Role Summary

As a Senior Staff Mechanical Engineer, you will serve as a technical authority and people leader for the mechanical development of our next-generation traction inverter systems from initial concept through mass production. You will own the end-to-end mechanical architecture of critical subsystems including busbars, metal housings, sealing interfaces, HV/LV harnesses, stampings and PCBAs, while directly managing a team of mechanical engineers. This role demands both deep technical expertise and the organizational influence to align cross-functional teams, drive supplier strategy, and shape engineering standards across the broader Power Electronics organization.

This position is based at our Carson, CA facility and reports directly to the Mechanical Engineering Director.

Responsibilities

• Directly manage, mentor, and develop a team of mechanical engineers, setting clear goals, providing technical guidance, and conducting performance reviews.
• Define team structure, workload allocation, and hiring needs in partnership with the Mechanical Engineering Director.
• Cultivate a culture of engineering excellence and continuous improvement within the team.
• Serve as the principal mechanical architect for traction inverter assemblies, owning design decisions from system-level packaging through component-level detail using CATIA V6/3DEXPERIENCE.
• Define and enforce mechanical design standards, design guidelines, and best practices across the Power Electronics engineering team.
• Lead architecture reviews and design phase gate decisions, ensuring solutions are scalable, manufacturable and aligned with program objectives.
• Design and engineer complex subsystems including high-pressure die castings, injection-molded plastics, busbars, sheet metal, HV/LV harnesses, sealing interfaces and PCBA mechanical integration.
• Own the full mechanical release cycle in ENOVIA, governing data integrity, design maturity, and BOM accuracy across multiple concurrent programs.
• Drive weekly technical reviews with suppliers to resolve open design items, enforce DFM alignment, and maintain delivery commitments.
• Act as the senior technical escalation point for Supply Chain and Supplier Quality on critical path issues.
• Support the generation of high-impact engineering documents including Component Technical Specifications (CTS), Statements of Work (SOW), system-level DFMEAs, and assembly manuals.
• Establish and maintain top-level assembly BOMs with full attribute integrity across complex, multi-variant product configurations
• Lead mechanical readiness for pre-production and production line commissioning, including the design of test fixtures, assembly aids, and error-proofing solutions.
• Partner with Manufacturing Engineering as a senior stakeholder in production line design, validation and launch.
• Own the root cause investigation process for field failures and prototype escapes, driving systemic design improvements and lessons learned documentation that benefit future programs.
• Support the development and execution of Design Verification (DV) test plans, ensuring long-term reliability and regulatory compliance.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering or a related engineering discipline; Master's degree preferred.
• 8+ years of engineering experience specifically in the development and packaging of Power Electronics assemblies.
• High-level proficiency in CATIA V5 or V6 (3DEXPERIENCE), specifically within Part Design and Assembly Design workbenches.
• Proven track record designing for high-pressure die casting, injection molding and sheet metal fabrication at production scale.
• Deep expertise in high-voltage busbar design, HV/LV wire harness routing and integration and sealing/gasket systems.
• Practical experience with joining and integration technologies: laser welding, press-fit, soldering, heat staking and thermal interface materials (TIM).
• Expert command of GD&T (ASME Y14.5) and a track record developing system-level DFMEAs and validation plans spanning mechanical, electrical and thermal domains.
• Working knowledge of the ENOVIA Product Lifecycle Management environment.
• Extensive experience managing external technical suppliers, ensuring quality and timeline adherence.
• Demonstrated ability to lead structured root-cause analysis (8D, Fishbone, 5-whys) on complex field and manufacturing failures.
• General knowledge of mechanical best practices for PCBAdesign and integration.
• Prior experience in the Automotive industry (Tier 1 or OEM), ideally in EV powertrain or high-voltage systems.
• Thrives in a fast-paced environment.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Project, Visio, and the standard Office suite.

Pay Disclosure

The salary range for this role is USD 176,200-220,300 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 6, 2026.