Director of Data

Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies; Irvine (CA); On-site; USD 219,000 - 359,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity in RSUs

Health coverage

Retirement savings

Paid time off

Family planning programs

Global benefit programs

Job summary

Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies seeks a Director of Data to own our data strategy and platform as we scale toward software-defined vehicles. This hands-on leader will set technical direction, review designs, and grow a high-performing team for vehicle and enterprise data.

The role is based in Palo Alto, Irvine, or Vancouver, with flexibility to work where you fit best. You’ll drive governance, security, and analytics partnering with engineering, product, and manufacturing teams.

Qualifications

• 8–10 years in data engineering/analytics with 3+ years leading data teams.
• Hands-on depth in large-scale data systems; SQL and Python required; Databricks experience.
• Experience designing scalable data architectures for ingestion, ETL/ELT, streaming, storage.
• Experience hiring, developing, retaining data talent and balancing IC with leadership.

Responsibilities

• Define and drive data strategy and roadmap across telemetry, manufacturing, and enterprise data.
• Own architecture for large-scale data platforms handling streaming and batch data.
• Review designs, diagnose issues, and set technical standards by example.
• Recruit, mentor, and grow a data engineering analytics team.
• Partner with quality, manufacturing, product, and software to support data needs.
• Establish data governance, quality, and security across pipelines.
• Build stakeholder-facing reporting on platform health and data quality.
• Evaluate and integrate Databricks, Spark, Kafka, and cloud data warehouses.
• Manage budget, vendor, and tooling decisions.

Skills

SQL

Python

Databricks

Data architecture

Team leadership

Cross-functional

Data governance

ETL/ELT

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related

Advanced degree a plus

Tools

Spark

Kafka

BI tools (Tableau, Power BI)

Job description

About Us

Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies is a joint venture between two industry leaders with a clear vision for automotive’s next chapter. From operating systems to zonal controllers to cloud and connectivity solutions, we’re addressing the challenges of electric vehicles through technology that will set the standards for software-defined vehicles around the world.

Role Summary

We are looking for a Director of Data to own our data strategy and platform as we scale toward software-defined vehicles. This is a hands-on leadership role where you'll set technical direction and stay close to the architecture and code, while building and managing a high-performing team responsible for high-volume, high-velocity vehicle and enterprise data. You'll bring both the technical depth to make sound platform decisions and the people leadership to grow and run a team operating at scale. We're hiring for this role in Palo Alto, Irvine, or Vancouver. We are happy to work with whichever location suits you best.

Responsibilities

• Define and drive the data strategy and roadmap across vehicle telemetry, manufacturing, and enterprise data domains, aligning with engineering, product, and business stakeholders.
• Own architecture decisions for large-scale data platforms (ingestion, storage, processing, and serving layers) handling high-volume streaming and batch data.
• Stay hands-on: review designs and code, dive into pipeline or performance issues, and set technical standards by example, not just by policy.
• Recruit, manage, mentor, and grow a team of data engineers and analytics professionals; own hiring plans, performance management, and career development.
• Partner with quality, manufacturing, product, and software engineering teams to ensure data infrastructure supports reliability, safety, and product analytics needs.
• Establish data governance, quality, and security standards across pipelines and platforms, ensuring compliance with relevant regulatory and privacy requirements.
• Build and maintain stakeholder-facing reporting on platform health, data quality, and delivery against roadmap commitments.
• Evaluate and integrate modern tooling (e.g., Databricks, Spark, Kafka, cloud data warehouses, AI/LLM-assisted engineering tools) to keep the platform and team ahead of scale demands.
• Manage budget, vendor, and tooling decisions for the data organization.

Minimum Qualifications

• 8–10 years of overall industry experience in data engineering or analytics, including 3+ years managing high-volume data engineering or analytics teams.
• Demonstrated hands‑on technical depth in building and operating large-scale data systems, proficiency in SQL and Python required, along with hands‑on experience with Databricks required (additional experience with Spark or equivalent distributed data platforms a plus).
• Track record of designing and scaling data architecture (ingestion, ETL/ELT, streaming, and storage) for high-volume, high-velocity data.
• Experience hiring, developing, and retaining data engineering talent, with a demonstrated ability to balance IC‑level technical involvement with people leadership.
• Strong cross‑functional partnership skills and being comfortable working with engineering, product, quality, and manufacturing stakeholders to translate business needs into data infrastructure.
• Experience establishing data governance, quality, and security practices at an organizational level.
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Data Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related technical discipline; advanced degree a plus.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in automotive, mobility, IoT, or another industry with high-volume sensor/telemetry data.
• Experience integrating or prompting AI/LLM tools into engineering workflows.
• Familiarity with dashboard/BI tooling (HEX, Tableau, Power BI, or similar) for stakeholder reporting.

Total Rewards

We build the exceptional – and we believe the people doing that work should be rewarded accordingly. In addition to a competitive base salary, full-time positions may be is eligible to participate in our annual company performance bonus program. Payments are discretionary and not guaranteed; actual amounts depend on company results and the terms of the plan in effect, and require active employment at the time of payout. This role is also eligible for equity in the form of Restricted Stock Units (RSUs), subject to board approval and the terms of our equity incentive plans, including applicable vesting requirements. In addition to our compensation programs, we invest in our people with a comprehensive benefits package designed to support the health, wellbeing, and financial future for full‑time employees – including health coverage, retirement savings, time off, and family planning programs. Offerings vary by country. Learn more about our global benefit programs.

Equal Opportunity

Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information or characteristics, physical or mental disability, marital/domestic partner status, age, military/veteran status, medical condition, or any other characteristic protected by law. We are also committed to ensuring compliance with all applicable fair employment practice laws regarding citizenship and immigration status. Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies is committed to ensuring that our hiring process is accessible for persons with disabilities. If you have a disability or limitation, such as those covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act, that requires accommodations to assist you in the search and application process, please email us at [e-mail].

Candidate Data Privacy

Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies may collect, use and disclose your personal information or personal data (within the meaning of the applicable data protection laws) when you apply for employment and/or participate in our recruitment processes (“Candidate Personal Data”). This data includes contact, demographic, communications, educational, professional, employment, social media/website, network/device, recruiting system usage/interaction, security and preference information. Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies may use your Candidate Personal Data for the purposes of (i) tracking interactions with our recruiting system; (ii) carrying out, analyzing and improving our application and recruitment process, including assessing you and your application and conducting employment, background and reference checks; (iii) establishing an employment relationship or entering into an employment contract with you; (iv) complying with our legal, regulatory and corporate governance obligations; (v) record keeping; (vi) ensuring network and information security and preventing fraud; and (vii) as otherwise required or permitted by applicable law. Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies may share your Candidate Personal Data with (i) internal personnel who have a need to know such information in order to perform their duties, including individuals on our People Team, Finance, Legal, and the team(s) with the position(s) for which you are applying; (ii) Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies affiliates; and (iii) Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies’ service providers, including providers of background checks, staffing services, and cloud services. Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies may transfer or store internationally your Candidate Personal Data, including to or in the United States, Canada, and the European Union and in the cloud, and this data may be subject to the laws and accessible to the courts, law enforcement and national security authorities of such jurisdictions. If you provide a mobile telephone number as part of your application or during the recruitment process, Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies may use that number to contact you via SMS text message for recruitment-related purposes, including scheduling, logistics, and status updates. Message and data rates may apply. You may opt out of SMS communications at any time by replying STOP to any text message you receive from us. Consent to receive SMS messages is not a condition of applying for or being considered for employment. Please see our Candidate Data Privacy Notice (English) and Candidate Data Privacy Notice (Serbian) for more information.

Compensation Range: $218,800 - $359,425