Welding Assistant Jobs in Normal, IL (NOW HIRING)

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 the MES Technical Project Manager, you will support the orchestration and execution of Manufacturing Execution System (MES) initiatives across Rivian's production lines. You will be a key coordination point for the deployment of MARS (Manufacturing Automation & Reporting System), SpinalX, and FTPC Rockwell, helping ensure that project timelines are met and that technical requirements are clearly understood and aligned between Software Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, and the Shop Floor. You will leverage strong soft skills to facilitate conversations, manage documentation, and lead focused meetings with cross-functional teams and business leaders in a high-stakes manufacturing environment. This role contributes to maintaining the "digital brain" of our factory as we scale production for the R1 and R2 platforms. This role will be located in Normal, IL and report to our MES Systems Integration Manager.
Responsibilities
Project Planning & Execution
• Deployment Support: Assist in developing and maintaining detailed project plans for MES rollouts across specific shops (Body, Paint, GA, Battery, Drive Unit, and EOL), ensuring tasks, owners, and timelines are clearly documented.
• Downtime Coordination: Help coordinate the "2-hour downtime windows" and "buffer days" for system validations and PROD pushes, supporting zero impact to production throughput.
• Milestone Tracking: Track project health and prepare concise, bi-weekly updates on line readiness, BOP (Bill of Process) enrichments, and technical blockers for leadership review.
• Documentation Management: Create, organize, and maintain project documentation, including implementation plans, runbooks, change logs, post-deployment summaries and end user facing support documentation.
Cross-Functional Coordination
• Align Stakeholders (Rivian Internal): Coordinate between PLC/Automation teams and Software Engineering to surface and resolve data mismatches (e.g., Joining Matrix Weld IDs vs. Robot Programs), reducing late-discovered issues and rework through well documented decisions.
• Synchronize BOP & Line Changes: Partner with Manufacturing Engineers (ME) to keep digital BOP enrichments and system line rebalances aligned with physical shop floor changes, minimizing disruption to throughput and operator workflows.
• Manage Vendor Deliverables: Track and drive deliverables from external partners, including Rockwell Automation, to ensure on-time delivery against Rivian's technical standards and integration requirements.
• Partner on Program Governance: Work closely with the Staff Program Manager to align on processes, templates, and governance so that project management, communication, and documentation standards are consistently followed across MES initiatives.
• Lead Cross-Functional Meetings: Plan, facilitate, and document recurring meetings (e.g., status reviews, issue triage, go/no-go meetings) with cross-functional teams and business leaders, driving clear agendas, decisions, and accountable action items.
Validation & Quality Assurance
• Testing Lifecycle Support: Coordinate planning activities for pre-deployment application testing and post-deployment validation cycles, ensuring test plans, outcomes, and defects are clearly recorded.
• Issue Tracking: Help manage the Level 3 escalation ticket queue by documenting issues, priorities, and owners, and following up with integration engineering teams to drive resolution of technical debt and system bugs.
• Reporting & Dashboards: Maintain and update dashboards and summary reports that reflect system health, deployment progress, and performance metrics across the R1 and R2 platforms, making them accessible to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
Continuous Improvement
• Process Standardization: Assist in documenting and continuously improving standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the 'Square Group' model to ensure consistent support and handoffs across all shifts.
• Knowledge Management: Develop and maintain clear, versioned documentation for MES workflows, standard work, incident response, and lessons learned to support onboarding and ongoing operations.
• Resource Planning Support: Support the MSI Manager in tracking contingent worker (CW) assignments and onboarding new team members for Shopify or site-specific initiatives, ensuring role expectations and processes are well-documented.
Qualifications
• Education: Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Business, Project Management, or a related technical field; or equivalent practical experience.
• Experience: 2-3+ years of experience in project coordination or project management within a manufacturing, automation, or high-tech environment.
• Technical Knowledge:
o Familiarity with MES systems and their role in automotive or high-volume manufacturing.
o Understanding of Agile or Waterfall project management methodologies.
o Experience with project management and collaboration tools (e.g., Jira, Confluence, Smartsheet).
• Soft Skills & Communication:
o Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to build trust quickly with operators, engineers, and leaders across shifts.
o Demonstrated ability to manage conflict on the shop floor, keeping discussions focused on facts, safety, and solutions when priorities between operations, engineering, and vendors collide.
o Executive-ready communication skills, with the ability to translate complex MES and automation issues into clear, concise updates and recommendations for senior leaders.
o Proven ability to influence without formal authority, driving alignment and follow-through from cross-functional teams and external partners.
o Strong facilitation skills: runs focused meetings with clear agendas, drives decisions, and ensures owners and due dates are captured and followed through.
o Remains calm and structured in high-pressure or line-down scenarios, providing clarity on status, risks, and next steps.
• Documentation & Organization:
o Demonstrated ability to create, manage, and maintain high-quality technical and process documentation (e.g., SOPs, playbooks, runbooks, test plans, meeting notes).
o Strong organizational skills with attention to detail in tracking action items, decisions, and follow-ups.
• Problem Solving:
o Proactive mindset with the ability to identify systemic issues and patterns in escalations, propose process or tooling improvements, and drive follow-through with appropriate teams.
Pay Disclosure
The salary range for this role is $71,000 - $88,800 for Illinois 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.