Political Risk Analysis Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

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. 

The Rivian Supply Chain team is looking for highly motivated and strategic purchasing leaders to bring Rivian’s engineered products to life. As a Lead Global Supply Manager, you are an advanced individual contributor and subject matter expert responsible for the strategic sourcing, supplier selection, and multi-generational lifecycle management for our vehicle programs, including R1, R2, R3, and Electric Delivery Vehicles.

In this role, you lead the commercial relationship for our most complex domains, partnering closely with cross-functional leadership to architect the future of our innovative technical requirements. You act autonomously to manage several large projects with significant spend, navigating changing economic and political landscapes to prevent production risks. You are responsible for ensuring Rivian meets aggressive cost targets and timelines while solving systemic challenges that affect long-term project health. We are looking for an expert thinker who is passionate about optimizing the sourcing process and driving organizational stability through advanced negotiation and risk prevention.

This role requires a candidate who thrives in ambiguous environments and can balance shifting priorities across three core pillars: ECU Ownership, ECU Subcomponent Material Management, and Business Relationship Management. The successful candidate will fluidly transition between these pillars focusing on one, two, or all three simultaneously to meet dynamic business needs.

This position is based onsite either in Palo Alto, California or Irvine, California. This position reports to the Senior Manager of ECU Supply Chain team.

Supplier Relationship Management, Strategic Sourcing & Negotiation

• Lead end-to-end strategic sourcing, including RFI/RFQ/RFP processes and complex financial analysis of quotes.
• Concurrently lead several large projects with medium-high vehicle spend for ECUs or PCBAs. Drive the competitive bid process with little to no leadership direction and lead Director-level communications and reviews.
• Drive commercial negotiations (NDAs, PSAs, T&Cs, LTAs) to secure capacity, favorable terms, and aggressive cost reduction targets.
• Utilize cost estimation models to close "should cost" gaps and proactively mitigate risks.
• Negotiate most commercial terms with very limited legal involvement. Actively apply creative thinking in negotiations by utilizing non-monetary tradeoffs to achieve Rivian targets.
• Maintain strong relationships at the supplier Senior Management level. Drive accountability and resolve conflicts with minimal escalation while maintaining a robust understanding of sub-suppliers through raw materials.

Program & Material Readiness 

• Serve as the primary material point of contact for ECU components, owning the Clear to Build process for all build phases (Quick Turn, NPI, Mass Production) to ensure on-time availability.
• Proactively manage supply chain risks, including single-source dependencies and long-lead-time components, by executing robust mitigation plans and Risk Buy decisions.
• Partner with Engineering on component lifecycle stability, obsolescence management, and End-of-Life (EOL) planning.
• Optimize inventory levels at Contract Manufacturers to minimize Excess and Obsolete (E&O) material while maximizing financial efficiency.
• Lead large-scale projects with autonomy. 
• Closely work with the supplier and cross-functional teams to gauge the need for PPVs and complete the supply chain risk analysis as needed.
• Analyse the sub-component supply risks pro-actively and actively engage in clearing out those risks.

Operational & Stakeholder Management

• Collaborate cross-functionally to provide detailed forecasting and cost data, supporting long-term vehicle program planning.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with Tier 1 suppliers, monitoring performance against key supply chain and quality metrics.
• Proactively identify and implement supply chain system improvements to drive procurement speed and accuracy.
• Leverage industry knowledge to build strong internal and external relationships. Proactively communicate valuable information to stakeholders to mitigate risk and enable timely decision-making.
• Proactively identify and mitigate risks through detailed risk mapping and see resolutions through to completion.
• Work closely with the quality team to deliver the modules at expected quality levels.

Systems & Process:

• Act as an expert user of supply chain systems to support business needs. Lead the onboarding and training of new team members to procurement systems.

• Education: Bachelor’s degree (in Engineering, Supply Chain, Business, or a related field) or equivalent practical experience is required; a Master's degree (MBA or MS) is preferred.
• Domain Expertise: Significant experience managing end-to-end procurement lifecycles of ECUs or PCBAs with a proven ability to drive commodity strategies for next-gen platforms.
• Domain Expertise: Minimum 6 years of direct experience with Electronics Control Units (ECUs) or complex PCBA electronic assemblies, preferably within the Automotive (EV a strong plus) or High-Tech industries.
• Technical Understanding: Have a basic understanding of engineering and manufacturing aspects of the ECUs, PCBAs, and Semiconductors.
• Supplier & Commercial Management: Minimum 6+ years of relevant experience managing technical and commercial business relationships with large suppliers in an Automotive, Electronics, or high-volume manufacturing business.
• Lifecycle Management: Demonstrated expertise in managing materials across the entire product lifecycle: Quick Turn, NPI, and Mass Production.
• Risk & Strategy: Proven experience with "Risk Buy" strategies, executing alternative sourcing solutions, and using cost estimation models to identify risks and close "should-cost" gaps.
• Operational & Technical Skills:
  • Proficient in ERP systems (SAP preferred).
  • Experience working with Contract Manufacturers (CMs) in Asia, Europe, and North America.
  • Ability to understand Engineering and Design direction to provide focused supply-chain solutions.
  • Strong analytical ability to break down complex problems and data sets to derive actionable results.
  • Ability to effectively use AI systems to avoid manual work.
• Professional Skills: Excellent negotiation, communication, and interpersonal skills with high integrity and a proactive, independent work style.
• Travel: Willingness to travel domestically and internationally up to 25% of the time.
• Preferred Qualifications: Certification in Supply Chain Management (e.g., CSCP, CPIM)

The salary range for this role is $137,800 - $172,200 for Irvine, California applicants and $149,700 - $187,100 for Palo Alto, 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.

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.

• Education: Bachelor’s degree (in Engineering, Supply Chain, Business, or a related field) or equivalent practical experience is required; a Master's degree (MBA or MS) is preferred.
• Domain Expertise: Significant experience managing end-to-end procurement lifecycles of ECUs or PCBAs with a proven ability to drive commodity strategies for next-gen platforms.
• Domain Expertise: Minimum 6 years of direct experience with Electronics Control Units (ECUs) or complex PCBA electronic assemblies, preferably within the Automotive (EV a strong plus) or High-Tech industries.
• Technical Understanding: Have a basic understanding of engineering and manufacturing aspects of the ECUs, PCBAs, and Semiconductors.
• Supplier & Commercial Management: Minimum 6+ years of relevant experience managing technical and commercial business relationships with large suppliers in an Automotiv...