Sr. Technical Program Manager, Battery Pack and Cell

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.

As a Sr. Technical Program Manager, Battery Pack and Cell within Rivian’s ESS (Energy Storage Systems) organization, you will serve as a technical driver and cross-functional orchestrator. This role bridges the gap between cell electrochemical development and high-voltage pack system integration.

In this role, you will drive the high-voltage battery pack program through the Development Process. You will dive deep into technical details—including mechanical, thermal, electrical, software, and safety systems—to manage tradeoffs, enforce design rigor, and drive the program from initial concept to serial production, coordinating cross-functional engineering teams and ensuring adherence to engineering quality standards like DFMEA, DVP&R, and functional safety.

Along with the pack, you manage cell engineering budgets, equipment, validation timelines, and supplier relationships, ensuring critical milestones are met

• Program Delivery & Lifecycle Execution
  • Own the high-voltage battery pack and cell program through the development process, managing program gates across all phases—from Architecture & Concept Feasibility to Serial Production and Launch.
  • Develop and integrate Cell and Pack engineering timelines into the overall vehicle program, ensuring all development milestones, design releases, prototype builds (Mule, Pre-Production, Pilot), and testing checkpoints are met.
  • Define battery checkpoint deliverables in detail and plan resources to achieve milestone targets.
• Design & Engineering Excellence
  • Ensure Cell Programs Deliver to Requirements
    • Collaborate with Rivian Vehicle Program, ESS Systems, and other stakeholders to define formal cell requirements
    • Ensure requirements are communicated/flowed down to internal Cell engineering or external vendor
    • Manage iterations of cell chemistry, form factor and electrochemical performance qualification, assessing trade-offs against program requirements
  • Early lead in advanced development. Work with the design team to identify key technologies to pursue and present opportunities and risks to leadership. Own the technology roadmap.
  • Support overall pack/module layout design in collaboration with cross-functional teams (Mechanical, Thermal, Electrical, Systems, Manufacturing, Service, Cell).
  • Coordinate Design and Release Engineers (DREs) to ensure production release plans are executed; manage cost/weight/part/design data releases into the formal system to prevent late releases.
  • Ensure all engineering documentation is coordinated to milestones, including Requirements, DFMEAs, DVP&R, and Functional Safety.
  • Issue tracking and corrective action implementations using JIRA, Confluence, Enovia and other applicable tools
  • Collaborate with Inventory Control and Launch to make sure the correct parts are ready for the build.
• Cross-Functional & Vendor Management
  • Orchestrate alignment between Engineering (Cell, ESS, BMS, T&V, Design), Supply Chain, Quality, Manufacturing Engineering, Vehicle Integration, and Finance.
  • Develop and manage relationships with cell/pack suppliers; establish regular Product Development Team (PDT) meetings to review progress and ensure vendors remain on track.
  • Manage open issues lists (OIL) with vendors and collaborate with…