Sr. Staff Vehicle Systems Architect

Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies • Irvine, CA

19h • $218,200 - $300,100

About The Position

Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies is a joint venture developing technology for software-defined electric vehicles. The Vehicle System Architecture team owns vehicle-level mechatronic architecture, translating product intent from product definition, program, cost engineering, manufacturing, strategy, and reliability into vehicle parts and function distribution from concept through manufacturing.

The Sr. Staff Vehicle Systems Architect owns platform-program architecture through manufacturing sequencing and production release. The role determines where vehicle functions reside, which controllers are needed, and what capabilities the vehicle can operate without. It also develops reusable models and processes to support data-driven architecture decisions across programs.

The position combines vehicle architecture leadership, first-principles modeling, trade studies, reliability and safety analysis, and engineering-tool development. The architect negotiates decisions with VW Group, Rivian brand teams, and partner functions; collaborates with electrical and software architecture and subsystem leads; establishes team methods and playbooks; mentors engineers; and publishes models and requirements as a source of truth. In the first program cycle, the role delivers vehicle architecture boundary diagrams, vehicle-level STPA or an integrated equivalent, architecture 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 modeling experience, including building a physics or system model that determined an architecture.
• 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.
• Experience with worst-case and tolerance analysis practices such as WCCA, Monte Carlo, or DOE applied to real designs.
• Strong Python skills; comfortable with C++ or Julia/Modelica/Spice; git-native.
• Ability to turn ambiguous requests into decisions and defend them with numbers to executives and Brands.

Nice To Haves

• Systems-of-systems and meta-modeling 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.

Responsibilities

• Lead vehicle-level architecture for a platform program, including controller selection and placement, functional allocation across ECUs, LV/HV distribution, sensor and actuator distribution, packaging, temperature and environmental constraints, and NVH constraints from concept through production release.
• Lead architecture trade studies with quantified outcomes for cost, mass, range, power, temperature, NVH, complexity, reliability, and manufacturability; provide each study with its model, parameters, and sensitivity.
• Use models to identify and remove unnecessary controllers, harness runs, sensors, and requirements before optimizing what remains.
• Translate ambiguous partner requests into architecture decisions, maintain the architecture decision record and rationale, and hold decisions at program gates.
• Align architecture with technology roadmaps by evaluating adoption timing and platform costs.
• Define correlation and characterization tests that validate models against the physical vehicle, and own each model's error budget.
• Define architecture design spaces, identify fixed and variable attributes, select candidate architectures, evaluate trade-offs, and make architecture decisions.
• Build AI-assisted pipelines that expand architecture search, including proposals for controller allocations, harness topologies, and function distributions.
• Build and own meta-models connecting features, functions, controllers, physical interfaces, and software interfaces, with end-to-end parameter flow.
• Author first-principles and stack-up models at the fidelity required for decisions, using tools such as Python, Julia/Modelica, C++, and SysML v2 where appropriate.
• Collaborate with domain systems engineers on correlated models for lock.
• Drive reliability by design using top-down vehicle attributes and bottom-up component data.
• Lead vehicle-level STPA as a design process, identify hazards and architecture-level control gaps early, and feed findings back into the model.
• Negotiate architecture with VW 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.
• Establish methods for trade studies, meta-modeling, and WCCA beyond electrical; author playbooks and templates; mentor engineers; and review their models and decisions.
• Publish models and requirements as a source of truth for other teams.
• Convert recurring analyses into tooling and AI-assisted pipelines to help the team scale across programs.
• Deliver vehicle architecture boundary diagrams; vehicle-level STPA or an integrated set of feature STPAs and DFMEAs; architecture decisions with data- or analysis-driven rationale cascaded to feature leads in Flow Engineering; and a correlated parametric vehicle model validated against physical characterization with a known error budget.

Benefits

• Competitive base salary.
• Eligibility for the 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, subject to board approval, 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