Telecom Operations Manager Jobs in Pontiac, MI (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 Indirect Procurement team is seeking a highly motivated, independent, and exceptional IT Senior Global Supply Manager to support Rivian’s mission of bringing innovative products to life. This role is responsible for managing the IT Software category for Product Development, Engineering, and Manufacturing.

The Senior Global Supply Manager (IT Software) will oversee all commercial aspects of new business awards and renewals, present contract award recommendations to senior leadership, negotiate software licensing cost & agreements, and build strong partnerships with both suppliers and internal stakeholders. The role will also be responsible for managing strategic suppliers by establishing and leading quarterly business reviews to ensure ongoing alignment, performance, and value delivery.

This position requires conducting spend analysis, collaborating with cross-functional teams to assess software performance, and ensuring suppliers meet Rivian’s cost, quality, and timeline objectives. The successful candidate will own the end-to-end sourcing process, driving both operational excellence and strategic supplier engagement. This role reports to the Sr. Manager of IT Software, Hardware and Telecom  within the Indirect Procurement organization onsite in Irvine, Palo Alto, Plymouth, or Normal.

• Sourcing: Concurrently lead projects with medium to large vehicle spend for IT Software, supporting the execution of a multi-generational vehicle strategy. Drive the competitive bid process and lead manager-level reviews with leadership oversight. Deep understanding of the strategic sourcing (7-step) process and end-to-end Sourcing-to-Pay (S2P) best practices.

• Systems & Process: Effectively use supply chain systems to support business needs, including placing RFI/RFPs and purchase orders timely and accurately. Proactively identify and provide feedback on system functionality to drive process improvement.

• Technical Understanding: Lead supplier prospecting and drive a commodity strategy that supports the vehicle program. Monitor economic, political, and technology landscapes with some direction to prevent risks.

• Negotiations: Negotiate most commercial terms and LTAs with some legal involvement. Develop financial baseline costs to quantify value propositions and drive targeted negotiation strategies. Demonstrated expertise in negotiating software licensing agreements (on-prem & SaaS) in accordance with industry standards.

• Supplier Management: Build and maintain relationships with Strategic Suppliers. Maintain a basic understanding of the sub-supplier footprint and raw material drivers for your assigned commodity.

• Stakeholder Management: Collaborate with cross-functional stakeholders while managing expectations. Inform appropriate teams to provide detailed forecasting and costs that support long-term plans.

• Project Management & Risk Mitigation: Lead small-scale projects with autonomy and limited management support. Identify and mitigate low-complexity risks in a timely manner and provide proposals for resolution.

• Education and Experience: Bachelor’s degree in Business, Supply Chain, or Engineering and a minimum of 3 years of indirect procurement experience.

• Domain Expertise: Specific negotiation and technical experience for the assigned commodity, with automotive industry experience preferred, along with an understanding of cost estimation models to identify risk. 

• Commodity-Specific Experience: 

  • 3+ years of relevant Information Technology (IT) related software licensing experience

  • Previous ERP systems and purchase order processing experience – Coupa preferred

  • Previous Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) system experience – Ironclad preferred

• Technical Skills: Proficient in SAP, Coupa and AI tools to compliment and improve work output. 

• Communication: Professional interpersonal and presentation skills; ability to defuse conflicts and provide feedback to peers.

• Execution: Ability to work on problems of diverse scope, evaluating identifiable factors to find solutions and exercising good judgment.

• Operational Style: Comfortable receiving general instructions on new assignments and managing day-to-day work with independence.

The salary range for this role is $98,500 - $123,100 for Michigan and Illinois based applicants, $107,800 - $134,800 for Irvine, California based applicants, and  $117,200 - $146,500 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.

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 July 24, 2026. 

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 and Experience: Bachelor’s degree in Business, Supply Chain, or Engineering and a minimum of 3 years of indirect procurement experience.

• Domain Expertise: Specific negotiation and technical experience for the assigned commodity, with automotive industry experience preferred, along with an understanding of cost estimation models to identify risk. 

• Commodity-Specific Experience: 

  • 3+ years of relevant Information Technology (IT) related software licensing experience

  • Previous ERP systems and purchase order processing experience – Coupa preferred

  • Previous Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) system experience – Ironclad preferred

• Technical Skills: Proficient in SAP, Coupa and AI tools to compliment and improve work output. 

• Communication: Professional interpersonal and presentation skills; ability to defuse conflicts and provide feedback to peers.

• Execution: Ability to work on problems of diverse scope, evaluating identifiable factors to find solutions and exercising good judgment.

• Operational Style: Comfortable receiving general instructions on new assignments and managing day-to-day work with independence.