Staff Engineer, Perception: Systems

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.

This role will be part of the Perception Systems team within the larger perception group and f ocuses on the data-loop, triage and model evaluation processes necessary for deploying perception models towards Autonomy features.

In this role you will be responsible for driving root-cause analysis and of why the perception system is not performing as expected and writing software at the interfaces of the perception and overall autonomy stack. You offer deep system-level insights, first principles thinking and ability to dive deep to identify things that are not obvious to a single domain expert.

• Root-cause analysis: Investigating model performance issues with a system-level and sensor performance lens to identify the underlying reasons for failures or regressions. This includes developing software and tooling to streamline RCA, data analysis, and evaluation workflows.
• Identification of necessary data improvements: Analyzing data-loop processes and triage results to specify requirements for improved data collection, labeling, or augmentation to enhance model robustness.
• Establishing, reviewing, and maintaining evaluation metrics: Developing robust KPIs and metrics to identify and prevent future regressions from perception models, ensuring they meet the necessary performance bars for Autonomy features and implementing these in code.
• Cross-functional collaboration: Working closely with teams across the larger perception group and systems engineering to address technical challenges and standardize performance understanding.

• Bachelor's, Master's or PhD degree in Computer Science, Robotics, Electrical Engineering, or a related field.
• Demonstrated experience deploying autonomy in the real world including strong familiarity with machine learning in a production environment.
• Strong problem solving and coordination skills and an ability to operate effectively in a highly cross functional and fast paced environment.
• Strong cross-functional communication and coordination skills

Salary Range for California Based Applicants: $228,000 - $285,000 (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 overs 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 us.fitly.work .

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.