Staff Software Engineer - AI Platform

Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies; Palo Alto (CA); On-site; USD 206,500 - 258,100; Full time

Job summary

Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies is seeking a Staff Software Engineer specializing in agentic applications to shape our GenAI platform’s architecture and strategy. You will drive the integration of LLMs with internal and customer-facing apps at scale, advancing cognitive automation and building observable, scalable distributed systems.

You will establish engineering standards, collaborate with ML engineers and product teams, mentor engineers across levels, and influence technical

Qualifications

• Advanced degree or higher in Computer Science, Machine Learning, or a related field.
• 12+ years of hands-on software engineering experience.
• Expertise in large-scale distributed systems and production-grade backend software.
• Experience building agentic applications leveraging LLMs in production.

Responsibilities

• Architect and own agentic systems at org-wide scale using LLMs.
• Define LLM integration strategy across our software ecosystem.
• Lead the cognitive automation roadmap with cross-functional teams.
• Champion scalable system design and production-grade ML solutions.
• Set engineering standards and foster technical excellence across the organization.
• Collaborate with executives to align technical direction and drive organizational impact.

Skills

Golang

Python

Distributed systems

Education

Bachelor's degree or higher in CS/ML

Tools

AWS

Kubernetes

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.

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.

The road to the future is uncharted. By combining our expertise across connectivity, AI, security and more, we’ll map a new way forward. Working together, we’ll create a future that’s more connected, more intelligent, more sustainable for everyone.

Role Summary

As a Staff Software Engineer specializing in agentic applications, you will be a defining technical authority and highly influential voice in shaping our GenAI platform’s architecture and strategy. You will play a foundational role in integrating LLMs with our internal and customer‑facing applications at scale. Your focus will be on leveraging LLMs to drive cognitive automation, streamlining workflows, and enhancing decision‑making. You'll also set the standard for best practices in building resilient, scalable, and observable distributed systems, ensuring the creation of production‑grade tools that are scalable, reliable, and maintainable across the entire organization.

Responsibilities

• Architect and Own Agentic Systems at Org‑Wide Scale: Architect and lead the development of highly scalable and sophisticated intelligent agents that utilize LLMs to automate workflows, optimize operations, and elevate user experiences — setting the technical direction across multiple teams and product areas.
• Define LLM Integration Strategy: Own and drive the technical vision and long‑term strategy for integrating LLMs with our evolving software ecosystem, ensuring robust, scalable, and maintainable communication and data exchange. Serve as the primary technical decision‑maker and escalation point for LLM architecture across the organization.
• Lead the Cognitive Automation Roadmap: Partner with product managers, engineering leaders, and senior leadership to set the strategic direction for cognitive automation. Leverage LLMs to automate complex cognitive tasks — such as information extraction, summarization, and question answering — to enhance efficiency and accuracy system‑wide.
• Champion Scalable System Design: Take ultimate ownership of the entire development lifecycle, from conceptualization and design to implementation and deployment, for our most critical machine learning‑powered tools and applications. Establish technical frameworks and patterns adopted org‑wide.
• Establish and Uphold Engineering Standards Across the Organization: Define the engineering culture. Implement and enforce industry‑leading standards for building production‑grade, distributed machine learning solutions — and ensure adoption and consistency beyond your immediate team.
• Drive Technical Consensus and Shape Organizational Direction: Continuously research and experiment with emerging trends in machine learning, AI agents, and distributed systems. Translate findings into actionable technical strategy with measurable org‑wide impact.
• Lead Cross‑Functional Alignment at the Executive Level: Work closely with Machine Learning engineers, product teams, and senior leadership to gather requirements, define project scope, and deliver impactful solutions. Own technical alignment across the organization and represent engineering at the executive level.
• Grow and Elevate Engineering Talent Broadly: Share your expertise and provide guidance across engineering levels — from mid‑level engineers to senior leads — fostering a culture of technical excellence, innovation, and continuous learning. Actively contribute to hiring strategy and technical bar‑raising.

Qualifications

• Advanced Degree: Bachelor's, Master's degree or Ph.D. in Computer Science, Machine Learning, or a related field.
• Proven Experience: 12+ years of hands‑on experience in software engineering, with a deep focus on designing and building large‑scale distributed systems. Extensive, hands‑on experience in building and deploying complex agentic applications leveraging LLMs in production environments. Demonstrated track record of org‑wide technical impact.
• Strong Technical Skills: Expertise in Golang is strongly preferred. Proficiency in Python or similar programming languages, as well as deep expertise with cloud and container frameworks such as AWS and Kubernetes. A proven track record of designing and building highly scalable, fault‑ tolerant, and observable distributed systems.
• Deep Understanding: Expert‑level grasp of machine learning principles, algorithms, and evaluation metrics, as well as software engineering best practices for distributed systems.
• Production Experience: Demonstrated success in owning the design, deployment, and operation of scalable backend software in high‑stakes production environments at significant organizational scale.
• Collaborative Spirit and Technical Leadership: Excellent communication and teamwork skills, with a proven ability to build consensus with executive stakeholders, define engineering culture, and align entire organizations on complex technical decisions.
• Passion for Innovation: A genuine interest in exploring the latest advancements in machine learning and natural language processing and applying them to solve impactful business challenges at scale.

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: $206,500 - $258,100