Entry Level Product Development Engineer Jobs in Champaign, IL

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

Internship Term: Fall 2026

Rivian internships are experiences optimized for student candidates. To be eligible, you must be an undergraduate or graduate student in an accredited program during the internship term with an expected graduation date between December 2026 through May 2028. Rivian's Internship Program requires active student enrollment. Information regarding your expected degree completion date is collected solely to verify eligibility and determine your availability for future full-time opportunities. Rivian is an equal opportunity employer and does not use graduation dates to determine the age of applicants or as a basis for discriminatory hiring decisions.

If you are not pursuing a degree, please see our full time positions on our Rivian careers site.

Note that if your university has specific requirements for internship programs, it is your responsibility to fulfill those requirements.

In this role, you will assist in developing computational methods for physics-based simulations. The project(s) will primarily focus on one or more of the following: numerical analysis, scientific computing, 2D/3D finite-element (FE) methods for electromagnetic, structural, and thermal analysis, computational fluid dynamics (CFD), computational geometry, NVH, meta-modeling, data analysis, machine learning (ML), process automation, and optimization.

Responsibilities

• Develop in-house tools and numerical methods for physics-based simulations.
• Apply computational geometry techniques to develop, modify, and analyze engineering designs.
• Develop scripts to streamline product development and automate workflows.
• Use data analysis, meta-modeling, and machine learning to enhance simulation efficiency.
• Perform design optimization through simulation-driven analysis.

Qualifications

• Must be currently pursuing a masters or PhD degree at the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign
• Actively pursuing a degree or one closely related in Engineering
• Strong background in mathematical analysis, scientific computing, numerical methods and algorithm development.
• Proficiency in programming: C/C++, Fortran, Matlab, Python, etc.
• Experience in high-performance computing (HPC) and cloud computing.
• Experience in statistical methods: data analysis, machine learning, and artificial intelligence.
• Experience in finite-element analysis: electromagnetic, structural, and thermo-fluids.
• Must be enrolled at the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign.
• Must be able to work out of our office in the Research Park.
• Must be available for 20 hours per week in the Fall and Spring and 40 hours in the summer.
• This project will require a weekly task status update and monthly project update.

#LI -HH2

Pay Disclosure

The salary range for this role is $25.00-40.00 per hour for Illinois 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 including but not limited to paid vacation, paid sick leave, and medical insurance benefits. Internship positions are not eligible for retirement benefits. 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). This job is not expected to be closed any sooner than 7/31/2026.

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.