Staff Advanced Diagnostics Engineer

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 Staff Advanced Diagnostics Engineer to serve as a technical authority for factory and vehicle software diagnostics. This role will lead the triage, investigation, and resolution of complex electrical, vehicle software, factory software, and IT issues that affect vehicle quality, production throughput, end-of-line operations, and launch readiness. The Staff Advanced Diagnostics Engineer will establish scalable diagnostic methods, improve escalation workflows, and drive issues from initial detection through root cause, containment, corrective action, and prevention. The role requires a hands-on engineer who can move quickly between vehicle systems, factory equipment, software tools, data, and cross-functional teams. Responsibilities ● Act as a senior technical first responder for complex vehicle, factory software, electrical hardware, and production-impacting issues. ● Lead structured triage and root-cause analysis for recurring or high-severity concerns across manufacturing and vehicle systems. ● Own problem resolution using disciplined methods such as 8D, fault-tree analysis, data analysis, fault reproduction, and controlled experimentation. ● Investigate issues across vehicle ECUs, networks, diagnostics interfaces, embedded software, factory applications, end-of-line systems, and supporting IT infrastructure. ● Use vehicle diagnostic tools, production data, logs, traces, network captures, and electrical test equipment to isolate failures and validate corrective actions. ● Partner with Firmware Integration Engineering, Vehicle Software, Electrical Hardware, Systems Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Operations, Quality, Reliability, Service, and IT/MES teams to drive issues to closure. ● Support lineside, end-of-line, launch, rework, and flash-lab investigations, including hands-on testing and vehicle or station troubleshooting. ● Define and improve escalation pathways, triage standards, diagnostic playbooks, and response workflows for factory and vehicle software issues. ● Develop dashboards and metrics that improve prioritization, response time, and recurrence prevention. ● Identify systemic patterns across vehicles, stations, software versions, configurations, suppliers, and production processes. ● Translate diagnostic findings into clear requirements, defect reports, containment plans, and corrective-action recommendations for engineering and manufacturing owners. ● Influence future vehicle, factory software, and diagnostic-tool architecture by communicating lessons learned and design-for-diagnostics opportunities. ● Establish technical standards for issue severity, evidence collection, reproduction, ownership, escalation, and closure criteria. ● Mentor engineers and technicians in advanced troubleshooting, data-driven problem solving, and effective technical communication. ● Represent Advanced Diagnostics in technical reviews, launch readiness forums, incident reviews, and leadership decision-making meetings. Success in This Role ● Production and launch issues are triaged quickly with clear evidence, ownership, and next steps. ● Root causes are identified and corrective actions are validated rather than relying on temporary workarounds. ● Diagnostic coverage, tooling, documentation, and escalation workflows improve over time. ● Recurring vehicle and factory software issues decline through systemic corrective action. ● Cross-functional teams have a clear, trusted technical partner for advanced diagnostics. ● Engineers and technicians become more capable and consistent in troubleshooting complex issues. Qualifications ● Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, computer engineering, software engineering, systems engineering, or a related technical field; equivalent experience may be considered. ● Typically 6+ years of relevant experience in automotive systems, vehicle software, factory software, electrical hardware, manufacturing engineering, test engineering, reliability engineering, or advanced diagnostics. ● Deep experience troubleshooting complex hardware and software systems in a production, launch, test, or service environment. ● Demonstrated experience leading root-cause investigations and corrective actions for complex or recurring issues. ● Strong understanding of vehicle electrical architectures, ECUs, communication networks, and diagnostic concepts. ● Experience with one or more of CAN, CAN FD, LIN, Automotive Ethernet, UDS, or related vehicle communication protocols. ● Experience analyzing software logs, network traces, production data, test results, and system telemetry. ● Proficiency with diagnostic and debugging tools such as CANalyzer, CANoe, Wireshark, oscilloscopes, multimeters, data acquisition systems, or comparable tools. ● Ability to understand and troubleshoot interactions between vehicle systems, embedded software, factory applications, manufacturing equipment, and IT/MES infrastructure. ● Strong technical writing and communication skills, including the ability to present complex findings to engineers, operators, executives, and other stakeholders. ● Demonstrated ability to operate independently, establish direction in ambiguous situations, and influence outcomes across organizational boundaries. Preferred Qualifications ● Experience supporting high-volume automotive manufacturing or major vehicle launches. ● Experience with end-of-line testing, manufacturing execution systems, flashing/programming, station controls, or factory automation. ● Experience with embedded software integration, firmware releases, configuration management, or software version troubleshooting. ● Experience developing diagnostic scripts, data pipelines, dashboards, or automation using Python or similar tools. ● Experience with cloud-connected vehicle systems, telemetry platforms, or remote diagnostics. ● Familiarity with electrical schematics, wiring diagrams, board-level electronics, power distribution, and signal integrity fundamentals. ● Experience defining diagnostic requirements or improving design-for-serviceability and design-for-diagnostics practices. ● Experience mentoring engineers or technicians and setting technical standards for a team. Pay Disclosure The salary range for this role is $114,100-$142,600 for Normal, IL-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 candidateaccommodations@rivian.com. 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. Please note that we are currently not accepting applications from third party application services.