Rivian

Lead Program Manager, Early Program Development

Rivian$154K — $192K *
Consumer Technology
Less than 5 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 4-7+ years in Technical Program Management, Product Development, or Industrial Engineering in a hardware-intensive field (e.g., Automotive, Aerospace, Energy).
  • Strong technical literacy to communicate with engineering and manufacturing teams.
  • Experience in constructing structured decision frameworks and trade-off matrices for complex problems.
  • Ability to conduct financial modeling and handle related analyses.
  • Exceptional communication skills to distill technical insights into executive-friendly recommendations.

Responsibilities

  • Collaborate with different teams to set benchmarks and pricing for new programs.
  • Gather insights on key features that influence program sales and pricing.
  • Manage business case inputs, tracking comprehensive cost aspects of programs.
  • Lead technical discussions to refine early concepts with Advanced Product Development teams.
  • Facilitate studies for critical decisions, promoting fast iterations and data-driven approaches.
  • Develop and maintain decision matrices to align product features with financial and technical requirements.
  • Work with Manufacturing Engineering and Logistics to create operational strategies supporting product development.

Benefits

  • Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance for employees and their families.
  • Coverage effective from the first day of employment with most premiums covered by the company.
Full Job Description
Role Summary

This role sits within the Strategy & Planning team and is responsible for bridging the gap between high-level product strategy and engineering execution. In this position, you will lead the cross-functional technical and business integration of new programs from initial concept through Concept Freeze. You will lead technical deep dives, trade-off analyses, and operational strategies to move a product from concept to production-ready development. You will work on difficult problems without a clear answer and interact with multiple functions including, engineering, operations, manufacturing, strategy, finance, supply chain, and more.

Responsibilities

  • Collaborate cross-functionally to establish competitive benchmarks, pricing studies, and volume sensitivities for early-stage programs.
  • Identify and gather insights on key positioning elements and features that drive program volume and price targets.
  • Manage the program business case inputs, including tracking BOM COGS, non-BOM costs (conversion, logistics, warranty), and investment envelopes.
  • Lead deep dives with Advanced Product Development teams to develop early concepts.
  • Facilitate cross-functional studies to identify mission-critical "one-way door" decisions, ensuring rapid iteration and data-driven technical direction.
  • Build and maintain trade-off matrices and decision frameworks to resolve disconnects between product feature objectives and financial/technical constraints.
  • Partner with Manufacturing Engineering, Procurement, and Logistics to develop operational strategies that support the product definition.
  • Translate program cost targets into clear operational objectives for manufacturing footprint, logistics, and supply chain.
  • Execute ad hoc technical and business analyses to support leadership decision-making, including value stream mapping, cash cycle, and make-vs-buy studies.

Qualifications

  • Passionate about business execution and interest in solving difficult and ambiguous problems.
  • 4-7+ years of experience in Technical Program Management, Product Development or Industrial Engineering in a hardware-intensive industry (Automotive, Aerospace, or Energy).
  • Strong technical literacy; ability to speak the language of engineering and manufacturing to evaluate architecture and complexity trade-offs.
  • Proficient in building structured decision frameworks and trade-off matrices to solve complex, ambiguous problems.
  • Ability to handle financial modeling
  • Strong communication skills with the ability to synthesize technical deep dives into clear recommendations for executive reviews.

Pay Disclosure

The salary range for this role is $154,000-$192,500 for Southern California 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 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.

You can apply for this role through careers.rivian.com (or through internal-careers-rivian.icims.com if you are a current employee). This job is not expected to be closed any sooner than February 28, 2026.

About Rivian

Rivian is an American automaker and automotive technology company. Founded in 2009, the company develops vehicles, products and services related to sustainable transportation. Rivian has raised over $10.5 billion since 2019, with investments from Amazon, Ford, and Cox Automotive. The company's first two vehicles, the R1T and R1S, are electric vehicles that are expected to be released in 2021. Rivian has also announced plans to produce electric delivery vans for Amazon. The company has received praise for its focus on sustainability and its commitment to using recycled materials in its vehicles.
Learn more about Rivian
Size
10,000 employees
Market Cap
$16.8 billion
Industry
Founded
2009
NASDAQ

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