Staff Technical Program Manager, Autonomy

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 Autonomy TPM team plays a key role in driving the most important initiatives within the Autonomy organization at Rivian. If you are looking for a team that just takes notes or is just a scrum master, this is not it. We are here to execute cross-functional projects that a) require tight coordination and dependencies, involving everything from sense and compute HW, Perception & Pose (heavily reliant on ML), Planning & Controls, Infrastructure & Simulation (critical for ML model training/validation), Systems Definition, Integration & Triage, etc., and b) need to be delivered in order to build a great Autonomy product.

• Lead programs consisting of cutting edge technology projects, particularly ones that intersect with hardware, software, and regulatory constraints.
• Exercise strong ownership over programs they lead, including diving into the technical details to drive smooth execution and briefing the VP of Autonomy & AI on progress and risks.
• Drive pragmatic decisions and tradeoffs to maximize probability of hitting critical timelines, considering factors unique to ML projects such as model iteration speed, data annotation pipelines, and compute resource allocation.
• Manage ambiguity by presenting options with a clear point of view for leadership, particularly concerning feature readiness, evaluation metrics, and performance trade-offs.
• Understand the role of TPM as an insider/outsider, someone who drives accountability through influence and soft power rather than hard power and authority.
• Mentor other TPMs on the team and help them grow their craft as TPMs, sharing expertise in managing ML-centric technical programs.

• Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science, Data Science, Engineering, or equivalent experience, with a strong foundation in areas relevant to AI/ML.
• Experience in Technical Program Management on deep tech products or equivalent, specifically managing programs involving AI/ML components and data pipelines.
• Hands on experience with ML-based products including evaluation with metrics driven analysis. 
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to effectively communicate to external partner organizations to drive shared outcomes for Rivian, especially when collaborating on data sharing, model deployment, or platform integration related to AI/ML.

Bonus Qualifications 

• Experience with Autonomy systems, Robotaxis, and/or Robotics, particularly involving the integration and management of complex AI/ML models.
• ML development in resource-constrained environments, demonstrating an understanding of the practical challenges of deploying ML on automotive-grade hardware.
• You enjoy prototyping random side projects in your spare time, ideally related to AI/ML or robotics.

The salary range for this role is $186,000-$232,500 for San Francisco Bay Area 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.

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  View email address on ev.careers .

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.