Sr. Controls, Modeling, and Simulation Engineer

Rivian • Palo Alto, CA

9d

About The Position

We are seeking a highly motivated Senior Controls Modeling and Simulation Engineer to join our Autonomy Controls team. The ideal candidate will have a strong background in motion planning, control systems, and vehicle dynamics, with experience in both modeling and simulation. You will play a key role in developing and improving advanced control algorithms and supporting a variety of projects critical to our next generation autonomous vehicle systems.

Requirements

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Robotics, Computer Science, or a related field.
• Strong background in motion planning, control theory, and vehicle dynamics.
• 3+ years of experience in optimization theory and its application to control systems design and proficiency with optimization solvers and frameworks.
• Proficiency in programming languages such as C++ and Python.
• Knowledge of optimization algorithms including gradient descent, interior point methods, and sequential convex programming.
• Familiarity with multi-objective optimization and trade-off analysis for competing control objectives (comfort, safety, efficiency).
• Strong background in machine learning, AI, and robotics, with hands-on experience developing and deploying learning-based algorithms.
• Excellent problem-solving skills and ability to work collaboratively in a fast-paced environment.

Nice To Haves

• Experience with embedded systems and real-time control implementation is a plus.
• Prior internship or project

Responsibilities

• Design and implement high-performance control algorithms to solve real-time trajectory optimization and control problems.
• Design and implement optimization-based control strategies using convex and non-convex optimization techniques to solve control problems
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to deliver improvements in vehicle motion planning, control, and feature engineering for L3/L4 autonomy.
• Optimize computational efficiency of control algorithms for real-time embedded implementation, including algorithm complexity reduction and solver selection.
• Support data analysis, KPI development, and embedded software integration for control features.
• Build and refine vehicle dynamics models to support simulation and validation of control strategies.
• Assist in the creation and maintenance of simulation environments for vehicle dynamics and control system validation.
• Contribute to the development and validation of new features through on-road and simulation-based testing.

Benefits

• annual performance bonus
• equity awards
• paid vacation
• paid sick leave
• life insurance
• medical insurance
• dental insurance
• vision insurance
• short-term disability insurance
• long-term disability insurance
• 401(k) Plan
• Employee Stock Purchase Program

What This Job Offers

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