Senior Lead, Corporate Business Development

Rivian•Palo Alto, CA

2d•Remote

About The Position

As a key member of Rivian's Corporate Business Development team, you will lead the structuring and execution of commercial partnerships, joint ventures, and other high-impact external engagements that support Rivian's mission and company goals. Reporting to the Director of Corporate Business Development, you will own deal processes end to end, including strategy formulation, financial modeling, due diligence, project management across a variety of stakeholders and workstreams, negotiation, and deal execution. You will work with senior leaders, internal cross-functional partners, and our most important external partners. This role focuses on leading strategic, complex transactions across multiple stakeholder groups. The Corporate Business Development team leads Rivian's flagship deals, including the 100,000-unit Electric Delivery Van (EDV) partnership with Amazon, the technology joint venture with Volkswagen Group, and the 50,000-unit robotaxi program with Uber. Day one, you will step directly into live workstreams on the next-generation EDV program, electrical architecture and component sharing with VW, and the R2-based robotaxi service agreement with Uber. You will also lead a portfolio of smaller, high-value strategic deals, carrying them from origination through to close. This position offers considerable autonomy and significant potential for career progression within Rivian. We are hiring for someone who can grow into broader leadership of the function. Why This Role Matters Owns Rivian's flagship commercial relationships: direct accountability for structuring and advancing programs with Amazon, VW, and Uber Turns ambiguity into board-ready decisions: builds the model, drafts the term sheet or MOU, and brings a structured recommendation — with risks and alternatives — to executive leadership Sits across the table from senior counterparties: represents Rivian with credibility in negotiations with partner executives and their advisors Carries deals through to delivery: ensures commitments survive the hand-off from signing to operating teams

Requirements

10+ years of professional experience in corporate finance transactions — mergers & acquisitions, private placements, public equity or securities offerings — or in corporate development, corporate business development, or top-tier management consulting.
Demonstrated track record leading large, complex transactions or partnerships from origination through close, with personal ownership of negotiated terms.
Exceptional Excel and PowerPoint skills are a must, including building rigorous financial models from scratch and producing polished, board-ready presentations.
Demonstrated ability to lead big, complex deals and to sit comfortably and credibly in front of senior leaders, both internally and across counterparties.
Strong financial, research, and analytical skills, with the ability to assimilate data, extract insights, and make informed recommendations with conviction.
Sound judgment to navigate ambiguity and high-stakes decisions — including the ability to structure a recommendation, lay out the risks, and know when to decide versus escalate
Depth of thinking that holds up under scrutiny: able to deconstruct the logic of a deal thesis and defend it in detail with executive and technical audiences.
Highly organized with strong attention to detail - we are responsible for everything.
Ability to problem-solve and proactively project manage numerous workstreams with competing timelines.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to convey complex ideas in plain English to senior management.
Self-starter mentality with the ability to work autonomously and drive projects to completion.
Bachelor's degree in Finance, Business, Economics, or a related quantitative field.

Nice To Haves

Experience in automotive, EV, autonomous systems, mobility, energy, or technology.
Experience structuring or managing joint ventures or multi-party strategic alliances.
Prior preparation of materials for investment committees, executive committees, or Boards.
MBA or advanced degree in business, finance, or a related discipline.

Responsibilities

Evaluate commercial partnerships, investments, joint ventures, and other external opportunities from both a qualitative and quantitative perspective.
Drive strategic deals from origination through diligence, negotiation, and close, serving as the relationship owner, negotiator, and external face of Rivian.
Build financial and scenario models from scratch to support valuation, return expectations, and the economics that feed term sheets and MOUs; partner with Finance for the most complex modeling
Draft and iterate term sheets, MOUs, and deal structures in partnership with Legal and outside counsel.
Partner with senior leaders to shape strategy and solutions for complex questions, engaging business executives, subject matter experts, and cross-functional teams.
Distill complex findings and build clear, compelling business cases for review by Rivian's executive team and Board of Directors.
Bring well-structured recommendations to leadership with the key risks, trade-offs, and a clear ask — and exercise sound judgment on which decisions to make independently and which to escalate.
Project manage multiple deal workstreams concurrently across Finance, Legal, Engineering, Product, and Operations with competing timelines
Support hand-off and execution following deal close, ensuring commitments are carried through with internal partners.
Maintain a strong pulse on automotive, EV, autonomy, and technology market dynamics to surface emerging strategic opportunities.