Senior Manager - EPC Software & Controls Technical Program Manager

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

Rivian is seeking a Senior Manager to lead Electric Power Conversion Software and Controls
Technical Program Management. This leader will oversee the planning and execution of
embedded software and control programs that enable Rivian’s power-conversion products,
while directly managing a team of Technical Program Managers.
The role sits at the intersection of software and controls engineering, power electronics,
systems engineering, vehicle integration, product development, and program leadership. The
successful candidate will create clarity across a portfolio of products and vehicle programs,
establish a reliable plan of record, drive technical and programmatic decisions, and ensure that
software and controls deliverables are ready for integration, validation, release, launch, and
sustaining support.
This is a hands-on leadership role for someone who can zoom out to shape an organization and
roadmap, while also engaging deeply enough with embedded software and controls
development to identify dependencies, challenge assumptions, and drive resolution of complex
issues. The Senior Manager will be expected to lead through influence across functions,
develop a high-performing TPM team, and build scalable operating mechanisms that improve
predictability and execution across EPC.

Responsibilities

Lead the EPC software and controls TPM organization
● Directly manage, coach, and develop EPC software and controls Technical Program
Managers; establish clear expectations for ownership, technical depth, communication,
and follow-through.
● Define the team’s operating model, roles and responsibilities, coverage model,
prioritization framework, and engagement model with software, controls, hardware,
systems, test, quality, manufacturing, service, and vehicle program teams.
● Build a culture of technical curiosity, accountability, early risk identification, constructive
escalation, and disciplined execution.
● Lead hiring, onboarding, performance management, talent reviews, succession
planning, and career development for the TPM organization.
● Set a high bar for the quality of program plans, status reporting, decision records, risk
management, and technical issue closure.
Own portfolio planning and execution
● Own the integrated roadmap and plan of record for EPC embedded software and
controls across power electronics, inverter embedded software, motor controls, FuSA,
and vehicle integration.
● Translate product, vehicle, systems, and engineering objectives into executable program
plans with milestones, dependencies, critical paths, resource assumptions, and
measurable outcomes.
● Coordinate planning across the software development lifecycle, including requirements,
architecture, implementation, integration, calibration, verification, validation, release,
launch, and sustaining activities.
● Establish predictable planning and review cadences that provide working teams and
senior leadership with a clear view of progress, risks, decisions, and support needed.
● Balance competing priorities across new product introduction, platform development,
sustaining engineering, field issues, technical debt, and future technology development.
● Ensure that software and controls plans remain aligned with hardware maturity,
prototype and vehicle build timing, test-asset availability, feature maturity, and
production-intent milestones.
Drive technical program leadership
● Serve as a senior program leader and escalation point for complex EPC software and
controls issues that cross organizational or product boundaries.
● Work with engineering leaders to break down ambiguous problems into clear
deliverables, owners, decision points, and closure criteria.
● Drive early identification and active management of interfaces and dependencies,
including power electronics, inverter embedded software, motor controls, FuSA, and
vehicle and DCFC Charger integration.
● Partner with technical leads to ensure requirements, interfaces, assumptions, and
acceptance criteria are sufficiently defined for execution.
● Challenge incomplete problem statements, unclear ownership, weak evidence,
unrealistic timing, and unresolved cross-functional dependencies.
Lead software release, integration, and validation readiness
● Establish and improve software and controls release planning, including branch strategy,
feature maturity, release criteria, change control, sign-off expectations, and post-release
follow-through.
● Align software and controls deliverables with system integration, bench, SIL/HIL, dyno,
mule, vehicle, and production validation activities, as applicable.
● Partner with hardware TPMs and engineering teams to plan bring-up, prototype builds,
integration events, test campaigns, and issue-resolution cycles.
● Ensure that launch-critical issues are contained, escalated with sufficient context, driven
to root cause, and closed with validated corrective actions.
● Improve the connection between engineering execution and program objectives so that
software teams understand what must be delivered, why it matters, and by when.
Build scalable systems and operating mechanisms
● Create and maintain a single source of truth for EPC software and controls program
status, including schedules, milestones, risks, dependencies, decisions, issue health,
and release readiness.
● Define standard templates, dashboards, review forums, and data-quality expectations
across the TPM team.
● Improve the use of tools such as Jira, Confluence,and engineering/release systems to
support transparent execution and effective decision-making.
● Establish mechanisms for capturing lessons learned and applying them to future
programs, development processes, release practices, and team standards.
Partner across the company
● Represent EPC software and controls in program reviews, technical reviews, launch
governance, leadership reviews, and cross-functional escalation forums.
● Communicate clearly from working-level technical detail to executive-level summaries,
making risks, options, recommendations, and decision asks easy to understand.
● Build trust by providing accurate status, surfacing bad news early, closing the loop on
commitments, and keeping stakeholders aligned through changing conditions.
● Help define and continuously improve the interface between EPC and adjacent software,
controls, hardware, charging, and vehicle-integration organizations.

Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree in engineering, computer science, business, or a related technical
discipline; equivalent practical experience may be considered. Master’s degree
preferred.
● 10+ years of experience in technical program management, software/controls
engineering, or a related technical discipline.
● 3+ years of experience leading people, teams, or complex cross-functional programs;
direct management experience is required for this role.
● Experience leading embedded software, controls, or firmware programs through
development, integration, validation, release, and production or customer launch.
● Strong understanding of software development lifecycle practices, requirements
management, issue tracking, release management, and engineering validation.
● Demonstrated experience managing multiple interdependent programs and aligning
technical teams to a common plan of record.
● Demonstrated ability to influence without relying solely on formal authority, resolve
conflict constructively, and drive decisions among senior cross-functional stakeholders.
● Strong written, verbal, analytical, organizational, and presentation skills.
● Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced, ambiguous environment with changing
priorities and tight deadlines.
Preferred qualifications
● Automotive experience with embedded systems, power electronics, electric powertrain,
charging, energy management, inverter controls, motor controls, or related vehicle
systems.
● Technical understanding of power electronics embedded software and controls.
● Experience with vehicle development milestones, prototype builds, design validation,
production validation, software feature maturity, and launch readiness.
● Experience working at the intersection of hardware and software, including
hardware/software interface definition and integration planning.
● Experience creating or scaling TPM processes, dashboards, operating rhythms, or
release-management systems across multiple teams or programs.
● Experience managing distributed or multi-site teams and collaborating with external
suppliers or development partners.

Pay Disclosure

The salary range for this role is $196,000-$245,000 for Carson, CA-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 an 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. 

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.

Interview Integrity & AI Policy 

Our interview process is designed to evaluate your personal technical foundation, real-time problem-solving logic, and structured capabilities. Therefore, the use of assistive generative AI tools to formulate or deliver your solutions during live interview sessions is not permitted. We care most about how you think — how you make sense of unclear requirements, weigh trade-offs, and explain why you chose one approach over another. We value your unique human perspective, your authenticity, and the journey it takes to reach a solution.

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