Staff Program Manager, Vehicle Test

Rivian•Irvine, CA

About The Position

The Staff Program Manager for Vehicle Test coordinates the operational and financial health of the Test and Development department. They build out comprehensive tracking frameworks to monitor the fleet and take the lead on coordinating the team's budget. They act as the integrator for operational tools to keep workflows running smoothly, while partnering directly with engineering to ensure software is ready for release. This role is about defining the right KPIs and reducing complex metrics down into clear, accurate progress reports to update leadership on current status.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or a related technical field.
Typically 8+ years of experience in automotive or complex electro-mechanical products, including significant experience in technical program management, systems engineering, validation, or similar cross-functional leadership roles.
Deep understanding of vehicle development milestones, systems engineering, and how DVPs, DFMEAs, requirements, and build phases support validation and launch decisions.
Demonstrated experience planning and orchestrating validation at the vehicle or major subsystem level, including DVP creation, asset planning, schedule integration, and test or issue closure.
Strong fluency with tools such as Jira, Confluence, Jama, dashboards, and related data systems to drive decisions, not just reporting.
Proven ability to influence across functions and levels, operate with limited supervision, lead projects with diverse stakeholders, and make a compelling case for change.

Responsibilities

Design and implement comprehensive tracking and reporting frameworks for the Engineering Vehicle Test Fleet, effectively monitoring fleet health, utilization, and deployment.
Partner with Program Management, Product Development, and Software Engineering teams to formulate and execute a robust strategy for assessing software release readiness.
Coordinate budget planning, forecasting, and financial tracking for the Vehicle Test and Development department.
Act as the primary system integrator for cross-functional operational tools (e.g., Jira, Hex, Confluence), driving their configuration, continuous improvement, and strict data integrity to optimize workflows for feedback management and issue triage.
Define and generate actionable KPIs and development metrics to evaluate team progress and operational readiness. Consolidate this data to report on program deliverables and critical gateways, ensuring all reporting is accurate and highly consumable for leadership.