Role Summary

The Staff Technical Writer, Service Engineering owns the technical content strategy and documentation that enables Rivian's service network to safely and efficiently repair, diagnose, and maintain Rivian vehicles. Leveraging deep, cross-program expertise across service manual procedures, technical service bulletins, field service actions, and labor code content spanning Rivian's full vehicle portfolio (R1, R2, EDV, and off-vehicle products), you will use professional concepts and company objectives to resolve complex, often ambiguous, documentation and serviceability challenges in creative and effective ways.

This role reports to the Sr. Manager, Service Documentation, within Rivian's Service Engineering organization.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary technical content owner for vehicle systems and programs, authoring, editing, and maintaining service manual repair procedures, including step-by-step instructions, torque specifications, part callouts, and special tool requirements.
• Lead the creation and publication of technical service bulletins, field service actions, campaigns, and recall documentation, coordinating across Service Engineering, Diagnostics, and Quality teams and driving resolution on ambiguous or time-critical issues.
• Own the development and governance of labor time standards and labor code entries across programs, partnering with the Service Lab team to validate procedure steps and time studies, and establishing best practices for time-study methodology.
• Define and maintain consistent, industry-standard naming conventions and system/subsystem classifications for service parts, procedures, and labor operations across the documentation team, ensuring consistency at scale across vehicle programs.
• Partner with the Technical Illustration team to scope, request, and review graphics, exploded views, and diagrams, setting the visual and structural standard other writers follow for complex procedures.
• Manage the most complex, concurrent documentation assignments across vehicle programs, tracking progress and dependencies in Jira, and holding cross-functional partners accountable to change-management and launch milestones.
• Synthesize field feedback, service tickets, and usage data across programs to identify systemic content gaps, driving proactive revisions that improve clarity, accuracy, and technician efficiency at scale.
• Champion authoring standards, structured content practices, and AI-enabled tools across the Service Documentation team, driving adoption to improve authoring speed, consistency, and content quality.
• Mentor and coach other Technical Writers, sharing best practices in CAD review, labor time studies, and authoring methodology to raise the technical bar across the team.
• Represent Service Documentation in cross-functional design and change reviews, providing technical input on the downstream serviceability and documentation impact of proposed vehicle design changes.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Technical Communications, Engineering, Automotive Technology, or a related technical field, or equivalent practical experience.
• 5+ years of experience in technical writing, service documentation, or technical publications, ideally within automotive, heavy equipment, or another complex mechanical/electrical industry.
• Demonstrated ability to translate complex, ambiguous engineering information into clear, accurate, and actionable technical content for a skilled trade audience, including for first-of-a-kind or undefined vehicle programs.
• Extensive experience developing, maintaining, and setting standards for service manuals, repair procedures, labor time standards, or parts catalogs.
• Advanced comfort reviewing and interpreting 3D CAD models, engineering drawings, and BOMs to support procedure development and identify serviceability issues.
• Strong project management skills, with a proven track record of managing the most complex, concurrent documentation deliverables against vehicle program and change-management deadlines.
• Excellent written communication skills and close attention to technical accuracy, consistency, and usability, with the ability to convey complex technical trade-offs to both technical and non-technical stakeholders and leadership.
• Proven ability to build effective working relationships across a highly matrixed engineering and service organization, and to influence outcomes with teams outside direct reporting lines.
• Proven track record of exercising independent judgment on new or undefined assignments, and of mentoring or informally leading other technical writers.
• Ability to stand, sit, or walk for 8-10 hours per day.
• Required to communicate using phone and/or e-mail.
• Ability to view, read, and interpret documents.
• Ability to perform all duties in an office environment that may contain ambient noise and temperature fluctuations.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with EV systems, high-voltage components, or automotive diagnostic content.
• Hands-on automotive repair, technician, or service lab experience.
• Familiarity with CATIA, 3DExperience, or similar CAD/PLM tools.
• Experience with DITA/XML, component content management systems (CCMS), or structured authoring tools such as Oxygen.
• Experience using AI-assisted authoring or workflow tools to scale technical documentation output across a team.

Pay Disclosure

The salary range for this role is $102,300 to $127,900 for Plymouth, MI 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 Plan 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 September 18, 2026.