Staff Embedded Software Engineer - Autonomy

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

As a Staff Software Engineer specializing in safety-critical self-driving embedded software, you will play a vital role in the design, development, and deployment of software that underpins essential self-driving features. Your responsibilities encompass a range of technical tasks, from software development to architecture analysis, all contributing to the successful implementation of robust and reliable self-driving solutions.

Responsibilities

• Develop software working on real-time operating systems for resource efficient systems (FreeRTOS, Zephyr, etc.) on a distributed and heterogeneous system (multiple processors, multi-core, multi-threaded) including in-house developed silicon
• Develop necessary tools to support development, building, observability, debugging, and testing
• Create early project definitions, set up build system and compiler tooling, solving complex problems and develop infrastructure along the way to allow for more efficient development from the team
• Assist in software-design and code reviews while assisting other developers on technical issues, design choices, and decision making
• Analysis of requirements, architecture, design, development, code review, quality assurance, and deployment of entire software engineering life cycle
• Identify gaps in development process and technical implementations to address and improve the quality and pace of team deliverables
• Coordinate with application development and cross-functional teams to enable and support vehicle and ADAS features

Qualifications

• B.S. / M.S. in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field
• 6+ years of experience developing production-grade software for safety and function critical applications in automotive, aerospace, robotics, or related fields
• Strong embedded C programming skills
• Experience GCC/Clang compilers + linkers
• Experience with Bazel or other large-project build systems
• Strong triage and problem solving skills
• Experience with resource-constrained architectures
• Experience with real-time applications and kernels
• Experience writing, profiling, and debugging multi-threaded software
• Demonstrated success working in fast-paced, continuous integration / continuous development environment
• Familiarity with at least one scripting language (for example Bash, Lua, Python)

Preferred Qualifications: 

• Experience with Ethernet + TCP/IP networking
• Experience with CPU performance measurement and profiling
• JTAG, logic analyzer debugging
• Timesync
• ARM Cortex R (Armv8-R), Infineon TriCore, similar
• Functional Safety experience (ISO-26262, IEC-62304, DO-178C, etc.)

Pay Disclosure

Salary Range for California Based Applicants: $206,000.00 - $258,000.00 (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.

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.