Staff Technical Program Manager, Vehicle Validation

Rivian • Irvine, CA

3d

About The Position

Vehicle Validation at Rivian ensures every product delivers exceptional function, quality, reliability, and real-world performance. We perform verification and validation against data-driven requirements that reflect how our customers use our vehicles, connecting DFMEAs, requirements, and validation plans into a cohesive, decision-oriented process.
As a Staff Technical Program Manager, Vehicle Validation, you will lead the vehicle-level validation roadmap across programs from concept through launch and beyond. You will provide the program management spine that aligns vehicle-level DVPs, validation assets and build plans, cross-functional timing, risk, and readiness, while raising the bar on how Rivian plans, governs, and improves validation across the function.

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

• Own and continuously improve the integrated vehicle validation roadmap from concept through engineering sign-off, with decision-ready deliverables.
• Translate DFMEA, NUDD, requirements, and known product risks into an integrated vehicle validation strategy across Rivian’s validation pillars.
• Build and maintain the integrated vehicle validation plan, including what tests run when, on which vehicles, at what maturity, and with what configuration.
• Lead cross-functional alignment across engineering, program, test, manufacturing, launch, service, quality, and other partner teams to align validation coverage, asset plans, timing, and readiness.
• Re-plan quickly when content, software, build timing, or readiness changes create risk, maintaining a credible path to key milestones and launch.
• Establish dashboards and metrics, audit DVP and SDVP coverage, and provide clear, data-backed updates that support accountability and fast decision-making.
• Proactively identify gaps and risks, drive mitigation and issue closure, and ensure findings are fed back into requirements, DFMEAs, and future plans.
• Apply validation governance and continuous improvement efforts, including standardizing methods and tools.

Benefits

• paid vacation
• paid sick leave
• life insurance
• medical insurance
• dental insurance
• vision insurance
• short-term disability insurance
• long-term disability insurance
• 401(k) Plan
• Employee Stock Purchase Program
• annual performance bonus
• equity awards

What This Job Offers

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