Innovation Project Manager Jobs in Normal, IL (NOW HIRING)

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 Rivian ME Conveyor Engineering Team aims to be at the forefront of innovation and technology in conveyor systems. Our mission is to support Rivian's effort to deliver world-class electric vehicles by delivering automated manufacturing facilities with minimal development and commissioning time, that operate continuously with no unplanned downtime.
We're looking for visionary, boundary-breaking members who will be responsible for redefining the standards for manufacturing engineering conveyor systems, unlocking the potential of innovative technologies and their integration on production lines.
As a Sr. leader of the ME Conveyor Engineering team, you'll contribute to and support a team of highly skilled conveyor engineers who will create state-of-the-art conveyor systems to be deployed to General Assembly production lines with an edge in innovation, operator experience, and a willingness to take on ambitious conveyor challenges. You and your team will be responsible for the implementation of company standards and frameworks to create conveyor applications specific for equipment used in production processes. This team will provide guidance and support to our suppliers from the design phase through the start of production with thorough reviews and coordination and documentation of acceptance tests during buyoff at the suppliers' site and after completion of commissioning. Working in synergy with suppliers and contractors, you'll ensure that data propagation between components for production tracking, manufacturing systems, and diagnostics are established and validated. You'll troubleshoot problems in the factory and partner with cross-functional leadership across the enterprise to solve conveyor-related challenges.
Through your contributions, your team will demonstrate excellence and quality in everything performed, with a strong desire to continuously improve. You'll be responsible for your deliverables and for establishing standards and best practices for deployment, conformance, and auditing of new and existing systems, making pragmatic, data-driven decisions, and clearly articulating reasoning. In collaboration with our platform development team, you'll propose and develop new strategies to push conveyor automation whenever possible and improve the development, configuration, and deployment time of new work cells. Together, you'll architect and implement conveyor and material flow solutions aimed at high-performance and extensibility, ensure that we deploy safe conveyor systems with best practices and security, dissect and reimplement manufacturing device communication protocols to achieve new integrations, and redefine and innovate conveyor and material handling solutions in the manufacturing industries.
These are exciting times for the ME Conveyor Engineering Team, and we need your unique talents to help us accomplish our lofty goals and ensure that Rivian continues to Keep the World Adventurous Forever.
This position will be located at our Normal, IL, East Atlanta, GA or Plymouth, MI facility and will report directly to a Sr. Director, Manufacturing Engineering.
Responsibilities

• Manage a team of conveyor and AGV engineers and specialists supporting all centers (Paint,
  Body, GA, DU, Battery, Pack, Plastic, etc)
• Develop and implement strategic plans and initiatives to optimize conveyor, AGV and
  equipment operations, drive process improvements, and achieve organizational objectives.
• Collaborate with ME and Plant cross-functional teams and Facilities Engineering to ensure
  seamless coordination and execution of projects.
• Conveyor and AGV Functional Acceptance Testing (FAT) and Factory Site Acceptance
  Testing (SAT)
• Own and maintain a common set of ME Conveyor and AGV equipment and process
  specifications
• Develop project proposals, plans and scope-of-work helping determine resource
  requirements, project timelines, and budget allocations.
• Interface and influence internal and external stakeholders through a co-design approach to
  address technical inquiries, resolve issues and ensure customer (plant) satisfaction.
• Drive implementation of best practices through process optimization, new technologies, and
  advanced manufacturing techniques.
• Ensure compliance with company policies, regulatory requirements related to safety, quality
  and environmental standards.
• Support the application of digital design tools to achieve the right level of detail in design
  outputs, minimizing rework, and enabling full equipment simulation.
• Apply cost engineering principles and techniques to analyze, control, and optimize project
  and operational costs.
• Maintain a strong understanding of the latest technologies and digitization trends relevant to
  conveyor and AGV advanced manufacturing, and proactively apply this knowledge to
  improve processes and solutions.
• If based in Plymouth, MI travel 50-75% will be required.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree in Engineering or Business with equivalent industrial experience
• Minimum of 10 years of combined experience in automation engineering and tooling and
  equipment implementation and optimization.
• Strong Technical knowledge in conveyance, AGVs and automation.
• Proven knowledge of co-design with automation equipment suppliers.
• Demonstrated ability in effectively conveying complex information to diverse audiences.
• Strong financial acumen with a proven track record of managing budgets, forecasting
  financial performance, resource planning and ensuring projects meet financial targets.

Preferred Skills:

• MBA
• Master Electrician
• Experience in Bodyshop, GA, Paint, battery conveyor equipment
• Certification in project management (PMP), Lean Six Sigma, or relevant certifications in
  tooling or advanced manufacturing technologies.
• Proven experience in operational excellence, with a strong focus on continuous
  improvement.
• Well versed in current and emerging technologies and digitization trends relevant to
  industrial manufacturing.

Pay Disclosure
The salary range for this role is $161,000-$201,200 for Georgia, Illinois and Michigan 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). This job is not expected to be closed any sooner than 7/1/2026.
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
Candidate Data Privacy and Technology
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.