Automotive Program Manager Jobs in Riverside, CA

About Rivian
Rivian is on a mission to keep the world adventurous forever. This goes for the emissions-free Electric Adventure Vehicles we build, and the curious, courageous souls we seek to attract.
As a company, we constantly challenge what's possible, never simply accepting what has always been done. We reframe old problems, seek new solutions and operate comfortably in areas that are unknown. Our backgrounds are diverse, but our team shares a love of the outdoors and a desire to protect it for future generations.
Role Summary
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.
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.
Qualifications

• 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.

Pay Disclosure
The salary range for this role is $154,000 - $192,500 for California based applicants. This is the lowest to highest salary we in good faith believe we would pay for this role at the time of this posting. An employee's position within the salary range will be based on several factors including, but not limited to, specific competencies, relevant education, qualifications, certifications, experience, skills, geographic location, shift, and organizational needs.
The successful candidate may be eligible for annual performance bonus and equity awards.
We offer a comprehensive package of benefits for full-time and part-time employees, their spouse or domestic partner, and children up to age 26, including but not limited to paid vacation, paid sick leave, and a competitive portfolio of insurance benefits including life, medical, dental, vision, short-term disability insurance, and long-term disability insurance to eligible employees. You may also have the opportunity to participate in Rivian's 401(k) Plan and Employee Stock Purchase Program if you meet certain eligibility requirements. Full-time employee coverage is effective on their first day of employment. Part-time employee coverage is effective the first of the month following 90 days of employment. More information about benefits is available at rivianbenefits.com.
You can apply for this role through careers.rivian.com (or through internal-careers-rivian.icims.com if you are a current employee). There is no fixed deadline for this application; applications are accepted on an ongoing basis until the role is filled or the opening is no longer needed.
Equal Opportunity
Rivian is an equal opportunity employer and complies with all applicable federal, state, and local fair employment practices laws. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information or characteristics, physical or mental disability, marital/domestic partner status, age, military/veteran status, medical condition, or any other characteristic protected by law.
Rivian is committed to ensuring that our hiring process is accessible for persons with disabilities. If you have a disability or limitation, such as those covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act, that requires accommodations to assist you in the search and application process, please email us at candidateaccommodations@rivian.com.
Candidate Data Privacy
Rivian may collect, use and disclose your personal information or personal data (within the meaning of the applicable data protection laws) when you apply for employment and/or participate in our recruitment processes ("Candidate Personal Data"). This data includes contact, demographic, communications, educational, professional, employment, social media/website, network/device, recruiting system usage/interaction, security and preference information. Rivian may use your Candidate Personal Data for the purposes of (i) tracking interactions with our recruiting system; (ii) carrying out, analyzing and improving our application and recruitment process, including assessing you and your application and conducting employment, background and reference checks; (iii) establishing an employment relationship or entering into an employment contract with you; (iv) complying with our legal, regulatory and corporate governance obligations; (v) recordkeeping; (vi) ensuring network and information security and preventing fraud; and (vii) as otherwise required or permitted by applicable law.
Rivian may share your Candidate Personal Data with (i) internal personnel who have a need to know such information in order to perform their duties, including individuals on our People Team, Finance, Legal, and the team(s) with the position(s) for which you are applying; (ii) Rivian affiliates; and (iii) Rivian's service providers, including providers of background checks, staffing services, and cloud services.
Rivian may transfer or store internationally your Candidate Personal Data, including to or in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the European Union and in the cloud, and this data may be subject to the laws and accessible to the courts, law enforcement and national security authorities of such jurisdictions.
Please note that we are currently not accepting applications from third party application services.