Manager Of Program Operations Jobs in Irvine, CA

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. 

Vehicle Validation at Rivian ensures every product delivers exceptional function, quality, reliability, and real-world performance. We perform both verification and validation against data-driven requirements that reflect how our customers use our vehicles — connecting DFMEAs, requirements, and validation plans into a cohesive, decision-oriented process.

As Senior Manager, Vehicle Validation, you will lead the team responsible for vehicle-level validation across Rivian's Stanton Springs North (SSN) programs. Your Program Leads own day-to-day validation execution for their individual programs; your role is to set the strategy they plan against, hold them to a consistent execution standard, resolve the cross-program conflicts they can't resolve on their own, and give leadership a trustworthy picture of validation status, risk, and readiness across the full SSN portfolio.

This is a Senior Manager role: you lead multiple TPM’s within the platform, are accountable for their collective performance and results, and are expected to raise the bar on how Rivian plans, governs, and executes vehicle validation as SSN scales — including how the team adopts AI-enabled validation methods as they mature.

• Lead and develop a team of Program Leads TPM’s, each accountable for validation execution on their assigned SSN program.
• Set clear performance expectations and provide ongoing feedback and coaching to elevate team execution and decision-making.
• Translate SSN's functional goals into an actionable validation strategy and operating plan, directed through your Program Leads.
• Partner with Program, VHE, EEHW, Propulsion, Thermal, Attributes, Homologation, Autonomy, Test & Development, Manufacturing, Launch, OPD, Service, and Quality to align DVP coverage, asset plans, and long-lead test timing across programs.
• Orchestrate vehicle-level test usage and asset allocation across programs, and re-plan at the portfolio level when content churn, software slips, or build re-phasing put competing programs at risk.
• Serve as the escalation point when a Program Lead cannot resolve a validation gap, risk, or cross-functional conflict on their own.
• Establish systems to proactively monitor program progress against validation goals, and use them to give directors and VPs crisp, data-backed updates on status, risk, and tradeoffs — shaping deviation and "proceed at risk" decisions with quantified impact.
• Pilot and adopt AI-enabled validation methods, and push the team's use of dashboards and data systems (Jira, Confluence, Jama) beyond status reporting toward faster, more consistent decisions — in partnership with Rivian's broader V&V governance and tooling teams.
• Guide Program Leads in setting challenging, meaningful development goals, and publicize team wins to build the SSN validation team's reputation as a place people want to grow into.
• Champion your team's perspective in cross-functional forums, even when it's the unpopular one, without damaging working relationships.

• Typically 10+ years of experience in automotive or complex electro-mechanical products, including 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 connect to program delivery and launch decisions, with working knowledge of automotive safety and quality standards (e.g., ISO 26262, SOTIF) as they apply to validation readiness.
• Demonstrated experience planning and orchestrating validation across multiple programs simultaneously, including asset planning, schedule integration, and issue closure at a portfolio level.
• Demonstrated experience directly managing and developing people leaders and/or senior individual contributors, setting a consistent execution standard across the team and holding people to it through coaching rather than doing the work yourself.
• Strong fluency with tools such as Jira, Confluence, Jama, and dashboards to drive decisions rather than just reporting, with working knowledge of AI-assisted validation methods (GenAI for requirements/test review, AI-based coverage analysis, data-driven defect prioritization) and interest in scaling them within a team's practice.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to synthesize complex technical issues into clear decisions and actions.
• Proven ability to influence across functions and levels, secure buy-in from senior stakeholders, and make a compelling case for change.
• Bachelor's degree in Engineering or a related technical field, or equivalent combination of education, training, and hands-on experience.

The salary range for this role is $196,000 - $245,000 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.

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.

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.

• Typically 10+ years of experience in automotive or complex electro-mechanical products, including 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 connect to program delivery and launch decisions, with working knowledge of automotive safety and quality standards (e.g., ISO 26262, SOTIF) as they apply to validation readiness.
• Demonstrated experience planning and orchestrating validation across multiple programs simultaneously, including asset planning, schedule integration, and issue closure at a portfolio level.
• Demonstrated experience directly managing and developing people leaders and/or senior individual contributors, setting a consistent execution standard across the team and holding people to it through coaching rather than doing the work yourself.
• Strong fluency with tools such as Jira, Confluence, Jama, and dashboards to drive decisions rather than just reporting, with working knowledge of AI-assisted validation methods (GenAI for requirements/test review, AI-based coverage analysis, data-driven defect prioritization) and interest in scaling them within a team's practice.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to synthesize complex technical issues into clear decisions and actions.
• Proven ability to influence across functions and levels, secure buy-in from senior stakeholders, and make a compelling case for change.
• Bachelor's degree in Engineering or a related technical field, or equivalent combination of education, training, and hands-on experience.