Sr. Staff Electronic Design Engineer (ADAS Hardware)

Rivian • Palo Alto, CA

7h • $213,000 - $266,000

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 looking for a highly experienced and technically adept Senior Staff Electronic Design Engineer to play a pivotal role in the development and long-term sustainment of our next-generation ADAS and Autonomy platforms. This is a critical leadership position responsible for the architectural definition and detailed PCBA design of high-compute electronic control units (ECUs) that run the entire autonomy software stack on Rivian vehicles.
The ideal candidate will possess a deep understanding of electronic design principles and a proven track record of bringing complex, high-speed designs from concept through production and beyond. Beyond initial development, you will serve as a technical anchor for the company, leading the debugging of field issues and navigating supply chain-driven hardware changes post product launch. You will be a key contributor to a multidisciplinary team, collaborating across software, mechanical, thermal, reliability, and systems domains to deliver and maintain robust, high-performance autonomy solutions.

Requirements

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Electrical Engineering or a related field.
• 10+ years of progressive experience in electronic hardware design, with a significant portion focused on complex digital and mixed-signal designs.
• Proven experience designing platforms with high-compute SoCs, including familiarity with neural network accelerators, high-performance GPUs, and the complex system requirements associated with implementing them.
• Familiarity with the autonomy software stack, with specific emphasis on low-level board support such as drivers, Linux OS, hypervisors, bootloaders, and firmware.
• Strong mastery of electrical engineering fundamentals including power delivery networks and analog circuit design.
• Solid understanding of signal integrity (SI) and power integrity (PI) principles, with experience specifying PCB stack-up requirements.
• Proficiency with schematic capture tools (Altium Designer and OrCAD).
• Hands-on experience with laboratory equipment for hardware bring-up, characterization, and methodical root cause analysis.
• Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to lead cross-domain conversations and drive organizational clarity.

Nice To Haves

• Experience integrating high-compute hardware into complex liquid cooling solutions within an automotive environment.
• Signal integrity Analysis experience using tools such as Ansys HFSS or Keysight ADS.
• Experience with automotive industry standards and processes (e.g., ISO 26262, AEC-Q100).
• Ability to write or modify scripts (Python, Bash) to automate data generation and hardware testing on high-speed interfaces.
• Experience performing impact analysis and validation for component substitutions in a high-volume production environment.

Responsibilities

• Act as a technical generalist and leader who can bridge the gap between mechanical, thermal, reliability, and software teams.
• Address field issues and manage hardware changes initiated by field failures or supply chain volatility post-SOP.
• Perform root cause analyses and recommend corrective actions for complex field problems.
• Collaborate with vehicle and architecture teams to provide product architectural definition and detailed design of ADAS high compute systems.
• Design high-speed digital circuits integrating Rivian’s RAP processor into the overall vehicle sensor suite.
• Implement and validate high-speed serial communication protocols including PCIe, 10 Gigabit Ethernet, and MIPI CSI C-PHY for high-resolution camera data.
• Perform low-level electrical validation on all interfaces including measuring and interpreting eye diagrams for high speed IO.
• Drive schematic capture and provide rigorous PCB layout guidance to ensure performance, reliability, and manufacturability within the vehicle’s sensor suite and cooling solutions.
• Act as a technical lead and mentor to the engineering team, fostering a culture of technical excellence and intellectual curiosity.
• Expertly utilize high-speed test equipment (high-bandwidth oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, etc.) to troubleshoot and characterize complex hardware-software interactions.

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
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees