Digital Workplace Operations Lead

About Us

Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies is a joint venture between two industry leaders with a clear vision for automotive’s next chapter. From operating systems to zonal controllers to cloud and connectivity solutions, we’re addressing the challenges of electric vehicles through technology that will set the standards for software-defined vehicles around the world.

The road to the future is uncharted. By combining our expertise across connectivity, AI, security and more, we’ll map a new way forward. Working together, we’ll create a future that’s more connected, more intelligent, more sustainable for everyone.

We are seeking a Digital Workplace Operations Lead to be the operational and technical anchor for a team that owns the platforms the entire company works on — Google Workspace, Atlassian (Jira/Confluence), Slack, Zoom, AV, AI tooling, and the security, licensing, and custom solutions that surround them. This role balances delivery ownership, process discipline, and hands‑on technical judgment. You will lead a mixed team of engineers and program/project managers, own the operating cadence, and act as the senior point of contact for key stakeholders who expect a direct, accountable owner rather than a hand‑off.

You’ll partner closely with senior leadership to drive clarity, alignment, and impact across the organization while also acting as a key external‑facing representative of the business. This role reports directly to the Sr. Manager, Digital Workplace and is 3 days flex a week in our Irvine, California office.

• Delivery Ownership — Own end‑to‑end delivery across two lanes of work: roadmap‑driven platform programs (sprints and milestone delivery) and operational service engineering covering run‑the‑business support, fast‑turn business requests, and SLA‑bound incident and request work.
• Operating Rhythm — Run the team’s weekly operating cadence — sprint planning, standups, priority and PM syncs — and keep cross‑squad dependencies visible and unblocked.
• Stakeholder Management — Serve as the senior technical and operational point of contact for key stakeholders, providing direct ownership and continuity on commitments.
• Program Delivery — Drive delivery on critical migration and platform programs (e.g., Service Now → JSM, Google decoupling, Microsoft tenant migration, app rationalization), partnering with program/project managers on scope, timeline, and risk.
• Operational Hygiene — Set and enforce operational discipline across the platforms we own — change review before production changes, documentation standards, and ownership clarity across every squad.
• Problem Management — Establish a problem‑management mindset: identify recurring platform issues, trigger root‑cause analysis, and ensure permanent fixes rather than repeat firefighting.
• Team Leadership and Development — Lead, mentor, and develop engineers and PMs. Create clear ownership and accountability so work doesn’t route back through a single point of escalation.
• Reporting and Analysis — Own platform reliability and performance reporting — SLA adherence, backlog health, incident and request trends — and report regularly to leadership.
• Security and Compliance — Partner with the Security & Compliance function to ensure platforms meet governance, audit, and identity/SSO requirements.
• Automation and Self‑Service — Drive automation and self‑service across collaboration and productivity workflows to reduce manual operational load.
• Licensing and Vendor Management — Support licensing optimization and vendor performance, ensuring contracted outcomes and SLAs are met.
• Roadmap Contribution — Contribute to the Digital Workplace roadmap and continuous‑improvement initiatives as an active voice on platform direction.

• Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field (or equivalent experience).
• 7+ years in IT engineering, platform operations, or digital workplace/collaboration engineering, with 2+ years leading people or owning delivery for a team.
• Hands‑on depth in one or more core collaboration platforms — Google Workspace, Atlassian (Jira/Confluence), Slack, or Zoom…