Staff Program Manager 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. 

Join us in creating the next generation of connected, software-driven vehicles that transform mobility. We’re looking for a systems-minded Program Manager with a passion for scaling design across platforms and brands.

You will be responsible for the development and execution of digital design programs across the Product Experience team spanning vehicle HMI, mobile app, and web with a focus on Design Systems and Platform Partnership programs. As the voice of the design function within cross-functional program teams, this role requires a high level of initiative, independent

judgment, the ability to connect complex dots, and strong leadership capability. You will drive planning, development, alignment, and launch execution for new vehicle programs, features, and platform partnership programs while working cross-functionally with Engineering, Product, and other key teams across Rivian as well as external partners. You will also maintain awareness of overall program deliverable status, proactively communicating risks and mitigation strategies, and balancing quality, scope, and delivery across a complex, multi-surface design organization.

• Work closely with all disciplines within the Product Experience team (UX research, interaction design, visual design, and design systems) to build out the design- development and integration schedule; drive this into vehicle-level and platform program schedules and highlight design timeline risks holistically.
• Work closely with design leads, Engineering, and Product to drive design development through the full product lifecycle; from concept and research through handoff, validation, launch, and post-launch iteration.
• Work with vehicle line program teams and cross-functional partners to drive critical path alignment and ensure synchronized design deliveries across vehicle HMI, mobile, and web surfaces.
• Oversee the operational health of the Design Systems team, driving prioritization, cross-team alignment, and systems adoption across vehicle, mobile, and web.
• Lead and facilitate design reviews with our leadership team and CDO, including driving resolution of integration issues and ensuring all pre-launch design milestones are met to effectively support vehicle and software releases.
• Coordinate and co-present feature and program status during weekly, monthly, and quarterly leadership and executive reviews.
• Identify meaningful program success metrics and own deliverable status reporting at weekly reviews; gather and communicate departmental design status for program milestones and executive reviews.
• Champion issue resolution and actively remove roadblocks while keeping design programs moving and escalating strategically when needed.
• Work in close proximity to Vehicle Line leads, Product, Engineering, and Marketing to cascade design status, risks, and critical paths bi-directionally across teams.
• Lead platform partnership programs end-to-end, managing both internal design coordination and direct external partner relationships while ensuring Rivian's design standards and brand integrity are maintained throughout.
• Develop and evolve the processes, tools, and frameworks the Product Experience team runs on, from intake and planning to design-to-development handoff and retrospectives.
• Lead resource planning activities by assessing project scope and design capacity to align on workload commitments and timing.
• Budget forecasting and purchase management including quoting, PO generation, and vendor contracts and onboarding.

• 6+ years of experience on a program or project management team, or equivalent experience within a design or product organization.
• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience; background in design, UX, product management, start-ups, or a related field preferred.
• Experience driving design programs through a full product lifecycle, from early concept through launch within a hardware-software integrated product environment.
• Strong communication skills across both design and non-design domains; equally comfortable in a design critique and an executive program review.
• Outstanding cross-functional collaboration capabilities within and across organizations.
• Familiarity with design systems, UX research processes, interaction design, and visual design principles; enough to understand dependencies, scope, and quality standards.
• Experience with platform partnership programs, co-development engagements, or external vendor/agency management in a design or product context.
• Passion for working on ambiguous problems and developing new frameworks for collaboration and execution.
• Proficiency with Jira, Confluence, Figma, the Google Suite, and AI tools such as Gemini and Claude.
• Comfort navigating design files and understanding design-to-development handoff workflows.
• Automotive, mobility, or consumer hardware-software experience is a strong plus.

The salary range for this role is $167,400 - $221,870 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. 

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.

• 6+ years of experience on a program or project management team, or equivalent experience within a design or product organization.
• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience; background in design, UX, product management, start-ups, or a related field preferred.
• Experience driving design programs through a full product lifecycle, from early concept through launch within a hardware-software integrated product environment.
• Strong communication skills across both design and non-design domains; equally comfortable in a design critique and an executive program review.
• Outstanding cross-functional collaboration capabilities within and across organizations.
• Familiarity with design systems, UX research processes, interaction design, and visual design principles; enough to understand dependencies, scope, and quality standards.
• Experience with platform partnership programs, co-development engagements, or external vendor/agency management in a design or product context.
• Passion for working on ambiguous problems and developing new frameworks for collaboration and execution.
• Proficiency with Jira, Confluence, Figma, the Google Suite, and AI tools such as Gemini and Claude.
• Comfort navigating design files and understanding design-to-development handoff workflows.
• Automotive, mobility, or consumer hardware-software experience is a strong plus.