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Rivian

Makes electric pickups, SUVs and delivery vans

Director – Supplier Development - Industrialization and Quality

Quality EngineeringUpdated on Nov 12
Full-time

About the Job

Requirements

  • A bachelor's degree in Engineering (Mechanical, Electrical, Industrial, or Manufacturing), Supply Chain Management, or a related technical field is required.
  • At least 15 years of progressive leadership experience in supplier development, supplier quality, or manufacturing industrialization within the automotive or high-growth electric vehicle sector is required.
  • A proven track record of managing components through the entire lifecycle, from early engineering design reviews, APQP and PPAP approval, to serial production quality management is required.
  • Deep proficiency in APQP, PPAP, PFMEA, SPC, 8D, 5-Why, Poka-Yoke systems, and Lean Manufacturing is required.
  • Demonstrated experience in hands-on bottleneck resolution, capacity modeling, line-walk audits, and data-driven root-cause problem solving is required.
  • Experience building, restructuring, or scaling global technical teams, instilling operational discipline and metric accountability while maintaining startup agility is required.
  • Ability to travel up to 50% domestically and internationally to engage suppliers directly on-site is required.

Responsibilities

  • Build, lead, and mentor a high-performing global team of Supplier Development, Industrialization & Quality Engineers across major commodity sectors, including Chassis, Battery, Drive Unit, Thermal, Interior, Exterior, and Power Distribution.
  • Oversee end-to-end component ownership, streamlining supplier communications and cross-functional alignment across pre-PPAP development and post-PPAP production quality.
  • Engage early in program development cycles alongside Engineering and Purchasing to conduct DFM, DFMEA, and PFMEA reviews, resolving downstream ramp and quality constraints before Start of Production.
  • Oversee supplier industrialization timelines, tool kickoffs, tooling audits, and station-by-station capacity mapping, including JPH/throughput modeling, sensor checks, and Poka-Yoke validations, to resolve yield bottlenecks and secure confirmed production volumes.
  • Enforce APQP/PPAP gatekeeper discipline, executing Safe Launch containment protocols, Rate-at-Rate verifications, and mandatory recovery glide paths for supplier milestones.
  • Deploy resources directly to supplier facilities during critical ramps to perform root-cause analyses using 5-Why, 8D, and PFMEA updates, and drive immediate yield and quality recovery.
  • Establish and track global supplier scorecards, quality metrics, and audit schedules, driving corrective action plans and ongoing continuous improvement initiatives across the supply chain.
  • Collaborate with Procurement, Hardware Engineering, Manufacturing Operations, and Program Management to escalate risks, present recovery models, and align sourcing strategies.

Desired Qualifications

  • A master's degree is preferred.

About the Company

Rivian

Makes electric pickups, SUVs and delivery vans

Rivian designs and builds electric pickup trucks, SUVs, and delivery vans, pairing off-road ability with electronics and software it develops itself. In 2021, its R1T became the first fully electric pickup truck on the US consumer market, ahead of larger rivals such as Ford and Tesla. It makes the R1T pickup, the R1S and R2 SUVs, and commercial vans in Normal, Illinois, and sells them directly online and in its own stores rather than through dealers. Its vehicles run on Rivian's own software, which gains features through updates sent over the internet, and most revenue comes from vehicle sales, with service and optional software adding more. Rivian was founded in 2009 and is based in Irvine, California.

Company size
10,001+
Company stage
IPO
Headquarters
Irvine, CA
Founded
2009

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