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Senior Distributed Systems Engineer Jobs in Riverside, CA

Capable of managing a complete system (Lighting Preferred) through the complete standard V-cycle including vehicle level integration and testing with a degree of oversight from a Senior Engineer

Senior Systems EngineerSenior Systems Engineer opening in Irvine, CA with a stable, global enterprise (onsite position). On call rotation once every 5 weeks. No travel.Systems Support and ...

New

The System Engineer is responsible for leading the day-to-day operations of robotic material ... S. We operate over 2,200 stores, 1,732 pharmacies, 405 fuel centers, 22 distribution facilities ...

The System Engineer is responsible for leading the day-to-day operations of robotic material ... S. We operate over 2,200 stores, 1,732 pharmacies, 405 fuel centers, 22 distribution facilities ...

The successful candidate will work alongside senior engineers to collect, analyze, and interpret technical data while developing an understanding of Navy systems, maintenance processes, and ...

Sr Systems Engineer - Azure

Irvine, CA · On-site

$110K - $151K/yr

Axos Bank is seeking an experienced and technically deep Sr. Microsoft Azure Engineer to join the ... Required : • Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Information Systems ...

DevOps Systems Engineer

Redlands, CA · On-site

$53 - $72.75/hr

Overview We are looking for a talented, self-motivated, and experienced systems engineer to help ... Previous experience supporting mission-critical distributed systems * Ability to share your ...

Sr Systems Engineer - Azure

Irvine, CA · Hybrid

$120K - $150K/yr

The right candidate is a well-rounded senior engineer who has operated in a regulated environment ... Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Information Systems, or a directly ...

Sr Systems / Cloud Engineer

Lake Forest, CA · On-site

$110K - $151K/yr

MAIN JOB RESPONSIBILITIES / COMPETENCIES As a Sr. Systems / Cloud Engineer within STAAR Surgical's Information Technology team, this individual plays a critical role working closely with the business ...

Showing results 41-60

Senior Distributed Systems Engineer information

See Riverside, CA salary details

$58.4K

$130.1K

$183.6K

How much do senior distributed systems engineer jobs pay per year?

As of Aug 22, 2026, the average yearly pay for senior distributed systems engineer in Riverside, CA is $130,129.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $109,000.00 and $149,200.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What is a senior distributed systems engineer?

Senior Distributed Systems Engineers are experienced professionals who design, build, and maintain large-scale computing systems that run across multiple machines or locations. They focus on ensuring reliability, scalability, and performance of distributed applications, often dealing with challenges like data consistency, fault tolerance, and network latency. These engineers typically have deep expertise in distributed computing principles, programming languages, and cloud infrastructure. They also mentor junior team members and help architect robust solutions for complex technical problems.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a senior distributed systems engineer?

A Senior Distributed Systems Engineer requires deep expertise in computer science fundamentals, scalable system architecture, and proficiency in programming languages such as Java, Go, or Python, often supported by a relevant degree and significant experience in distributed systems. Familiarity with tools like Kubernetes, Docker, Kafka, and cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, or Azure) is typically expected, along with knowledge of monitoring and CI/CD pipelines. Strong problem-solving, communication, and leadership skills help in tackling complex engineering challenges and collaborating across teams. These skills are crucial for designing robust, scalable, and reliable systems that support organizational growth and high availability.

What are some common challenges senior distributed systems engineers face when designing scalable systems?

Senior Distributed Systems Engineers often encounter challenges such as managing data consistency, ensuring fault tolerance, and minimizing latency across multiple nodes. Balancing trade-offs between availability and partition tolerance (as outlined by the CAP theorem) is a frequent consideration. Additionally, coordinating between development and operations teams to maintain system reliability and efficiently resolve issues that arise in production environments is crucial. Strong communication skills and a deep understanding of distributed architectures help address these complexities effectively.

What is the difference between Senior Distributed Systems Engineer vs Cloud Solutions Architect?

AspectSenior Distributed Systems EngineerCloud Solutions Architect
CredentialsBachelor's/Master's in CS or related, experience with distributed systemsBachelor's/Master's in CS, IT, or related, cloud certifications (AWS, Azure)
Work EnvironmentDesigning, developing, and maintaining distributed systems in tech companiesDesigning cloud infrastructure solutions for clients or internal teams
Industry UsageTech, finance, e-commerce, and enterprise sectorsIT consulting, cloud service providers, enterprise IT departments

The Senior Distributed Systems Engineer focuses on building and optimizing distributed computing systems, while the Cloud Solutions Architect designs cloud infrastructure solutions. Both roles require technical expertise and often overlap in cloud environments, but their primary responsibilities differ in scope and focus.

What are popular job titles related to Senior Distributed Systems Engineer jobs in Riverside, CA?

For Senior Distributed Systems Engineer jobs in Riverside, CA, the most frequently searched job titles are:

What job categories do people searching Senior Distributed Systems Engineer jobs in Riverside, CA look for?

The top searched job categories for Senior Distributed Systems Engineer jobs in Riverside, CA are:

What cities near Riverside, CA are hiring for Senior Distributed Systems Engineer jobs?

Cities near Riverside, CA with the most Senior Distributed Systems Engineer job openings:

Infographic showing various Senior Distributed Systems Engineer job openings in Riverside, CA as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 83% Full Time, 13% Part Time, and 4% Contract. Highlights an 89% Physical, 3% Hybrid, and 8% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $130,129 per year, or $62.6 per hour.

Sr. Systems Engineer - Lighting

Rivian

Irvine, CA • On-site

$107K - $142K/yr

Full-time

Medical, Dental, Vision, Life, Retirement, PTO

Re-posted 26 days ago


Rivian rating

7.3

Company rating: 7.3 out of 10

Based on 159 frontline employees who took The Breakroom Quiz

21st of 45 rated automakers


Job description

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
As an automotive lighting systems engineer, you will play a critical role in the design, development, and validation of
exterior lighting systems on our Rivian vehicles. Your responsibilities span the entire product lifecycle, from initial concept
to mass production and beyond.
You must combine strong analytical skills, creative problem-solving abilities, and excellent communication to bring
innovative and compliant lighting solutions to life in our vehicle product line.
You will serve as a key technical contact, facilitating communication among RV Tech (Body Controls), Engineering and
Suppliers. Your role will involve cross-functional collaboration to ensure seamless vehicle level integration of each lamp
as well as robust vehicle level verification as well as homologation compliance.
Responsibilities
  • Communicate with core stakeholders to identify the required User Stories to be delivered by the system.
  • Understand the why and what from product owners, marketing, and safety teams.
  • Derive the appropriate system level requirements (functional and non-functional) to robustly deliver the high-level
    User Stories.
  • Develop detailed mathematical or logical models (often using tools like MATLAB/Simulink or Enterprise
  • Architect) to describe exactly how the feature behaves under different vehicle states.
  • Generate architectural level decisions to implement the appropriate solutions.
  • Maintain lighting system architecture for the allocated vehicles as well as generate architectural level decisions to
    drive optimized solutions based on provided trading parameters (usually cost, weight and time).
  • Quality Assurance: Design tests that prove the derived requirements and the original user stories are met. This
    includes unit testing, integration testing, and full vehicle validation on the road.
  • Conduct high level root-cause analysis for any lighting system faults. Investigate system-level failures, often
    involving reviewing communication logs (CAN traces), module diagnostics, and correlating them with the
    functional model to find the source of the issue.
  • Working directly with Design Release Engineers (DREs) for individual components and Tier 1 suppliers to ensure
    the production designs conform to the system architecture and requirements.

Qualifications
  • Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering or related discipline
  • 5+ years (preferred) of applicable systems Engineering (Lighting Preferred), eliciting requirements or running validation.
  • Capable of managing a complete system (Lighting Preferred) through the complete standard V-cycle including vehicle level
    integration and testing with a degree of oversight from a Senior Engineer
  • Demonstrated proficiency in requirements management tools (Flow and Jama preferred) as well as engineering
    modeling tools such as Simulink or Enterprise Architect. This role includes significant focus (approximately 50%)
    on architecture development and refinement
  • Preferred experience using automotive data bus logging tools such as Vector Canalyzer, CANoe and CANape.
  • Able to apply fundamental and first principles to identify analyse and resolve technical challenges
  • Demonstrated ability to manage information, prioritize tasks, and communicate project status with clarity.
  • Able to Communicate clearly and concisely with both technical and non-technical audiences.

Pay Disclosure
The salary range for this role is $107,800 - $142,900 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.
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 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.

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About Rivian

Sourced by ZipRecruiter

Rivian is a pioneering automotive industry player headquartered in Irvine, California. Established in 2009, the company has made notable advancements in developing sustainable transportation solutions. It is widely recognized for its electric adventure vehicles: the R1T pickup and the R1S SUV. Rivian is dedicated to creating a positive shift in societal mobility and emphasizes sustainability, innovation, and adventure as part of its core values. Their mission is to keep the world adventurous forever - a testament to their commitment in transitioning the world to sustainable transportation. Rivian's achievements are numerous, with one of the most notable being securing a significant multi-billion dollar investment from Amazon for the production of electric delivery vans.

Industry

Automobile dealers

Company size

10,000+ Employees

Headquarters location

Irvine, CA, US

Year founded

2009