Sr. Test Engineer

About Rivian

Rivian is on a mission to keep the world adventurous forever. This goes for the emissions‑free Electric Adventure Vehicles we build, and the curious, courageous souls we seek to attract.

As a company, we constantly challenge what’s possible, never simply accepting what has always been done. We reframe old problems, seek new solutions and operate comfortably in areas that are unknown. Our backgrounds are diverse, but our team shares a love of the outdoors and a desire to protect it for future generations.

The Sr. Staff Test Engineer is a senior technical leader and subject matter expert who owns major portions of Rivian’s test strategy, methods, and infrastructure for powertrain and drivetrain systems. They translate ambiguous customer and program needs into scalable test solutions, lead resolution of the most complex issues on our test assets, and act as a go‑to escalation point for engineers and technicians across multiple labs and programs.

This role operates at multi‑program, multi‑stand scope: defining test approaches, improving systems and processes, and mentoring the broader test engineering organization to raise the standard of how we design, execute, and interpret tests.

Technical Leadership & Test Strategy

• Own the end‑to‑end test strategy for a significant domain (e.g., powertrain durability, system thermal, NVH, or rig‑based validation), ensuring alignment with vehicle and subsystem requirements, program timelines, and safety constraints.
• Translate high‑level attribute and DVP targets into concrete test methods, profiles, and acceptance criteria that can be executed repeatably across multiple test areas and sites.
• Define and maintain standards, templates, and playbooks for test requests, procedures, instrumentation, data quality, and reporting, and drive their adoption across the test organization.
• Identify gaps in current capabilities (rig hardware, control systems, measurement chains, data workflows) and lead roadmaps to close them through new rigs, upgrades, or process changes.

Test System Design, Development & Ownership

• Architect and lead the implementation of complex test systems (e.g., multi‑axis drivetrain rigs, shaker + thermal + humidity combinations, custom HIL or RTCS setups), working with controls, software, facilities, and safety.
• Define technical requirements for testbed hardware and software (dynos, gearboxes, power electronics, DAQ, safety interlocks, automation scripts), and ensure they are validated, and maintainable.
• Serve as the technical owner for selected high‑value rigs or test areas, accountable for uptime, fidelity, and suitability to current and future test needs.
• Develop and review automation and data‑processing approaches (test scripts, health checks, dashboards, KPIs) to improve repeatability, coverage, and engineer productivity.

Test Planning, Execution & Data Interpretation

• Lead test planning for complex or first‑of‑a‑kind campaigns, including sequence design, boundary conditions, instrumentation plans, and risk assessments.
• Provide hands‑on technical support for critical tests: bring‑up, debug, fault triage, and correlation against models or vehicle‑level behavior.
• Review and synthesize test results at a system level, providing clear engineering conclusions, trade‑offs, and recommendations to design, attributes, and program teams.
• Champion data quality and traceability: ensure that test configurations, calibrations, and deviations are captured such that results can be trusted and reused for future analysis.

Cross‑Functional Collaboration & Influence

• Act as the primary technical counterpart for your domain with Design Engineering, Attributes, Systems, DREs, Controls, Reliability, and Manufacturing/Service partners.
• Drive cross‑functional problem solving on high‑impact issues (e.g., durability failures, correlation gaps, unexpected NVH or thermal behavior), ensuring robust root cause, containment, and validated corrective actions.
• Provide executive‑ready communication on test status, risks, and options: distill complex technical detail into concise, decision‑oriented narratives for managers and senior leadership.
• Influence future…