Manager, Operational Excellence & Parts Distribution

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. 

As the Manager, Operational Excellence, you will lead operational excellence initiatives across Rivian’s Parts Distribution Center network with a focus on standardization, process adherence, training effectiveness, quality improvement, and continuous improvement execution. This role will partner closely with PDC Operations, Quality, Planning, and cross-functional support teams to identify performance gaps, build sustainable countermeasures, and improve how work is documented, trained, measured, and executed.

The Manager, Operational Excellence will be responsible for driving adoption of standardized operating methods across the network, including playbook content, Standard Work Sheets (SWS), training tools, process audits, and structured change management. This role will also help ensure operational priorities are translated into clear actions, owned by the right teams, and tracked through consistent review mechanisms.

• Lead the operational excellence roadmap across the PDC network, ensuring priorities are aligned to safety, quality, delivery, productivity, and cost objectives.
• Partner with site leadership to identify process gaps, standardization opportunities, and execution risks across inbound, outbound, inventory, quality, repack, and special process areas.
• Own the development, review, enhancement, and rollout of standardized operating documentation, including playbook content, SWS, training aids, process visuals, and audit tools.
• Drive consistent implementation of standard work across sites by establishing clear governance for updates, communication, training, and adoption follow-up.
• Lead continuous improvement initiatives and kaizen follow-up activities, ensuring actions move from idea stage through implementation and sustainment.
• Build and maintain a structured operating cadence to review operational performance, audit findings, open gaps, and corrective actions with site and functional leaders.
• Partner with Quality and Operations teams to strengthen root cause problem solving, process confirmation, and countermeasure implementation for recurring operational issues.
• Support development of the PDC Distribution Jira board and related workflow so operational excellence work is visible, prioritized, assigned, and tracked in a consistent manner.
• Ensure the network has effective change management practices for new processes, revised standards, pilot launches, and cross-site rollouts.
• Coach and develop team members while fostering a culture of accountability, problem solving, and continuous improvement.

• Bachelor’s degree preferred, or equivalent practical experience in supply chain, operations, engineering, business, or a related field.
• 5+ years of experience in distribution, warehouse operations, operational excellence, continuous improvement, quality, or supply chain roles.
• 2+ years of people leadership or equivalent experience leading cross-functional initiatives and influencing teams in a matrixed environment.
• Strong knowledge of warehouse and distribution operations, including process standardization, training systems, quality controls, and operational performance management.
• Demonstrated experience building or improving standard work, process documentation, training content, and operational governance routines.
• Experience leading continuous improvement initiatives using structured problem-solving methods such as root cause analysis, kaizen, Lean, or similar approaches.
• Ability to work cross-functionally with operations, planning, quality, engineering, and business teams to translate high-level needs into practical execution plans.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to create clear expectations, drive alignment, and communicate effectively across multiple levels of the organization.
• Experience using digital tools to manage work, document standards, and track actions; experience with Jira, Confluence, SAP, and Google Workspace preferred.
• Strong organizational and project management skills, including the ability to manage multiple initiatives simultaneously in a fast-paced environment.
• Willingness to travel as needed to support PDC network standardization, implementation, and audit activity.

The salary range for this role is $102,300 to $135,580 based Michigan applicants.

The salary range for this role is $107,200 to $142,040 based Texas  applicants.

The salary range for this role is $112,100 to $148,500 based New Jersey  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.

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 August 3, 2026.

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.