Staff Craftsmanship & Appearance Quality Engineer

Rivian • Irvine, CA

19h • $149,700 - $187,100 • Onsite

About The Position

The Staff Craftsmanship & Appearance Quality Engineer plays a key role within Rivian’s Perceived & Design Quality group to ensure the flawless translation of design intent into production reality. This position bridges Design, CMF, Craftsmanship, and Engineering to uphold Rivian’s visual and tactile quality standards across all visible components. You will lead and participate in appearance and craftsmanship reviews, evaluating gaps, flush, textures, gloss, and color harmony to verify design fidelity and customer-perceived quality. Success in this role requires strong technical judgment, the ability to influence cross-functionally, and a meticulous eye for surface quality and detail. This position is based onsite at our design HQ in Irvine, CA, reporting to the Senior Manager of Design Quality.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Industrial Design, or a technical discipline (Master’s preferred).
• 5+ years of experience in Craftsmanship, Perceived Quality, or Appearance Quality roles within a global automotive OEM or Tier 1 supplier.
• Proven appearance review experience evaluating gaps/flush, surface finish, gloss, and visual harmony during design or build reviews.
• Strong understanding of injection molding, tooling, and surface texture and finish processes.
• Familiarity with fit-and-finish standards, appearance sign-off criteria, and visual quality documentation.
• Must pass a Munsell Hue Test with Superior Discrimination.
• Highly organized, able to manage complex data and deliverables across multiple programs.
• Excellent communicator with high emotional intelligence, able to influence design and engineering partners.
• Comfortable working in both autonomous and collaborative settings, translating design intent into actionable engineering requirements.

Responsibilities

• Lead appearance and craftsmanship reviews across Studio, CMF, Craftsmanship, and Design Quality to assess visual and tactile attributes at key design and build phases.
• Develop and maintain program-specific Critical to Styling (CTS) part catalogues and track readiness of DQ-critical inputs.
• Evaluate surface finish, gap/flush performance, material transitions, and texture orientation across visible parts.
• Translate Studio design intent and appearance quality expectations into Rivian Quality Standards and supplier deliverables.
• Participate in build events (VP, PP, and Launch) to identify and resolve appearance and craftsmanship issues before production.
• Support competitive benchmarking and define Bill of Design criteria for perceived quality excellence.
• Collaborate with Concept, Core, and Subject Matter Expert teams to co-validate design and craftsmanship criteria.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives to eliminate design quality roadblocks and enhance cross-functional alignment.
• Provide situational awareness of risks related to timing, deliverables, and design quality targets.
• Verify accuracy of part-level texture direction and support documentation for dual or complex texture execution.
• Must be willing to travel up to 20%.

Benefits

• Rivian provides robust medical/Rx, dental and vision insurance packages for full-time and part-time employees, their spouse or domestic partner, and children up to age 26.
• Full Time Employee coverage is effective on the first day of employment.
• Part-Time employee coverage is effective the first of the month following 90 days of employment.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees