Program Specialist, Facilities Operations

Rivian • Palo Alto, CA

3d • Onsite

About The Position

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.

We are seeking an experienced, self-starting Program Specialist, Facilities Maintenance to lead our Workplace Repair and Maintenance efforts in Palo Alto, California. This role is designed for someone who can operate independently, serving as the primary onsite leader for Facilities Maintenance. The ideal candidate acts as the central coordinator for all maintenance activities, balancing the technical needs of the facilities with the expectations of leadership. You must be able to effectively communicate with engineers to ensure technical accuracy, but your primary focus is the strategic management of workflow: prioritizing incoming tickets, coordinating our engineering partners, and ensuring an impeccable environmentCollaborating with our engineering teams, prioritizing key tasks, and ensuring seamless operation.. We are looking for a highly organized communicator who can transition seamlessly between technical troubleshooting and executive-level briefings.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent experience
• 5+ years of experience in facilities management and workplace services
• Project management experience highly preferred
• Upholds a positive, collaborative attitude
• Immense attention to detail
• Excellent communication, organization, and problem-solving skills
• Proficient with Google Workspace and Bluebeam Revu
• A service-oriented personality, self-motivated, confident and energetic
• Ability to be flexible and change practices that are not accomplishing needed results

Responsibilities

• Team Leadership: Lead and hold accountable a team of outsourced facilities engineers, ensuring work is performed to Rivian’s standards for quality, safety, and responsiveness.
• Vendor Management: Manage third-party vendor and contractor relationships, focusing on scheduling preventative maintenance and upholding customer service standards when interacting with corporate staff.
• Operational Prioritization: Act as the central intake for all facility maintenance requests; triaging and prioritizing the daily ticket flow and ongoing maintenance to ensure resources are directed toward the highest-priority needs.
• Executive & Stakeholder Liaison: Serve as the primary point of contact for Palo Alto-based leaders and executives, providing clear and professional updates on facility maintenance status and managing expectations.
• Strategic Oversight: Provide high-level management for all maintenance and repair activities, leveraging technical knowledge to guide engineering teams.
• Internal Communication: Proactively communicate planned outages, maintenance schedules, and facility changes to all staff with clarity and empathy to minimize operational disruption.
• Emergency Response Management: Lead the onsite response for facility emergencies (e.g., power outages, leaks), managing both the technical resolution and the necessary stakeholder communications during and after business hours.
• Site Operations Partnership: Collaborate closely with the broader Site Operations team to maintain a comprehensive, real-time view of all maintenance schedules and repair statuses.
• Budget & Compliance: Assist in the annual facilities operating budget for assigned sites and partner with the Safety team to ensure full code compliance.
• Quality Assurance: Oversee the successful completion of both preventive and corrective maintenance tickets, ensuring all work by external partners meets the required specifications and timelines.
• Landlord Communication: Coordinate essential maintenance, repairs, and services directly with the respective landlords and communicate as needed to ensure these items are properly addressed and maintained.

Benefits

• 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 at rivianbenefits.com.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level