Role SummaryWe are looking for a curious, relentless Integration & Release Engineer to serve as the final technical gatekeeper for our Infotainment and Connectivity software releases.
This is not a standard black-box QA or script-execution role. You will live at the intersection of software, hardware, and the real-world vehicle experience. Your mission is to understand how our systems work under the hood, study what is changing in every incoming release, and use deep technical intuition to find the weak spots and break the system before our customers ever see it.
With high visibility across executive and engineering leadership, you won't just file tickets-you will reverse-engineer failures, trace root causes across complex embedded architectures, and drive systemic quality improvements upstream into our development teams.
Work Arrangement: 100% On-Site, Palo Alto, CA
Responsibilities- Own the Release Gate: Oversee end-to-end software release validation for the Infotainment and Connectivity organization, synthesizing system readiness for engineering and executive leadership.
- Exploratory "White-Box" Testing: Analyze release notes, commit histories, and architectural changes to identify high-risk intersections, then design and execute creative, intuition-driven tests to expose edge-case failures.
- Hands-On Vehicle Debugging: Spend significant time in and around target vehicles and hardware benches, instrumenting systems, pulling logs, monitoring bus traffic, and reproducing elusive hardware/software interactions.
- Reverse-Engineer Complex Failures: Go beyond surface symptoms. Dive into system logs, traces, telemetry, and source architecture to pinpoint exactly why a subsystem failed before handing it off.
- Drive Upstream Engineering Behavior: Partner directly with software development leads and system architects to translate field and test findings into better architectural patterns, automated coverage, and preventative engineering practices.
- Stakeholder Alignment: Act as a diplomatic, objective voice of truth across internal engineering groups, product teams, and external partners during high-pressure release cycles.
QualificationsMinimum Qualifications:
- Bachelor's Degree or greater in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Applied Mathematics, or related field.
- 8+ years hands-on experience in system integration, release engineering, or white-box validation within modern automotive, infotainment, connectivity, or complex consumer embedded systems.
- On-Site Commitment: Ability to work full-time on-site in Palo Alto, CA, with direct daily access to test vehicles and lab hardware.
Preferred Qualifications
- A True Systems Mindset: An innate drive to internalize how interconnected subsystems communicate and fail. You treat the vehicle as a transparent system to be understood and reverse-engineered, not a black box.
- Creative Debugging Mastery: Deep expertise troubleshooting complex embedded environments (Linux/Android/RTOS, CAN/Ethernet, wireless connectivity stacks), including developing clever workarounds and custom tooling to observe system state when standard diagnostics fall short.
- Product & Quality Obsession: A strong product mindset. You care deeply about latency, UI responsiveness, connectivity reliability, and how the end user actually experiences the vehicle.
- Diplomatic Collaboration: Demonstrated ability to work effectively with both internal engineering leadership and external customers/suppliers, communicating tough technical truths with tact, clarity, and shared purpose.
- Adaptability & Growth Mindset: Comfort operating in a dynamic, ambiguous environment where no two releases look the same, paired with an eagerness to continuously absorb new domain knowledge.
Total RewardsWe build the exceptional - and we believe the people doing that work should be rewarded accordingly. In addition to a competitive base salary, full-time positions may be is eligible to participate in our annual company performance bonus program.
Payments are discretionary and not guaranteed; actual amounts depend on company results and the terms of the plan in effect, and require active employment at the time of payout. This role is also eligible for equity in the form of Restricted Stock Units (RSUs), subject to board approval and the terms of our equity incentive plans, including applicable vesting requirements.
In addition to our compensation programs, we invest in our people with a comprehensive benefits package designed to support the health, wellbeing, and financial future for full-time employees - including health coverage, retirement savings, time off, and family planning programs. Offerings vary by country.
Learn more about our global benefit programs.External candidates can apply for this role through the Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies careers site (
https://rivianvw.tech/#careers). If you are a current employee, please apply through our
internal job board. 
