Rivian

Staff Technical Program Manager - Paint

Rivian$140K — $175K *
Manufacturing & Automotive
5 - 7 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree in Engineering or related technical field
  • 7+ years' experience managing complex programs over $50M
  • Strong skills in defining and maintaining project scope
  • Ability to build partnerships with internal and external teams
  • Excellent communication and presentation skills
  • Experience with program management tools like JIRA
  • Strong organizational skills for team alignment

Responsibilities

  • Own and develop comprehensive program plans for high-impact projects
  • Cultivate partnerships with internal and external teams
  • Foster a high-performing collaborative team environment
  • Identify and manage program risks with mitigation strategies
  • Create and maintain detailed program plans for product launches
  • Establish systems for action tracking and documentation
  • Translate ambiguous goals into actionable tasks for project success

Benefits

  • Paid vacation and sick leave
  • Comprehensive insurance benefits including life, medical, dental, and vision
  • Short-term and long-term disability insurance
  • 401(k) Plan participation opportunity
  • Employee Stock Purchase Program eligibility
  • Full-time coverage effective on first day of employment
  • Opportunity for annual performance bonus and equity awards
Full Job Description
Role Summary

Rivian is seeking a highly organized and results-oriented Technical Program Manager to drive the successful execution of complex, high-impact programs, typically exceeding $50M. In this role, you will be instrumental in defining, maintaining, and delivering program scope, schedule, and budget, ensuring alignment across cross-functional teams and external partners. You will foster strong working relationships, proactively manage risks, and establish clear communication channels to ensure program success and contribute to Rivian's mission of redefining sustainable transportation and energy. This role is located at our Normal, IL/Plymouth, MI or Atlanta, GA facility and reports directly to a Director, Manufacturing Engineering.

Responsibilities

  • Program Management: Own and develop comprehensive program plans, including scope definition and maintenance, detailed schedules with critical milestones and gates (looking 1-3 years out for new product launches), and robust budget and resource planning for programs >$50M. Regularly report on program status, demonstrating measured success in schedule, budget, and scope delivery.
  • Cross-Functional Leadership & Partnerships: Cultivate strong partnerships with internal engineering, manufacturing, supply chain, and other relevant teams, as well as external vendors and suppliers. Proactively identify and document the needs and outputs of cross-functional teams to ensure seamless collaboration. Represent Rivian effectively in interactions with external partners, demonstrating autonomy and driving program success.
  • Team Collaboration & Influence: Foster a collaborative and high-performing team environment, becoming a recognized leader and a vital part of the working team. Facilitate smooth interactions and effectively manage interpersonal dynamics to minimize disruptions. While working independently of people managers, you will often guide working teams to prioritize and focus on critical tasks and projects, leveraging the manufacturing plan of record to set expectations with cross-functional partners.
  • Risk Management & Mitigation: Identify, document, and manage risks at the program level, developing and implementing mitigation strategies to ensure on-time and within-budget delivery.
  • Program Planning & Execution: Create and maintain detailed program plans for new product launches with a 1-3 year horizon, clearly outlining critical milestones and gates.
  • Organizational Tools & Communication: Establish and manage systems for action tracking (e.g., JIRA) and documentation (e.g., ACC, Google Drive) from the ground up. Develop and deliver clear and concise program status reports on a regular basis, ensuring accuracy and requiring minimal correction. Align the team around consistent methods of organization and communication.
  • Agility & Problem Solving: Take ambiguous goals and translate them into specific, actionable tasks for firefighting and burn-down activities, assisting technical leads in prioritizing competing projects. Proactively identify areas where cross-functional support is needed and effectively leverage partnerships to secure the necessary resources for issue resolution.

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree in Engineering, or a related technical field.
  • 7+ years' experience managing complex programs with budgets exceeding $50M, demonstrating successful delivery within scope, schedule, and budget.
  • Strong skills in defining and maintaining program/project scope throughout the project lifecycle.
  • Demonstrated ability to build strong working relationships and partnerships with both internal and external teams.
  • Excellent communication, interpersonal, and presentation skills.
  • Experience working effectively with external vendors and suppliers.
  • Ability to work independently and drive results in a fast-paced environment.
  • Experience setting up and utilizing program management tools for task tracking and documentation (e.g., JIRA, Confluence, or similar).
  • Strong organizational skills and the ability to align teams around common processes and communication methods.
  • Proven ability to take vague goals and develop specific action plans to address immediate challenges.
  • Experience identifying and escalating cross-functional dependencies and resource needs.

Preferred Qualifications
  • Experience in the automotive or manufacturing industry.
  • Familiarity with new product introduction (NPI) processes.
  • Experience with risk management methodologies and tools.

Pay Disclosure

The salary range for this role is $140,600-$175,800 for Illinois, Michigan or Georgia 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 10/1/2026.

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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