Staff Advanced Diagnostics Engineer

Rivian•Normal, IL

About The Position

Rivian is seeking a Staff Advanced Diagnostics Engineer to serve as a technical authority for factory and vehicle software diagnostics. This role will lead the triage, investigation, and resolution of complex electrical, vehicle software, factory software, and IT issues that affect vehicle quality, production throughput, end-of-line operations, and launch readiness. The Staff Advanced Diagnostics Engineer will establish scalable diagnostic methods, improve escalation workflows, and drive issues from initial detection through root cause, containment, corrective action, and prevention. The role requires a hands-on engineer who can move quickly between vehicle systems, factory equipment, software tools, data, and cross-functional teams.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, computer engineering, software engineering, systems engineering, or a related technical field; equivalent experience may be considered.
Typically 6+ years of relevant experience in automotive systems, vehicle software, factory software, electrical hardware, manufacturing engineering, test engineering, reliability engineering, or advanced diagnostics.
Deep experience troubleshooting complex hardware and software systems in a production, launch, test, or service environment.
Demonstrated experience leading root-cause investigations and corrective actions for complex or recurring issues.
Strong understanding of vehicle electrical architectures, ECUs, communication networks, and diagnostic concepts.
Experience with one or more of CAN, CAN FD, LIN, Automotive Ethernet, UDS, or related vehicle communication protocols.
Experience analyzing software logs, network traces, production data, test results, and system telemetry.
Proficiency with diagnostic and debugging tools such as CANalyzer, CANoe, Wireshark, oscilloscopes, multimeters, data acquisition systems, or comparable tools.
Ability to understand and troubleshoot interactions between vehicle systems, embedded software, factory applications, manufacturing equipment, and IT/MES infrastructure.
Strong technical writing and communication skills, including the ability to present complex findings to engineers, operators, executives, and other stakeholders.
Demonstrated ability to operate independently, establish direction in ambiguous situations, and influence outcomes across organizational boundaries.

Nice To Haves

Experience supporting high-volume automotive manufacturing or major vehicle launches.
Experience with end-of-line testing, manufacturing execution systems, flashing/programming, station controls, or factory automation.
Experience with embedded software integration, firmware releases, configuration management, or software version troubleshooting.
Experience developing diagnostic scripts, data pipelines, dashboards, or automation using Python or similar tools.
Experience with cloud-connected vehicle systems, telemetry platforms, or remote diagnostics.
Familiarity with electrical schematics, wiring diagrams, board-level electronics, power distribution, and signal integrity fundamentals.
Experience defining diagnostic requirements or improving design-for-serviceability and design-for-diagnostics practices.
Experience mentoring engineers or technicians and setting technical standards for a team.

Responsibilities

Act as a senior technical first responder for complex vehicle, factory software, electrical hardware, and production-impacting issues.
Lead structured triage and root-cause analysis for recurring or high-severity concerns across manufacturing and vehicle systems.
Own problem resolution using disciplined methods such as 8D, fault-tree analysis, data analysis, fault reproduction, and controlled experimentation.
Investigate issues across vehicle ECUs, networks, diagnostics interfaces, embedded software, factory applications, end-of-line systems, and supporting IT infrastructure.
Use vehicle diagnostic tools, production data, logs, traces, network captures, and electrical test equipment to isolate failures and validate corrective actions.
Partner with Firmware Integration Engineering, Vehicle Software, Electrical Hardware, Systems Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Operations, Quality, Reliability, Service, and IT/MES teams to drive issues to closure.
Support lineside, end-of-line, launch, rework, and flash-lab investigations, including hands-on testing and vehicle or station troubleshooting.
Define and improve escalation pathways, triage standards, diagnostic playbooks, and response workflows for factory and vehicle software issues.
Develop dashboards and metrics that improve prioritization, response time, and recurrence prevention.
Identify systemic patterns across vehicles, stations, software versions, configurations, suppliers, and production processes.
Translate diagnostic findings into clear requirements, defect reports, containment plans, and corrective-action recommendations for engineering and manufacturing owners.
Influence future vehicle, factory software, and diagnostic-tool architecture by communicating lessons learned and design-for-diagnostics opportunities.
Establish technical standards for issue severity, evidence collection, reproduction, ownership, escalation, and closure criteria.
Mentor engineers and technicians in advanced troubleshooting, data-driven problem solving, and effective technical communication.
Represent Advanced Diagnostics in technical reviews, launch readiness forums, incident reviews, and leadership decision-making meetings.