Systems Architecture Software Engineer

Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies•Palo Alto, CA

About The Position

Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies is a joint venture between two industry leaders with a clear vision for automotive’s next chapter. From operating systems to zonal controllers to cloud and connectivity solutions, we’re addressing the challenges of electric vehicles through technology that will set the standards for software-defined vehicles around the world. The road to the future is uncharted. By combining our expertise across connectivity, AI, security and more, we’ll map a new way forward. Working together, we’ll create a future that’s more connected, more intelligent, more sustainable for everyone. The Software Systems Architecture team's mission is to ensure that technical teams across Rivian VW Tech are aligned in a unified vision of our future vehicles across multiple brands. We achieve this mission by providing cross-functional oversight of the system and sub-system development processes, contributing technical expertise in selected areas, and bridging communication between domain specialists. Our team is proud of the breadth of our technical contributions, and we are always looking to expand the areas in which we can have an impact. Areas of special interest include network topology, processor selection, full-stack latency analysis, safety isolation, and many more. As a Systems Architecture Engineer you will help architect the next generation of Rivian and Volkswagen vehicles, going deep into the big-picture system design of the software architecture and electrical architecture of our electric cars and trucks. Focus areas include functional decomposition across software and hardware, networking topology and communication, power distribution and coding, and cross-functional system optimization for cost, quality, and manufacturability. You will propose possible system designs, perform trade studies to down-select among options, document and evangelize the chosen architecture, and assist with its implementation and evolution.

Requirements

B.S. in Systems Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Mechanical Engineering, or a related field.
1-3 years of experience with Systems Engineering, communication networks, safety-critical systems, and/or automotive development processes; or advanced degree.
Ability to work in a fast-paced development environment.
Good team player with excellent communication skills.
Self-motivated: Demonstrated ability to set direction and guide the team towards it.

Responsibilities

Help advance our capabilities for analyzing network architecture, topology, and behavior of existing and future vehicles.
Interface with multiple functional domains and help define and push the limit for future technology roadmap.
Help define and decompose program functional and performance requirements to sub-systems, ensuring that we are defining and leading the state of the art software-defined vehicles.
Work cross-functionally to design the system architecture and corresponding function allocation, ensuring the solution is scalable and solves future variants.
Work to optimally assign a function to mechanical hardware, electrical hardware, or software.
Create and run models to understand the feasibility and fundamental limits of various designs.
Perform system analysis to understand strengths, drawbacks, and limitations.
Provide and drive system optimization.