Senior​/Staff Engineer, Developer Productivity, 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.

We are looking for exceptional engineers who can operate at either a Senior or Staff level. In this pivotal role, you will build and optimize the foundational systems, tools, and processes that empower our self-driving vehicle engineers. Your work will directly accelerate our ability to rapidly iterate, innovate, and deliver safe, reliable autonomous technology. If you're passionate about leveraging cutting edge technology including AI to boost engineering efficiency and build robust, scalable infrastructure, we want to hear from you.

Senior Engineers are expected to be high-level individual contributors who own complex features from design to deployment, mentoring others and ensuring technical excellence within their domain.

Staff Engineers are expected to be "Force Multipliers." You will look across the entire Autonomy organization to identify systemic bottlenecks, define long-term technical roadmaps, and influence the strategy of multiple teams.

• Accelerate Engineering Velocity:
  Drive the design and implementation of advanced automation and processes that reduce manual effort and increase the quality and speed of our software development lifecycle.
• Bridge Engineering Worlds:
  Act as the primary technical liaison between specialized Autonomy groups (Perception, Planning, etc.) and central vehicle software Dev Ops teams, translating Autonomy-specific needs into actionable infrastructure requirements.
• Drive Developer Experience & System Reliability:
  Be an empathetic advocate for our engineers. Actively listen to their concerns, focus on unblocking them, and improve their quality of life while ensuring maximum uptime and performance of our development infrastructure.
• Innovate with AI:
  Champion and use our latest AI tools to rethink and enhance developer workflows and CI/CD pipelines, implementing solutions that push our team to be the most productive in the industry.
• Build the Future:
  Partner with product and research engineers to lay the technical foundations that bring new self-driving capabilities to the real world.

• A Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related technical field.
• 4+ years of experience (Sr.), or 6+ years (Staff), experience in a developer productivity, software infrastructure, or Dev Ops role, ideally within a complex domain like autonomous vehicles or robotics.
• Strong programming proficiency in one or more languages like Python, C++, Rust, Go or Java.
• Deep knowledge of build systems and tools (e.g., Bazel, CMake, Meson).
• A solid understanding of CI/CD principles and hands‑on experience with tools like Jenkins, Git Lab CI, or ArgoCD.
• Experience with containerization and orchestration technologies (e.g., Docker, Kubernetes).
• Familiarity with infrastructure‑as‑code tools (e.g., Terraform, Ansible).
• Excellent problem‑solving skills and the ability to troubleshoot complex distributed systems.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills.

• Experience with cloud platforms (e.g., AWS, GCP, Azure) and their services.
• Experience building and maintaining development tools for large engineering organizations.
• An understanding of machine learning workflows and MLOps.
• Familiarity with embedded systems, CPU architectures, cross compilation, and Hardware‑in‑the‑Loop (HIL) simulation.
• A genuine passion for autonomous driving technology and its potential to change the world.

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

Rivian provides robust medical/Rx,…