Sr Manager, EPC Software & Controls TPM

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. 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