Senior Lead, Perception Onboard Robotics Software

About Rivian

Rivianis 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 Perception Onboard Robotics Software Lead will direct the development of our deterministic, non-machine-learning onboard software layer. In this role, you will lead the engineering efforts responsible for the vital algorithmic software that augments our core machine learning models onboard. You will ensure this high-performance codebase provides critical safety guardrails, monitors model performance, and powers essential platform capabilities—for example, real-time safety functions or visualization displays.

This position includes leading a team of individual contributors and defining the architecture for our real-time runtime environment.

• Lead the architecture, development, and optimization of deterministic onboard perception software, drawing on core robotics disciplines such as state estimation, multi-target tracking, or sensor fusion.

• Design and implement safety guardrails and runtime monitoring systems to validate and bound machine learning model outputs.

• Develop highly performant software to support critical system capabilities not covered by machine learning models, for example, active safety layers or real-time human-machine interface (HMI) displays.

• Enforce rigorous software engineering standards, focusing on execution speed, minimal memory footprint, deterministic behavior, and comprehensive automated testing.

• Recruit, mentor, and manage a team of robotics software engineers, establishing clear technical direction and driving execution.

• Collaborate closely with machine learning and systems architecture teams to seamlessly integrate classical robotics software with deep learning pipelines.

• Bachelor's, Master's, or PhD in Robotics, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related technical discipline.

• Extensive experience developing production-grade onboard software for autonomous vehicles, robotics, or aerospace systems.

• Deep theoretical and practical knowledge of classical robotics concepts—for example, spatial reasoning, state estimation, object tracking, or geometric computer vision.

• Expert-level proficiency in C++ with a strong focus on real-time constraints, execution speed, memory management, and concurrency.

• Proven track record of delivering deterministic, safety-critical software architectures that meet stringent latency and reliability requirements.

• Experience designing software-based safety monitors, fault-detection systems, or validation guardrails for complex runtime environments.

• Demonstrated experience leading, managing, or mentoring software and robotics engineering teams.

• Strong cross-functional communication and coordination skills, with the ability to bridge the gap between classical robotics approaches and modern machine learning paradigms.

The salary range for this role is $,300 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…