Sr. Quality Engineer, Containment Lead

Rivian; Normal (IL); On-site; USD 99,000 - 123,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid vacation

Paid sick leave

Comprehensive insurance benefits

401(k) plan

Employee Stock Purchase Program

Job summary

Rivian is seeking a Senior Technical Program Manager, Containment Lead – Plant Quality to guide containment execution in End-of-Line, Yard, and Pre-Delivery workflows. You will work with Quality Engineering and Operations to evaluate plans against CMTE requirements, identify risks, and ensure practical, executable containment strategies for frontline teams.

You will support containment strategy development, document repair procedures, track essential checklists, and escalate gaps.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required in mechanical/manufacturing engineering or equivalent.
• 6+ years in manufacturing quality, quality engineering, or related technical roles in automotive/high-volume manufacturing.
• Hands-on technical experience with End-of-Line, Careline, or Yard operations preferred.
• Strong ability to assess repair feasibility, procedure quality, and field execution risk.
• Experience working cross-functionally with Manufacturing, Quality Engineering, Supplier Quality, and Service Quality teams.
• Ability to translate complex technical details into clear, actionable information for non-technical program managers.
• Working knowledge of Rivian's CMTE process (Quality Hold, Yard Containment, Pre-Delivery Service Action) and the Concern Registry/ICA-PCA framework.
• Experience identifying process gaps and driving practical improvements.
• Ability to stand or sit for 8-12 hours per day.
• Ability to operate in a demanding, fast-paced environment with ownership and accountability.

Responsibilities

• Oversee containment activities in the plant, including timelines, strategies, progress, and decisions for each containment event.
• Support development of containment execution strategy, assessing repair location, labor, tooling, and resources to determine best path forward.
• Develop and document repair procedures for pre-delivery and yard containments; validate remedy instructions before frontline release.
• Track the CMTE minimum-requirements checklist and flag gaps before execution begins.
• Analyze trending quality issues to determine actions; initiate containment or escalate to the Concern Registry.
• Provide technical guidance for Engineering Investigations tied to containment events as needed.
• Partner with Quality Engineering, Containment Operations, and issue owners to develop and present containment strategies to plant leadership.
• Serve as technical liaison for plant containment across cross-functional teams.
• Identify risks and execution concerns within proposed repair procedures before floor implementation.
• Evaluate containment proposals for technical soundness and operational realism for frontline teams.
• Identify opportunities to reduce repair time, lower complexity, and improve efficiency.
• Advise on whether repairs should be at End of Line, in the Yard, or at Pre-Delivery based on feasibility and impact.
• Help ensure documentation and operational readiness for containment actions, coordinating with the RRR process.

Skills

Technical aptitude

Cross-functional collaboration

Communication

Analytical thinking

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical/Manufacturing Engineering or equivalent

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

The Senior Technical Program Manager, Containment Lead – Plant Quality serves as the technical eyes and ears of containment execution inside the plant, ensuring proposed containment strategies are practical, complete, and executable across End-of-Line, Yard, and Pre-Delivery workflows. This role partners closely with Quality Engineering, Containment Operations, and issue owners to evaluate containment plans against the CMTE minimum-requirements gate (CA released, PPAP/SPPAP complete, remedy instructions validated, parts clean and available, manufacturing clean point secured, affected population predefined, Concern Registry created), identify risks and gaps, and elevate concerns when a strategy may not fully support successful field execution. This individual brings strong technical and operational understanding of Quality Hold, Yard Containment, and Pre-Delivery Service Action workflows to ensure frontline teams (FIL, Careline, EOL) have the tools, procedures, and support needed to execute containment actions effectively.

Responsibilities

• Oversee containment activities in the plant, including timelines, strategies, progress, and needed decisions for each containment event (Quality Hold, Yard Containment, Pre-Delivery Service Action)
• Support analysis and development of containment execution strategy, including assessment of repair location (End of Line vs. Yard vs. Service Center), labor, tooling, and resource requirements to determine the best path forward
• Support the creation, development, and documentation of repair procedures for pre-delivery and yard containments, ensuring remedy instructions are validated before release to frontline teams
• Own tracking of the CMTE minimum-requirements checklist (CA status, PPAP/SPPAP completion, parts availability, clean point, affected population, Concern Registry) and flag gaps to the Issue Conductor and cross-functional team before execution begins
• Analyze trending quality issues across FIL, Careline, and EOL to determine appropriate actions, including initiating a containment or escalating into the Concern Registry
• Provide technical guidance and support for Engineering Investigations tied to containment events as needed
• Partner with Quality Engineering, Containment Operations, and issue owners to develop, refine, and present containment strategies to plant leadership
• Serve as the technical liaison for plant containment across cross-functional teams (Quality Engineering, Service Quality, Field Quality & Reliability, Manufacturing Engineering)
• Identify risks, gaps, and execution concerns within proposed containment repair procedures before they reach the floor
• Evaluate containment proposals to confirm execution plans are technically sound and operationally realistic for FIL, Careline, and Yard teams
• Identify opportunities to reduce repair time, lower complexity, and improve containment execution efficiency in the plant
• Provide recommendations on whether containment repairs should be completed at End of Line, in the Yard, or at Pre-Delivery, based on execution feasibility and business impact
• Help ensure plant teams have the documentation, technical direction, and operational readiness needed to execute containment actions successfully, including coordination with the RRR (“Triple R”) process for component-level containment

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, or equivalent
• 6+ years of experience in manufacturing quality, quality engineering, or related technical roles in an automotive or high-volume manufacturing environment
• Prior hands-on technical experience required; direct experience with End-of-Line, Careline, or Yard operations preferred
• Strong technical aptitude with the ability to assess repair feasibility, procedure quality, and field execution risk
• Demonstrated experience working cross-functionally with Manufacturing, Quality Engineering, Supplier Quality, and Service Quality teams
• Strong collaboration skills with the ability to influence and align stakeholders across multiple functions
• Ability to translate complex technical details into clear, actionable information for non-technical program managers and operational teams
• Working knowledge of Rivian's CMTE process (Quality Hold, Yard Containment, Pre-Delivery Service Action) and the Concern Registry / ICA-PCA framework
• Experience identifying process gaps and driving practical improvements in repair strategy and operational execution
• Ability to stand or sit for 8-12 hours per day
• Ability to operate effectively in a demanding, fast-paced environment with a high degree of ownership and accountability

Pay Disclosure

Salary Range for Illinois Based Applicants: The salary range for this role is $98,500 - $123,100 for Illinois 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.

Benefits Summary: 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.

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 October 1, 2026.

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 and Technology

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) recordkeeping; (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.

How We Use AI in Our Hiring Process: To ensure transparency, we want candidates to know that Rivian uses iCIMS Talent Cloud Artificial Intelligence (TCAI) and AI-enabled tools to assist with screening, reviewing, organizing and highlighting profiles and applications that match the key requirements for each role.

AI does not make hiring decisions: Qualified candidate applications are reviewed by a member of our team, and all decisions throughout the process are made by humans. We use AI to support efficiency and consistency, not to replace human judgment. We are committed to a fair, thoughtful, and equitable experience for every candidate.

Participation in AI profile matching is entirely voluntary. If you prefer that your profile not be used in this process, you can opt out at any time. Opting out means your profile will be excluded from automated matching and will not be surfaced for additional roles through this system. Your current application remains active and will not be affected in any way.

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