Sr. Manager, Sustaining Engineering & Operations Technical Program Management

Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies•Palo Alto, CA

11d

About The Position

Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies is a joint venture between two industry leaders with a clear vision for automotive’s next chapter. From operating systems to zonal controllers to cloud and connectivity solutions, we’re addressing the challenges of electric vehicles through technology that will set the standards for software-defined vehicles around the world. The road to the future is uncharted. By combining our expertise across connectivity, AI, security and more, we’ll map a new way forward. Working together, we’ll create a future that’s more connected, more intelligent, more sustainable for everyone. Role Summary As RVT's Electronic Control Unit (ECU) portfolio scales across brand partners and expands into triple-digit country roadmaps — against a backdrop of increasing semiconductor supply chain volatility — sustaining operations have shifted from a downstream function to a core strategic priority. Our Electrical Hardware Technical Program Management team is seeking a Senior Manager to build and lead the ECU sustaining engineering and operations — leveraging both in-house expertise as well as outsourced debug, design, simulation, test/validation engineering services support to get the job done. This role sits at the intersection of engineering execution and programmatic strategy, requiring deep experience in ECU design as well as process development, coalition-building and initiative leadership. In this role, you will own the post-launch lifecycle of ECU hardware across Zonal, Battery, Infotainment and Connectivity ECUs. This scope includes field return and RMA disposition, failure analysis and root cause, containment and corrective action with our contract manufacturers, engineering change and deviation control, component obsolescence and second-source qualification, and cost-down and end-of-life transitions. You will be the accountable owner for sustaining issues that reach the plant and/or field, and the person who converts what we learn there into design, test, process, and supplier improvements to integrate into our upstream NPI workflows. This role also carries direct accountability for the third-party engineering partners who deliver mechanical engineering and design, component engineering, and reliability test and validation for the ECU portfolio. You will define statements of work, set deliverable and quality expectations, manage capacity and spend, and ensure outsourced scope integrates cleanly with internal execution. The successful candidate brings strong program management instincts, a hands-on technical foundation in electronics hardware, and the organizational influence to drive complex, multi-team, multi-supplier efforts to completion.

Requirements

12+ years of experience in electronics hardware sustaining engineering, hardware quality, failure analysis, or technical program management in the automotive, aerospace, or consumer electronics industry.
5+ years of direct people leadership, including hiring, mentoring, and developing engineers and program managers.
BS or MS degree in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Systems Engineering, or related technical field.
Demonstrated ownership of field return, RMA, and failure analysis processes for high-volume electronic assemblies, including structured problem solving methods such as 8D, 5-Why, and FMEA.
Working knowledge of PCBA design and manufacturing processes and their associated failure modes, including SMT, press-fit and connector processes, conformal coating, potting, and fastening and torque control.
Experience working with contract manufacturers and Tier 1 suppliers in a build-to-print model, including onsite quality escalation, containment, rework, and corrective action verification.
Experience with component engineering, including obsolescence and EOL management, second-source and alternate material qualification, and PCN/PDN disposition.
Familiarity with ISO 26262 functional safety concepts for ASIL-rated hardware and with IATF 16949 change control practices, including PPAP and deviation management.
Experience managing outsourced engineering partners or staff augmentation vendors under a statement of work, including scope definition, deliverable acceptance, and budget control.
Strong analytical and data-driven decision-making capabilities; comfortable working directly with measurement and test data, capability metrics, and program dashboards.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills; able to escalate clearly and factually to executive audiences and to translate technical detail for non-engineering stakeholders.
Experience with Atlassian-based applications, including Jira and Confluence.
Ability to travel domestically and internationally to contract manufacturer, supplier, and vehicle program locations as needed.
Eager to explore AI-driven solutions across communication, reporting, visualizations and analysis.

Nice To Haves

Experience working with a Build-to-Print Contract Manufacturer model, as well as JDM [Joint Development Manufacturer] or Tier 1 supplier partners in a co-development context.
Experience sustaining high-compute Infotainment and Connectivity ECUs or zonal controllers in a software-defined vehicle architecture.
Experience standing up a sustaining engineering organization, including process definition, tooling selection, and resource modeling.
Experience working with 3rd party engineering firms to amplify engineering resources

Responsibilities

Build and lead best-in-class ECU sustaining engineering and operations team — failure analysis, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, technical program management, and document control — with domain coverage across Zonal, Battery, Infotainment ,Connectivity, and vehicle access ECUs.
Lead development and implementation of plant/field triage process across brand partners from greenfield state.
Define and scale the sustaining operating model as the ECU portfolio grows across vehicle platforms and brand partner programs, including process definition, tooling, and a resource plan that balances internal headcount against outsourced scope.
Own the portfolio of engineering service providers and Contract Manufacture partners that deliver post-ramp design, validation, qualification, and failure analysis — including the workflows, systems integration, and scalable processes that make sustaining operations repeatable across the ECU portfolio.
Define statements of work, deliverables, capacity, and spend, and hold partners accountable to quality and schedule.
Drive for uninterrupted supply from build readiness through mass production: capacity and ramp planning, mitigation of shortages/EOL/single-source risk, and the design refresh and ECO decisions required to keep products buildable in partnership with Purchasing organizations across brand partners.
Own the RMA and change-management system with Contract Manufactures, component suppliers, Quality, and Design Engineering — driving root cause to closure — and ensure operational readiness milestones, dependencies, and risks are integrated and escalated within top-line ECU and vehicle program schedules.
Own engineering change control for the ECU portfolio, including ECO, ECR, and deviation workflows, review board cadence, document control, and traceability between as-designed and as-built configurations.
Lead escalations with contract manufacturers and Tier 1 suppliers: containment, rework and deviation decisions, corrective action verification, and executive-level escalation when supplier response does not meet program need.
Serve as the primary sustaining interface to Design Engineering, Quality, Service, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, and Brand program teams; represent sustaining positions at change boards and program gates.
Establish and report sustaining KPIs — field PPM, RMA volume and forecast, failure analysis throughput, NTF rate, change cycle time, and cost of poor quality — and use them to drive continuous improvement and resourcing decisions.