Director - Infotainment and Connectivity Integration

Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies • Palo Alto, CA

5d • Onsite

About The Position

Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies is a joint venture between Rivian and Volkswagen Group focused on developing technology for software-defined electric vehicles, including operating systems, zonal controllers, cloud services, and connectivity solutions.

The Director of Infotainment and Connectivity Integration owns the end-to-end quality and integration strategy for the Infotainment platform, spanning wireless connectivity, software validation, system integration, and the in-vehicle experience. This senior leadership role sets the quality bar across a team of more than 60 engineers and shapes quality culture throughout the Infotainment organization. The Director partners with Engineering, Product, and Program leaders to identify quality risks early, influence decisions, and prevent production problems. The role offers access to and influence with executive leadership. It is onsite in the Palo Alto, California office.

Requirements

• At least 10 years of experience in software quality, system integration, or related technical leadership.
• At least 5 years managing large, senior engineering teams.
• Deep expertise in consumer technology or gadget-focused environments and an understanding of world-class product quality from the user perspective.
• Technical depth to triage complex infotainment integration issues and work alongside engineers on detailed technical problems.
• Strong background in connectivity and/or software-defined systems.
• Proven ability to influence peer leaders and executives and drive decisions through quality leadership.
• Experience in high-pressure production environments with meaningful reject-rate exposure.
• Ability to lead through ambiguity and build structure where none exists.
• Ability to set and maintain a high bar while bringing the team along.

Nice To Haves

• Wireless protocol experience and direct experience working with embedded systems.
• Bachelor’s degree or higher in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Applied Mathematics, or a related field.
• Background at a consumer device company with a rigorous quality culture.
• Automotive software or embedded systems experience, particularly with electric vehicle platforms.
• Familiarity with automotive software development lifecycle frameworks.
• Experience establishing quality organizations or leading significant organizational transformations.

Responsibilities

• Own the overall quality strategy and standards for the Infotainment and Connectivity platform, covering vehicle applications, media, connectivity, wireless, cameras, audio, and platform stability.
• Lead and expand a team of managers, including reshaping the organizational structure and skill mix and developing an automation roadmap for next-generation program needs.
• Drive systemic root cause analysis for high-severity quality escapes and establish processes across the organization to address why issues occur.
• Set and enforce quality culture across the Infotainment organization and in cross-functional partnerships with Volkswagen Group and Rivian platform teams.
• Build the automation strategy and testing infrastructure to expand coverage without scaling headcount linearly.
• Partner with senior Engineering, Product, and Program leaders to influence roadmap decisions through a quality lens.
• Represent quality in executive forums and communicate risk posture, reject rates, and remediation plans to executive leadership.
• Define what constitutes quality completion and ensure that definition is consistently applied across the organization.

Benefits

• Competitive base salary.
• Eligibility for the annual company performance bonus program; payments are discretionary and not guaranteed.
• Eligibility for equity in the form of Restricted Stock Units, subject to board approval and applicable plan terms and vesting requirements.
• Comprehensive benefits package for full-time employees, including health coverage, retirement savings, time off, and family planning programs. Offerings vary by country.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director
• Education Level: No Education Listed