals: Planning, prioritizing, adapting to change, managing cost, risk and dependencies, including building playbooks, SOPs and scalable frameworks from scratch.
Technically strong and data-driven: Comfortable working with engineers, experience with ML, robotics stacks, end-to-end autonomy validation, and scenario or structured testing. You build dashboards to validate metrics rather than just track them, question outputs that don't add up, and push back when the data tells the wrong story.
Collaborative leader and clear communicator: Explain complex ideas simply, influence through soft power rather than authority, surface risks early, secure buy-in from senior stakeholders and build a positive team culture.
Strategic and systems thinking: You keep the bigger picture in mind, reason about how parts of a complex system interact and how change in one area affects others, structure undefined problems, thrive in ambiguity and bring momentum and calm without adding unnecessary process.
BA/BS degree in Engineering, Operations Research, Operations Management, or a STEM field.

Nice To Haves

Program management experience with ADAS / automated driving stack, robotaxis, robotics, or other complex safety-critical systems that integrate AI/ML models, ideally including fleet operations, data collection and the data flywheel.
Proficiency with modern AI tools and workflows (e.g. Gemini, Claude, cloud-based coding environments), actively applied to operational efficiency and decision-making.
Track record of building and scaling engineering or operational processes from scratch at a high-growth company or startup.

Responsibilities

Drive program delivery: Align program goals to business objectives. Organize and prioritize stakeholder requirements to forecast team growth, build roadmaps and timelines, and scale the deployment site roadmap while minimizing one-off configurations.
Own fleet efficiency: Define and track the operational metrics that matter, not just reporting what exists, but shaping what should be measured and why. Lead initiatives across our L2 and robotaxi data collection fleets: fleet utilization, data yield, behavior metrics, troubleshooting cycle times, and operational infrastructure.
Build operational repeatability: Streamline workflows, improve tooling and optimize standardized playbooks and documentation for scalable rollout. Champion AI and data-driven tools in operations, including reporting systems that surface actionable field intelligence and feed into leadership decisions.
Keep stakeholders aligned and collaborate cross-functionally: Drive integrated plans, shared objectives, and faster decisions through clear communication. Establish standard reports that give leadership concise visibility into status, risks, and accomplishments.
Manage risk and ambiguity proactively: Anticipate operational and programmatic issues, develop mitigation plans, and drive data-based escalation to protect timelines and quality.
Raise the bar technically and operationally: Maintain strong working knowledge of our vehicle platforms, software development lifecycle, safety process, and test operations. Lead retros, bring a critical lens to whether what's being asked is the right thing to build, and drive changes that improve processes and increase fleet uptime.