Data Annotation Program Manager Jobs in California

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
In this role, you will lead strategic planning and coordination of 3D/2D annotation
projects, working closely with both internal and external partners. A key responsibility is
rigorous vendor management, ensuring the quality of deliverables, resolving defects,
and facilitating feature enhancements. Furthermore, the role encompasses developing
policies, setting precise labeling protocols, executing accurate 3D sensor data
annotation, and conducting thorough quality control on all generated datasets. You will
partner closely with Annotation Operations, Perception, and Engineering teams to
ensure data readiness for model training and evaluation.
The ideal candidate is data-driven, detail-oriented, and execution-focused, with a strong
understanding of annotation workflows and a passion for improving data quality and
efficiency at scale. This role plays a critical part in enabling informed decision-making,
continuous process improvement, and scalable annotation operations across internal
teams and external vendors.
Responsibilities
Analyzing Data Insights
• Analyze large-scale 2D/3D annotation datasets to identify data gaps, quality
issues, coverage gaps, and inefficiencies impacting Perception and ML training.
• Utilize dashboards and reports to monitor:
• Annotation throughput, efficiency, and cost
• Quality metrics (QA pass rates, error types, rework)
• Vendor and annotator performance trends
• Interpret complex annotation and perception data into clear, actionable insights
for engineering, annotation operations, and leadership.
• Partner with Perception teams to align data readiness metrics with model training
and evaluation needs.
• Effectively communicate data findings to business partners, bridging the gap
between technical data and strategic organizational goals.
Annotation Operations & Quality
• Assess the level of effort for annotation projects and support end-to-end
execution, including in-house vs. vendor decisions.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to gather labeling requirements and define,
maintain, and evolve labeling policies.
• Manage relationships with various vendors, including contract and quote review,
for third-party annotation services and tools.
• Define and track annotation quality, productivity, and certification metrics;
continuously refine benchmarks.
• Conduct QA/QC analysis on annotated data, identify systemic issues, and
provide structured feedback to annotators and vendors.
• Implement and measure labeling efficiency improvements, using data to validate
impact.
Process Improvement & Automation
• Prepare technical reports and collaborate with cross-functional engineering
teams to ensure consistent process implementation, with the ability to automate
basic processes.
• Identify opportunities to make data delivery and annotation workflows faster,
more accurate, and scalable.
• Identify and propose enhancements to address deficiencies in existing tooling,
improving the efficiency and accuracy of annotation workflows.
Cross-Functional & Vendor Collaboration
• Work closely with Annotation Ops, Perception, and Engineering teams to ensure
consistent process implementation.
• Support vendor management by analyzing performance, cost, and quality metrics
across multiple annotation partners.
• Prepare technical and operational reports to support planning, execution, and
decision-making.
• Coordinate across teams and time zones to ensure alignment and timely delivery.
Qualifications
Required
• BS degree in a technical or related field with 2+ years of relevant experience (or
5+ years equivalent industry experience).
• 2+ years supporting data annotation, ML data, or labeling-related projects.
• Strong understanding of 2D/3D data annotation workflows for ML and Perception
use cases.
• Experience with error taxonomy development and quality assurance (QA)
frameworks for data annotation.
• Working knowledge of databases and/or data visualization tools.
• Experience analyzing LiDAR point clouds, video, and image annotation data.
• Ability to manage multiple projects, prioritize effectively, and deliver under tight
timelines.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to explain project
insights to non-technical stakeholders.
• Experience mentoring or guiding junior team members or offshore teams.
Nice to Have
• Experience building or improving operational analytics for efficiency, cost, or
quality.
• Comfort working in a fast-paced, cross-functional, and collaborative environment.
• Hands-on experience with data analysis, metrics tracking, and dashboarding.
Pay Disclosure
The salary range for this role is $132,100.00 - $165,100.00 for San Francisco Bay Area 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.
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.