Sr. Software Engineer, Data, Autonomy

Rivian; Palo Alto (CA); On-site; USD 162,800 - 203,500; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Robust medical, dental, and vision insurance

Coverage effective from first day of employment

Job summary

A leading electric vehicle manufacturer in California is seeking a skilled Senior Data Engineer to enhance data architecture for autonomous vehicle development. This role demands strong AWS and Spark experience, focusing on scalable data pipelines. The candidate will collaborate with diverse teams and contribute heavily to technical designs while maintaining hands-on operational excellence. Ideal for those with a background in data engineering and a passion for innovative technology.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in data engineering or distributed systems.
• Strong knowledge of AWS services.
• Hands-on experience with Kubernetes for managing workloads.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and optimize scalable data pipelines.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to deliver data infrastructure.
• Implement data processing frameworks for privacy-aware handling.

Skills

Data pipeline optimization

Data architecture design

Distributed systems knowledge

Strong communication skills

Kubernetes experience

AWS services proficiency

Education

Bachelor’s or Master’s in Computer Science or Engineering

Tools

Spark

Databricks

AWS

Job description

About Rivian

Rivianis 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 Autonomy organization at Rivian is seeking a highly skilled and hands‑on Senior Data Engineer to join our Cloud and Data team. This role is ideal for an experienced engineer who thrives at the intersection of data architecture, distributed systems, and scalable engineering. You will design, build, and maintain critical data infrastructure to support the next generation of autonomous vehicle development. You will contribute to the implementation of scalable, reliable, and secure data pipelines, remaining deeply involved in hands‑on development and operational excellence. The ideal candidate is a self‑starter who can work independently on well‑scoped problems, take ownership of complex components, and deliver projects end‑to‑end with
guidance when needed. You will collaborate closely with engineering and product teams, contribute to technical design discussions, review code, and help improve data platform reliability, performance, and scalability over time

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and optimize scalable, high‑throughput data pipelines to process vehicle telemetry, sensor logs, and simulation outputs using Spark, Databricks, and AWS services.
• Contribute to the design and evolution of distributed data architectures across batch, streaming, and hybrid processing frameworks to support both real‑time and offline autonomy use cases.
• Own the development and delivery of complex data engineering components and well‑scoped projects, from implementation through deployment and operational support.
• Collaborate closely with cross‑functional teams including Perception, Simulation, QA, and Safety to deliver reliable and performant data infrastructure aligned with autonomy requirements.
• Apply engineering best practices for CI/CD, testing, monitoring, and observability to improve the quality and reliability of data workflows.
• Participate in code reviews, design discussions, and technical knowledge sharing to help raise the bar on system design and implementation quality across the team.
• Implement data processing frameworks that support privacy‑aware data handling, geospatial enrichment, and high‑volume data ingestion and transformation.
• Evaluate and adopt new tools, libraries, or platform features to improve pipeline performance, scalability, and cost efficiency.
• Tackle moderately ambiguous technical problems by collaborating with stakeholders, proposing solutions, and iterating toward scalable implementations.
• Stay current with data engineering trends and apply best practices thoughtfully to real‑world autonomy data challenges

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical field.
• 5+ years of experience in data engineering, software engineering, or distributed systems.
• Proven experience designing and operating large‑scale data systems using Spark, Databricks, or equivalent tools.
• Strong knowledge of AWS services (e.g., S3, Lambda, EKS, DynamoDB, IAM) and data lake architecture.
• Hands‑on experience with Kubernetes and container orchestration for managing scalable, resilient workloads.
• Proficiency in Python, Go and SQL, with a focus on writing modular, testable, production‑grade code.
• Deep understanding of streaming and batch data processing paradigms, including data ingestion from edge devices.
• Demonstrated ability to work independently, self‑direct, and lead projects without close supervision.
• Familiarity with data governance and access control frameworks such as Unity Catalog or AWS Lake Formation.
• Strong communication skills and the ability to influence through clear technical reasoning and collaboration.
• Experience working with geospatial data, vehicle telemetry, or IoT‑scale pipelines is a plus.

Pay Disclosure

Salary Range for California Based Applicants: $162,800.00 - $203,500.00 (actual compensation will be determined based on experience, location, and other factors permitted by law).

Benefits Summary: Rivian provides robust medical/Rx, dental and vision insurance packages for full‑time employees, their spouse or domestic partner, and children up to age 26. Coverage is effective on the first day of employment.

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) 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.

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