Director - Supplier Development, Industrialization and Quality

Rivian•Normal, IL

About The Position

The Director of Supplier Development, Industrialization & Quality leads a global team responsible for end-to-end supplier execution, capability building, tooling industrialization, and quality assurance across Rivian’s supply base. The role combines pre-PPAP development engineering with post-PPAP quality management, providing single-point accountability for parts and systems from concept and tooling kickoff through ramp-up and serial production. The role calls for deep automotive or EV industrialization experience and a hands-on approach to problem solving. The leader ensures program execution, capacity realization, and zero-defect quality across vehicle launches and current production. The position partners with Engineering, Purchasing, Procurement, Hardware Engineering, Manufacturing Operations, and Program Management, and may require domestic and international supplier travel up to 50%.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering (Mechanical, Electrical, Industrial, or Manufacturing), Supply Chain Management, or a related technical field.
15+ years of progressive leadership experience in supplier development, supplier quality, or manufacturing industrialization in the automotive or high-growth EV sector.
Proven track record managing components through their lifecycle, from early engineering design reviews and APQP/PPAP approval through serial production quality management.
Deep proficiency in APQP, PPAP, PFMEA, SPC, 8D, 5-Why, Poka-Yoke systems, and Lean Manufacturing.
Demonstrated experience with hands-on bottleneck resolution, capacity modeling, line-walk audits, and data-driven root-cause problem solving.
Experience building, restructuring, or scaling global technical teams while instilling operational discipline and metric accountability.
Exceptional interpersonal and executive presentation skills, including the ability to hold supplier C-suite leadership accountable to performance expectations.
Ability to travel up to 50% domestically and internationally to engage suppliers on-site.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree.

Responsibilities

Build, lead, and mentor a high-performing global team of Supplier Development, Industrialization & Quality Engineers across major commodity sectors.
Oversee end-to-end component ownership and streamline supplier communications and cross-functional alignment across pre-PPAP development and post-PPAP production quality.
Engage early in program development with Engineering and Purchasing to conduct DFM, DFMEA, and PFMEA reviews and address ramp and quality constraints before Start of Production.
Oversee supplier industrialization timelines, tool kickoffs, tooling audits, and station-by-station capacity mapping, including throughput modeling, sensor checks, and Poka-Yoke validations.
Enforce APQP/PPAP gatekeeper discipline and execute Safe Launch containment protocols, Rate-at-Rate verifications, and recovery glide paths for supplier milestones.
Deploy resources to supplier facilities during critical ramps to conduct root-cause analyses, update PFMEAs, and drive yield and quality recovery.
Establish and track global supplier scorecards, quality metrics, and audit schedules, and drive corrective action plans and continuous improvement.
Collaborate with Procurement, Hardware Engineering, Manufacturing Operations, and Program Management to escalate risks, present recovery models, and align sourcing strategies.