Culinary Project Manager Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

Rivianis 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.

Responsible for making sure our SoCal Workplace locations offer an incredible dining and hospitality experience, the Lead Program Manager, Culinary ensures that our culinary vision and program goals are continually met. This role is tasked with supporting the Culinary Director in being the go-to source of knowledge and key stakeholder for all culinary operations in L.A. and O.C.. Additionally, you will be tasked with assisting in the creation, implementation, and innovation of Culinary programs including cafés, coffee bars, catering, special events, alternative dining solutions, and OCS. Employee happiness, sustainability, and the well being for our entire team is of the utmost importance. Our Lead Program Manager will need to face day-to-day challenges head on and work with a large group of people in an efficient and timely manner to drive optimal costs, deliver exceptional results, establish sustainable practices, and uphold the workplace experience for our teams.

• Strategic thinker that can create solutions in new and existing culinary programs using data and program metrics
• Develop operational systems, processes, and policies to support various projects
• Consistently analyze our day-to-day culinary program and look for efficiencies and cost saving opportunities
• Support fiduciary responsibility for culinary operations including all relevant cost metrics and P&L oversight
• Support our culinary partners in both day-to-day tactical and long term strategic planning
• Ensure catering and event standards are continually met or exceeded
• Effectively communicate updates and feedback to Culinary teams and stakeholders
• Maintain the strategy of Rivian’s culinary experience for employees through quality control, sustainability, optionality, cost management, and plant forward cuisine
• Assist with forecasting and budget development
• Develop and maintain strong relationships with all partners, vendors and leadership
• Oversee timely repair and maintenance scheduled for equipment, as needed
• Manage multiple projects and requests simultaneously while exceeding Rivian standards for quality
• Assist as needed with ad hoc projects as identified by your manager

• 5-7 years high volume food & beverage experience in related fields and/or degree from an accredited university in Hospitality, Business Administration, or related major.
• Proven understanding of contract food service, contracts and p&l ownership
• Well versed in cost management programming and knowledgeable about industry standards
• Experience in multi-unit or multi-faceted f&b programs
• Must have strong interpersonal skills and be able to direct and motivate staff to provide excellent customer service to our internal and external customers.
• Ability to quickly understand complex problems and effectively facilitate a team to decision and action.
• Strong leadership skills, people skills, and a positive attitude
• Excellent communication and organizational skills, detail oriented
• Exceptional knowledge within food safety and sanitation systems, procedures, and operations.
• Must possess all local and state required certifications for food safety, sanitation, and health.
• Ability and willingness to travel up to 10%-20%
• Self-starter who is goal oriented highly motivated, and comfortable working in a fast-paced environment
• Ability to shift focus very quickly and adjust to rapidly changing priorities

The salary range for this role is USD $101,000 - $126,200 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.

• 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.
• The successful candidate may be eligible for annual performance bonus and equity awards.

You can apply for this role through careers.rivian.com (or through internal-careers-rivian.icims.com if you are a current employee). This job is not expected to be closed any sooner than October 1, 2026.

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.

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.

How We Use AI in Our Hiring Process: To ensure transparency, we want candidates to know that Rivian uses iCIMS Talent Cloud Artificial Intelligence (TCAI) and AI-enabled tools to assist with screening, reviewing, organizing and highlighting profiles and applications that match the key requirements for each role.

AI does not make hiring decisions: Qualified candidate applications are reviewed by a member of our team, and all decisions throughout the process are made by humans. We use AI to support efficiency and consistency, not to replace human judgment. We are committed to a fair, thoughtful, and equitable experience for every candidate.

Participation in AI profile matching is entirely voluntary. If you prefer that your profile not be used in this process, you can opt out at any time. Opting out means your profile will be excluded from automated matching and will not be surfaced for additional roles through this system. Your current application remains active and will not be affected in any way.

Please note that we are currently not accepting applications from third party application services.