Functional Safety Risk Manager

Rivian; Palo Alto (CA); On-site; USD 167,400 - 209,300; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual bonus

Equity awards

Health, dental, vision insurance

401(k) plan

Job summary

Rivian in Palo Alto, CA is seeking a Senior Functional Safety Lead to oversee vehicle and system level safety risk management across safety-critical functions. You will ensure safety goals, analyses, and validation evidence align into a coherent program view, coordinating governance forums and cross‑functional reviews.

You will own HARA outputs, ASIL allocations, and traceability from hazards to safety requirements.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in the automotive industry with a background in functional safety.
• Bachelor's degree in an engineering field (e.g., Mechanical, Electrical, Systems).
• Experience with formal requirements management and traceability tools.

Responsibilities

• Define and run a functional safety risk management framework at vehicle and system level; maintain risk registers and drive mitigations.
• Consolidate safety status reporting across domains into a single view for program reviews.
• Plan and coordinate supplier functional safety audits and assessments; manage findings and corrective actions.

Skills

Functional safety

Risk management

Cross-functional collaboration

Independent work

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering

Tools

Requirements management tools

Job description

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.

Role Summary

Leads the vehicle- and system-level functional safety risk management across safety‑critical functions, ensuring safety goals, HARA outputs, requirements, interface assumptions, audits, and validation evidence are aligned for a coherent program view. This role consolidates safety status across domains, facilitates governance forums and risk reviews, coordinates supplier safety assessments, and builds the frameworks, reporting structures, and cross‑functional mechanisms needed to scale consistent functional safety decision‑making across Rivian programs and partners.

Responsibilities

• Define and run a functional safety risk management framework at vehicle and system level: maintain an integrated FuSa risk register, track risk ratings versus Rivian safety targets, and drive mitigation and escalation routines with program and domain leadership.
• Consolidate functional safety status reporting across domains (requirements, analyses, tests, audits, findings) into a single view for program reviews, providing a clear narrative on risk posture, gaps, and recovery plans.
• Plan and coordinate supplier functional safety audits and assessments: define scope and objectives, align cross‑functional participants, manage the audit calendar, track findings and corrective actions, and ensure outcomes are reflected in risk registers and safety cases.
• Maintain and continuously improve processes, templates, and dashboards (focus here) for functional safety integration (e.g., requirement and traceability patterns, risk registers, validation coverage views, audit trackers) to scale safety integration and risk management across programs and suppliers.
• Establish and facilitate governance forums (e.g., safety boards, risk reviews, change control) that provide collective voice for all functional safety stakeholders at Rivian, ensure consistent decision making, and document risk acceptance and waivers.
• Represent Rivian’s functional safety organization to suppliers, coordinating safety goals, requirements, safety concepts, and interface assumptions; ensuring robust Development Interface Agreements; and integrating supplier plans and risks into Rivian program plans.
• Own the milestones, tracking, and reporting of the decomposition of HARA outputs and safety goals into clear functional and technical safety requirements, interface specifications, and acceptance criteria, ensuring that ownership and ASIL allocation are understood across systems, hardware, and software teams.
• Report on the end‑to‑end traceability from hazards and safety goals through functional and technical safety requirements, software safety requirements, test cases, and evidence, using Rivian’s requirements management tools.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in the automotive industry, with a background in functional safety.
• Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering, Applied Physics, Electrical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related engineering field.
• Demonstrated ability to work independently and reliably in a fast‑paced environment.
• Strong curiosity and technical depth to understand the product and how safety and regulatory requirements apply to it.
• Experience with formal requirements management and traceability tools.
• Strong interpersonal and cross‑functional collaboration skills, with the ability to build effective relationships across Rivian and with external suppliers and vendors.

Pay Disclosure

The salary range for this role is $167,400 – $209,300 for Palo Alto, 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.

Equal Opportunity

Rivian is an equal opportunity employer and complies with all applicable federal, state, and local fair employment practices laws. 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.

Rivian 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 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 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 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 affiliates; and (iii) Rivian’s service providers, including providers of background checks, staffing services, and cloud services.

Rivian may transfer or store internationally your Candidate Personal Data, including to or in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, 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.

Please note that we are currently not accepting applications from third‑party application services.