Staff Software Engineer, Data, Autonomy

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.

The Autonomy organization at Rivian is seeking a highly skilled and hands-on Staff Data Engineer to join our Cloud and Data team. This role is ideal for an experienced engineer who thrives at the intersection of data architecture, distributed systems, and scalable engineering. You will be responsible for architecting and implementing robust data gateway solutions and pipelines between vehicle systems and cloud infrastructure. This role combines deep expertise in distributed systems architecture with data engineering, requiring you to design high-performance gateways that reliably handle millions of telemetry data points per second, while building end-to-end data pipelines that support analytics, ML, and operational systems. You will partner with Vehicle Telemetry Virtual Module (TVM) and connectivity teams to ensure seamless, scalable, and reliable data integration at fleet scale

*Design and build high-performance data gateways that reliably ingest telemetry from

vehicle fleets at massive scale (50k+ events/sec), with sub-second latencies and

automatic failover capabilities

*Develop end-to-end data pipelines for ingestion, transformation, and delivery of vehicle

telemetry, supporting multiple downstream consumers (analytics, ML, real-time

dashboards, operational systems)

* Collaborate with Vehicle Telemetry Virtual Module (TVM) teams to define data schemas,

streaming protocols, and API contracts that enable efficient vehicle-to-cloud data flow

* Partner with connectivity teams to optimize gateway performance across diverse

network conditions (cellular, WiFi, satellite) and ensure resilience to interruptions and

packet loss

* Establish data quality frameworks with automated validation, anomaly detection, and

reconciliation processes to ensure data accuracy and completeness

* Build horizontally scalable systems using containerization and orchestration technologies

(Kubernetes, cloud-native services) to handle fleet growth

* Implement comprehensive monitoring, observability, and alerting for gateway and

pipeline health, including data freshness, latency, and error tracking

* Streamline and consolidate fragmented GitLab CI/CD pipelines across teams,

establishing unified build, test, and deployment standards

* Consolidate cloud and on-board repositories into a unified, well-organized structure with

clear governance policies and cross-repository deployment automation

* Mentor engineers on distributed systems best practices, data pipeline design patterns,

and gateway architecture principles

*Lead technical design reviews and establish operational runbooks to ensure system reliability and team knowledge sharing

* Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical

field

* 10+ years of software engineering experience with 5+ years in data platform or

infrastructure roles

* Proven track record designing and scaling data ingestion/streaming systems handling

high throughput

* Deep expertise with distributed systems, event-driven architectures, and streaming

platforms (Kafka, Kinesis, etc.)

* Strong background in data engineering (ETL/ELT design, data modeling, pipeline

orchestration)

* Proficiency in backend languages (Go, Java, Python, Rust) and cloud platforms (AWS,

GCP, Azure)

* Experience with containerization (Docker, Kubernetes) and GitLab CI/CD pipelines

* Expert-level knowledge of networking, protocols, and connectivity challenges

* Experience with automotive, IoT, or connected device platforms

* Background with vehicle data systems, telematics, or fleet management

* Familiarity with stream processing and real-time analytics platforms (Apache Flink, Spark

Streaming, Apache Pinot/StarTree)

* Experience with data validation and observability tools (Prometheus, Grafana, Datadog)

* Background in repository migration and GitLab administration

* System design and architecture thinking

* Cross-functional collaboration and technical leadership

* Problem-solving and debugging in complex distributed systems

* Communication of complex technical concepts to diverse audiences

* Ownership mentality and accountability for system reliability and data quality

* Project management and stakeholder coordination

* Mentoring and knowledge sharing

Salary Range for California Based Applicants: $206,500-$258,100 (actual compensation will be determined based on experience, location, and other factors permitted by law).

Benefits Summary: Rivian provides robust medical/Rx, dental and vision insurance packages for full-time employees, their spouse or domestic partner, and children up to age 26. Coverage is effective on the first day of employment, and Rivian covers most of the premiums.

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 candidateaccommodations@rivian.com.

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.

Please note that we are currently not accepting applications from third party application services.