Sr. Staff Vehicle Systems Architect

Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies • Irvine, CA

1d

About The Position

Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies is a joint venture focused on developing technologies for software-defined electric vehicles, including operating systems, zonal controllers, cloud, and connectivity solutions. The Vehicle System Architecture team owns vehicle-level mechatronic architecture and translates product, program, cost, manufacturing, strategy, and reliability needs into the distribution of parts and functions across a vehicle.

The Sr. Staff Vehicle Systems Architect leads the architecture of a platform program from concept through production release, including controller selection and placement, functional allocation across ECUs, low- and high-voltage distribution, sensors and actuators, packaging, and environmental constraints. The role uses quantified models and trade studies to make and defend architecture decisions, validate models against physical vehicles, and establish reusable methods and tooling across programs.

The architect also develops models and AI-assisted analysis pipelines, leads vehicle-level safety analysis, negotiates architecture with internal and partner teams, and provides technical leadership through playbooks, model reviews, and mentoring. Initial deliverables include vehicle architecture boundary diagrams, vehicle-level or integrated feature safety analyses, data-supported decisions cascaded to feature leads, and a correlated parametric vehicle model validated against physical characterization.

Requirements

• BS/MS in Electrical, Mechanical, Systems, Aerospace, or Computer Engineering, or an equivalent demonstrated record.
• 12+ years in automotive, aerospace, or electromechanical systems engineering.
• At least one full program cycle owning system- or vehicle-level architecture decisions from concept to production.
• Demonstrated first-principles and stack-up modelling, including building a physics or system model that informed an architecture decision.
• Fluency in at least two of the following: E/E architecture (zonal, LV/HV power, network), vehicle controls software, thermal and packaging, or mechanical integration.
• Worst-case and tolerance analysis experience (WCCA, Monte Carlo, DOE) applied to real designs.
• Strong Python skills and comfort with C++ or Julia/Modelica/Spice.
• Git-native working practices.
• Ability to turn ambiguous requests into decisions and defend them with quantitative evidence to executives and brands.

Nice To Haves

• Systems-of-systems and meta-modelling experience, including SysML v2, FMI/FMU co-simulation, or parameter management across model hierarchies.
• Hands-on experience with LLM or agentic tooling applied to engineering artifacts, including pipelines that generate or analyze designs.
• Cost engineering fluency, including should-cost, BOM roll-ups, and design-to-cost trades.
• Experience with STPA, FTA, or ISO 26262 concept phase.
• Model correlation and test characterization experience, including validating simulations against hardware.
• Experience building or shipping engineering tooling, such as internal platforms or AI-assisted analysis pipelines.
• AI assistance in modelling work is welcome but not required.

Responsibilities

• Lead the vehicle-level architecture for a platform program from concept through production release, covering controllers and placement, ECU functional allocation, LV/HV distribution, sensors and actuators, packaging, and environmental and NVH constraints.
• Lead quantified architecture trade studies addressing cost, mass, range, power, temperature, NVH, complexity, reliability, and manufacturability.
• Develop and use models to identify unnecessary controllers, harness runs, sensors, and requirements, and make data-supported cost-down decisions.
• Translate ambiguous partner requests into architecture decisions, maintain decision records and rationales, and hold decisions at program gates.
• Align vehicle architecture with technology roadmaps and evaluate the costs and timing of adopting new technologies.
• Define correlation and characterization tests, validate models against physical vehicles, and manage model error budgets.
• Define the architecture design space, select candidate architectures, assess trade-offs, and make architecture decisions.
• Build AI-assisted pipelines to explore controller allocations, harness topologies, and function distributions.
• Build and own meta-models linking features, functions, controllers, physical interfaces, and software interfaces, with parameters flowing end to end.
• Author first-principles and stack-up models using appropriate tools and fidelity, and collaborate with domain systems engineers on correlated models.
• Drive reliability by design using top-down vehicle attributes and bottom-up component data.
• Lead vehicle-level STPA as a design process, surface hazards and architecture-level control gaps, and feed findings into models and architecture.
• Negotiate architecture with Volkswagen Group, Rivian brand teams, and partner functions, while anticipating constraints for future platforms.
• Collaborate with Electrical System Architecture, Software System Architecture, and subsystem domain systems leads.
• Set and document methods for trade studies, meta-modelling, and WCCA; author playbooks and templates; mentor engineers; and review their models and decisions.
• Publish models and requirements as a source of truth and convert recurring analyses into reusable tooling and AI-assisted pipelines.
• Deliver vehicle architecture boundary diagrams, vehicle-level or integrated feature STPAs and DFMEAs, analysis-supported architecture decisions cascaded to feature leads, and a correlated parametric vehicle model validated against physical characterization.

Benefits

• Competitive base salary.
• Eligibility for an annual company performance bonus program for full-time positions; payments are discretionary and not guaranteed.
• Eligibility for equity in the form of Restricted Stock Units (RSUs), subject to board approval and applicable plan terms and vesting requirements.
• Comprehensive benefits package for full-time employees, including health coverage, retirement savings, time off, and family planning programs; offerings vary by country.

What This Job Offers

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