Staff Software Engineer, Viz & Sim Applications, Autonomy

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

We are seeking a Staff Software Engineer to serve as our subject matter expert in high-performance browser-based rendering. You will be the architect behind our next-generation visualization platform, pushing the boundaries of what is possible in a web browser. In this role, you will take ownership of our 3D rendering engine-a customized fork of Foxglove Studio based on Three.js-to visualize petabytes of complex sensor data. You will be obsessed with frame rates and memory management, enabling us to stream and render million-point dynamic point clouds and fused camera feeds at a smooth 60 FPS. Your work will directly empower our engineers to analyze autonomous behaviors with precision and speed.


Responsibilities

• Core Rendering Engine Development: Lead the architectural evolution of our web-based 3D visualization platform (Three.js/WebGL). Dive deep into the rendering loop to eliminate bottlenecks and ensure consistent 60 FPS performance. High-Performance Streaming: Design and implement efficient pipelines using WebWorkers, WebAssembly, and related technologies to decode and render high volume streaming datasets (LiDAR point clouds, radar, cameras, semantic scene understanding) in real-time without blocking the main thread
• Shader Development: Write and optimize custom GLSL/WGSL shaders to support new renderable types and visual effects
• Advanced Visualization Techniques: Implement complex visualization features, such as Birds-Eye-View (BEV) fused camera projections, volumetric rendering, and temporal data alignment
• Technical Leadership: Serve as a source of knowledge for 3D graphics within the team. Mentor other engineers, establish best practices for graphics programming, and drive the adoption of next-generation web standards
• Tooling & Infrastructure: Use modern profiling tools to monitor rendering performance and memory usage
• Collaboration: Partner closely with Product Managers, UX Designers, and Autonomy Engineers to define requirements for immersive, reactive data tools that define the industry standard for autonomy visualization

Qualifications

• Bachelor's or Master's in Computer Science, Computer Graphics, or related field
• 8+ years of relevant industry experience (or equivalent)
• Deep understanding of the graphics pipeline, 3D mathematics (linear algebra, matrices, quaternions), and GPU architecture. Proven experience writing raw GLSL or WGSL shaders
• Web Technologies: Expert-level proficiency in TypeScript and React. Mastery of browser APIs including WebGL/WebGPU, WebWorkers, and OffscreenCanvas
• Extensive experience with web-based 3D engines (e.g., Three.js, Babylon.js). You don't just use the library; you understand its internals and can patch it when necessary
• Performance Engineering: A track record of optimizing high-throughput data applications. Experience using WASM (WebAssembly) with C++ or Rust to accelerate compute-heavy tasks in the browser

Preferred Qualifications:

• Familiarity with robotics data structures (Point Clouds, Transformations/TF) and formats like MCAP or ROS bags. Experience with video encoding/decoding standards (H.264/H.265) and the WebCodecs API

Pay Disclosure

Salary Range for California Based Applicants: $206,500.00 - $258,100.00 (actual compensation will be determined based on experience, location, and other factors permitted by law).

Benefits Summary: Rivian provides robust medical/Rx, dental and vision insurance packages for full-time employees, their spouse or domestic partner, and children up to age 26. Coverage is effective on the first day of employment, and Rivian covers most of the premiums.

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 View email address on click.appcast.io.

Candidate Data Privacy

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.


Please note that we are currently not accepting applications from third party application services.