Staff Electrical System Engineer, Charging & Energy

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
The Charging & Energy Systems team is responsible for the end‑to‑end system architecture, integration, and performance of Rivian’s charging and energy products — spanning DC fast charging, home and destination charging, and the software and cloud services that enable them. We work across hardware, embedded software, cloud, mobile, and vehicle teams to deliver safe, reliable, and delightful charging experiences for our customers.
The Staff Systems Engineer, Charging & Energy is a senior individual contributor who owns system‑level outcomes for major charging and energy products and features. You will define and drive architectures, requirements, DFMEAs, and validation strategies that span hardware, firmware, communications, and cloud/mobile interfaces. You operate as a technical leader and integrator — similar to our current Staff Systems Engineers on the team — independently creating and driving critical deliverables to completion, often in ambiguous or under‑resourced spaces, and directly improving the quality of systems engineering within C&E.
This Role Is Expected To

Lead multi‑quarter, cross‑functional efforts in the charging and energy domain
Serve as the go‑to systems owner for complex, safety‑ and customer‑critical functions
Mentor and uplevel other engineers in systems engineering tools, practices, and decision‑making
Responsibilities
Technical leadership & ownership

Own key charging and energy systems and functions across one or more product lines (e.g., DC high‑power chargers, residential/bidirectional chargers, and related control systems), from concept through launch and sustainment.
Independently create, drive, and complete critical systems engineering deliverables (requirements, DFMEAs, interface definitions, validation plans) — including “thankless” or ambiguous work that falls between teams — and ensure they are adopted across programs.
Lead system‑level trade‑off and design decisions, balancing safety, performance, cost, schedule, and interoperability across hardware, software, and cloud/mobile.
Develop and execute strategies to exceed goals within the C&E systems function, while contributing meaningfully to cross‑functional product and program goals.
Systems Engineering & Architecture

Define and maintain end‑to‑end system architectures for charging and energy products, spanning:
○ Power and electrical architectures (e.g., high‑voltage paths, protection and sensing, power conversion interfaces)
○ Embedded control architectures (controllers, interfaces, diagnostics)
○ Communication architectures (vehicle, charger, cloud, and mobile; e.g., CAN, Ethernet, IP‑based protocols)

Own system and interface requirements development, including allocation and traceability across vehicle, charger, cloud, and mobile teams, and ensure sign‑off across all stakeholders.
Architect and lead DFMEA / functional safety / hazard analysis work at the system level, ensuring that vehicle‑ and customer‑level failure modes are comprehensively mapped to subsystem and component mitigations.
Analyze and evaluate design impacts of new concepts, components, or vendors, making clear, data‑driven recommendations on architecture and design direction.
PCBA Technical Leadership & Liaison

Primary Point of Contact: Act as the critical interface between the Charging & Energy team and the dedicated PCBA design engineering team for all electrical and layout-related functions.
Lifecycle Ownership: Drive hardware products from infancy through mass production and field support, ensuring design intent is maintained and field-performance data is looped back into future iterations.
Design Strategy: Establish best practices for schematic capture, layout, and library management within Altium Designer, ensuring seamless transitions to manufacturing.
Detailed Hardware Development & Analysis

Strategic Component Selection: Conduct deep-dive component analysis, evaluating technical performance, power efficiency, thermal characteristics, and long-term supply chain viability.
Advanced Simulation: Lead pre- and post-layout simulations (SPICE, Signal Integrity (SI), and Power Integrity (PI)) to mitigate risks and validate performance before fabrication.
Specialized Board Design: Direct the development of high-power/high-current PCBAs, focusing on copper weight optimization, busbar integration, and thermal management, alongside custom embedded computer products (SoCs, high-speed memory).
Rigorous Reviews: Lead schematic and layout reviews with a focus on DFM (Design for Manufacturing), DFT (Design for Test), and EMC/EMI compliance.
System Integration & Validation

Architecture Mapping: Define how LV control boards and embedded platforms interface with the broader system, software, and cloud layers.
Validation Strategy: Work with test teams to define system/sub-system DVPs, ensuring 100% traceability from high-level system requirements to component-level validation.
Root Cause Analysis: Lead complex hardware bring-up and debug sessions for field or lab failures, utilizing high-speed oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, and thermal imaging.
Integration, Validation & Quality

Lead requirements coverage and validation strategies across virtual and physical assets (SIL, HIL, bench, lab assets, and
vehicles) for key charging and energy features.

Work with validation and test teams to define, review, and improve system/sub‑system DVPs, test plans, and traceability back to requirements and DFMEAs.
Analyze test and field/telemetry data to identify performance trends, gaps, and systemic issues in charging and energy systems; drive root‑cause analysis and corrective actions across HW/SW/comms domains.
Proactively fill gaps in testing and validation when resources are constrained, ensuring that critical risks and edge cases are still surfaced and resolved before launch.
Create and maintain essential systems documentation (architectures, interface control documents, specifications, DFMEAs, test reports), and ensure it is consumable by both technical and non‑technical stakeholders.
Cross‑functional Collaboration & Communication

Drive cross‑functional decision‑making between hardware, firmware, software, vehicle, cloud, mobile, interoperability, compliance, and test teams for charging and energy products.
Translate complex system behaviors, risks, and trade‑offs into clear, executive‑ready narratives and recommendations that support program and business decisions.
Serve as a key systems point of contact for external partners (e.g., certification bodies, utilities, interoperability partners) as needed, supporting efforts such as standards compliance and network integration.
Act as a systems engineering ambassador within C&E, raising the overall quality of requirements, DFMEAs, and validation practices across the organization.
Mentorship & Culture

Mentor and coach Sr./Engineer‑level peers in systems thinking, requirements authoring, DFMEAs, validation strategies, and effective cross‑functional communication.
Model calm, fact‑based problem solving in high‑pressure situations, setting the tone for how the team approaches complex integration issues and launch‑critical problems.
Help define and continuously improve how systems engineering is practiced within Charging & Energy (templates, checklists, tool usage, review forums, and knowledge sharing).
Qualifications
Required Qualifications

Education: Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related field.
Hardware Expertise: Typically 8+ years of relevant experience in EE design and PCBA development, with a proven track record of bringing complex hardware to market.
Altium Mastery: Expert-level proficiency in Altium Designer for multi-layer, high-density, or high-power designs.
Domain Depth: Direct experience in designing custom embedded computer PCBAs and LV control boards, as well as high-power/high-current carrying PCBAs.
Analytical Rigor: Expert knowledge in component-level analysis, worst-case modeling, and circuit simulation (SPICE or equivalent).
Leadership: Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional technical teams and serve as a primary liaison between specialized design groups and system organizations.
Preferred Qualifications

Systems Engineering Foundations: Experience with systems tools and methods, including requirements management (Jama, DOORS), DFMEA, functional safety analysis, and structured root-cause methods.
High-Speed Design: Experience with DDR4/5, PCIe, or USB 3.0 within custom embedded hardware.
Thermal Design: Advanced understanding of thermal management for high-current PCBAs (e.g., thermal vias, heavy copper, heatsink integration).
Industry Standards: Familiarity with EV charging standards and safety certifications (e.g., UL 2231, IEC 61851).
Data Proficiency: Experience using Python or SQL for data analysis, hardware validation, or telemetry processing.
Pay Disclosure
Salary Range California-Based Applicants: $154,000-$192,500 (actual compensation will be determined based on experience, 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 candidateaccommodations@rivian.com.
Candidate Data Privacy
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.
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