Senior Vehicle Test Engineer – Validation & Field Trials

Rivian; Tustin (CA); On-site; USD 125,000 - 156,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401(k) Plan

Employee Stock Purchase Program

Health insurance

Paid vacation

Disability insurance

Job summary

Rivian is seeking a Staff Vehicle Test Engineer to lead full vehicle and subsystem development and validation testing across global sites, including Rivian’s Arizona Proving Grounds. You will develop test plans, coordinate field tests, and serve as SME in focus areas to ensure robust validation from concept through production.

You will collaborate with Software, Vehicle Design, and Quality teams, manage test documentation, and use JIRA/JAMA/Confluence for planning and issue tracking.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or related science with 5+ years in automotive or related industry.
• Master’s degree or higher with 7+ years in automotive or related industry preferred.
• Thorough understanding of primary vehicle systems and experience with vehicle tests.
• Team-first mentality and autonomous work style.
• Curiosity about all things automotive.
• Experience testing at proving grounds and on remote public roads.
• Familiarity with JIRA/JAMA/Confluence for test planning and tracking.
• Experience with CAD, vehicle instrumentation, calibration, data logging and data acquisition systems.

Responsibilities

• Plan, track, lead, and report results from field tests across multiple vehicle programs.
• Serve as Subject Matter Expert in focus areas such as AI, Durability, Thermal, Dynamics, NVH, etc.
• Develop high level timing plans and budgets for test operations.
• Coordinate quotations and purchase orders with vendors and internal accounting.
• Create and maintain test documentation and verification plans.
• Prepare and update test vehicles and record pre/during/post test performance.
• Execute and document full-vehicle and sub-system testing within the DVP&R.
• Drive vehicles at Proving Grounds and remote sites under varied conditions.
• Lead root cause analysis for failures and track using JIRA.
• Lead meetings with Software, Vehicle Design, Quality, and other teams to validate results.

Skills

Vehicle testing

Root cause analysis

Data acquisition

Test planning

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering or related science

Master’s degree in a related field (preferred)

Tools

JIRA/JAMA/Confluence

CAD software

Data logging

Job description

Rivian is seeking a Staff Vehicle Test Engineer to lead full vehicle and subsystem development and validation testing across global sites, including Rivian’s Arizona Proving Grounds. You will develop test plans, coordinate field tests, and serve as SME in focus areas to ensure robust validation from concept through production.

You will collaborate with Software, Vehicle Design, and Quality teams, manage test documentation, and use JIRA/JAMA/Confluence for planning and issue tracking.