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. Role Summary We are seeking an experienced people leader and embedded software expert to lead the development of state-of-the-art sensor systems for next-generation autonomy. As Sr. Manager, Autonomy Embedded Software, you will be responsible for building and leading a high-performing team that delivers the complete embedded software stack for innovative Radar sensing products—from early hardware/software co-design through production deployment. You will set the technical direction, define and execute the organization’s roadmap, and ensure delivery of robust, scalable, and maintainable software across application layers, middleware, RTOS, Linux, and low-level device drivers. You will partner closely with hardware, systems, validation, safety, cybersecurity, and autonomy teams to deliver reliable automotive products with a high level of quality and urgency. Responsibilities Build, lead, and develop a team of embedded software engineers; establish team structure, hiring plans, goals, and operating mechanisms. Define the software strategy, architecture, roadmap, and execution plan for Radar and other autonomy sensing platforms. Own delivery of the embedded software lifecycle, including requirements, architecture, implementation, integration, verification, validation, release, and production support. Provide technical leadership across bare-metal, RTOS, and Linux software stacks, from application and middleware layers to board support packages and device drivers. Guide development of platform capabilities including bootloaders, PTP time synchronization, cybersecurity, functional safety, diagnostics, and update mechanisms. Partner with hardware and software architects on next-generation platforms, SoC selection, hardware/software partitioning, interface definition, and early prototypes. Establish clear milestones, resource plans, priorities, and dependencies; proactively manage technical risks and remove execution roadblocks. Drive engineering excellence through effective development processes, design reviews, coding standards, automated testing, continuous integration, and disciplined release practices. Ensure the team delivers high-quality software for board bring-up, verification, validation, and debugging of automotive electronics. Oversee system-level troubleshooting across the firmware, hardware, test, and application stack; ensure root cause is identified and corrective actions are implemented quickly. Maintain sufficient technical depth to review designs, guide complex debugging, and make timely tradeoffs involving performance, reliability, safety, cost, and schedule. Collaborate across multiple disciplines to resolve complex problems and align deliverables with broader autonomy and vehicle program objectives. Communicate plans, status, risks, and decisions crisply to peers, stakeholders, customers, technical leaders, OEMs, ODMs, and external vendors. Represent the embedded software organization in program reviews and influence platform-level decisions across the company. Foster a culture of ownership, inclusion, continuous learning, accountability, and high-quality execution. Qualifications Master’s or Doctorate degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related field. 10+ years of professional experience developing embedded software on microcontrollers or SoCs in automotive, industrial, or other safety- and reliability-critical domains. 3+ years of experience leading and developing software engineering teams, including hiring, performance management, coaching, and organizational planning. Proven experience delivering embedded software products from concept and hardware bring-up through production release. Strong programming skills in C for embedded systems; working knowledge of Python for tooling, scripting, test automation, or data analysis. Solid understanding of RTOS fundamentals, including tasks, scheduling, interrupts, synchronization, memory management, and real-time performance. Experience bringing up or configuring RTOS-based platforms and developing software across bare-metal, RTOS, and Linux environments. Hands-on experience with board bring-up and low-level drivers for peripherals such as SPI, I2C, UART, CAN, Ethernet, GPIO, timers, ADC/DAC, and external memories. Proficiency with embedded debugging tools such as JTAG/SWD, Lauterbach or similar tools, in-circuit debuggers, and flashing tools; familiarity with laboratory equipment including oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, multimeters, and power supplies. Demonstrated ability to lead the diagnosis of complex system issues spanning firmware, hardware, and interactions with test or application software. Strong understanding of software architecture, platform/BSP development, hardware abstraction layers, and embedded product integration. Proven track record of cross-functional collaboration and clear, concise communication with architects, design engineers, validation teams, program teams, and external partners. Ability to make sound decisions in a fast-paced environment, balance competing priorities, and deliver results with efficiency and urgency. Preferred Skills Experience developing software for automotive ECUs or advanced driver assistance and autonomy systems. Experience with MCU-based ECU platforms, including clocking, BSPs, device configuration, hardware abstraction layers, and boot flows. Experience with automotive functional safety, cybersecurity, diagnostics, and related engineering processes. Experience working with sensors, radar systems, gate drivers, or other automotive electronic components. Experience leading multi-team initiatives across hardware, embedded software, systems, validation, and manufacturing. Experience managing external suppliers, OEM/ODM relationships, or distributed engineering teams. Demonstrated ability to recruit, retain, and grow high-performing engineering talent. Experience with software development infrastructure, automated validation, continuous integration, and production-quality release processes. Pay Disclosure The salary range for this role is $237,000.00 - $296,000.00 for California 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. The successful candidate may be eligible for annual performance bonus and equity awards. 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 10/21/2026. 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
[email protected]. Candidate Data Privacy and Technology 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. How We Use AI in Our Hiring Process: To ensure transparency, we want candidates to know that Rivian uses iCIMS Talent Cloud Artificial Intelligence (TCAI) and AI-enabled tools to assist with screening, reviewing, organizing and highlighting profiles and applications that match the key requirements for each role. AI does not make hiring decisions: Qualified candidate applications are reviewed by a member of our team, and all decisions throughout the process are made by humans. We use AI to support efficiency and consistency, not to replace human judgment. We are committed to a fair, thoughtful, and equitable experience for every candidate. Participation in AI profile matching is entirely voluntary. If you prefer that your profile not be used in this process, you can opt out at any time. Opting out means your profile will be excluded from automated matching and will not be surfaced for additional roles through this system. Your current application remains active and will not be affected in any way. Please note that we are currently not accepting applications from third party application services.