Staff Systems Engineer - Power Modes

Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies; Palo Alto (CA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity (RSUs)

Health coverage

Retirement plan

Job summary

Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies seeks a talented Systems Engineer to architect vehicle power moding across next-gen electrical architectures. Drive design, development, and validation of power management for energy efficiency, performance, and reliability across multiple programs.

Collaborate with external brands and cross-functional teams to balance technical constraints with innovative, quality-focused solutions.

Qualifications

• Design timing-critical sequences for high-transient loads and ensure system stability.
• Experience with electromechanical platforms (aerospace/defense/automotive).
• Familiarity with functional safety standards (ISO 26262, DO-178C, IEC 61508).
• Ability to decompose high-level system intents into testable software/hardware specifications.
• Experience leading cross-functional negotiations and requirements harmonization.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with external customer brands to harmonize vehicle behaviors with architecture constraints and ensure flexible power moding across brands.
• Own the end-to-end technical definition of the vehicle power moding system and align with program milestones.
• Lead the design of arbitration logic to manage competing power requests while maintaining safe power state.
• Define software interfaces and APIs for the power moding service over Ethernet with zonal controllers.
• Partner with safety and energy teams to implement Limp-Home strategies and tiered load-shedding.
• Decompose high-level requirements into testable specs for software, hardware, and integration teams.
• Define deterministic timing between power moding software and LV/HV subsystems with precise sequencing.
• Manage the vehicle sleep budget and coordinate with energy management to align with range targets.
• Support SIL and HIL test case development focusing on high-risk transient transitions.
• Lead DFMEA/FTA analysis for power-moding behaviors during failures.
• Guide engineers in requirement decomposition and traceability for high-complexity power systems.
• Willingness to travel up to 10% as required.

Skills

Systems engineering

Power management

DFMEA/FTA

Requirements management

Safety standards

Education

B.S./M.S. in Electrical Engineering or related

Tools

Flow

Jama

Polarion

DOORS

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.

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

We are seeking a talented and driven Systems Engineer to architect and lead the development of vehicle power moding strategies for current and next-generation electrical architectures. In this role, you will drive the design, development, and validation of vehicle power management systems, ensuring optimal energy efficiency, performance, and reliability across a diverse portfolio of vehicle programs. You will work closely with external brand partners and cross-functional teams to harmonize desired vehicle behaviors with technical constraints, delivering cutting-edge solutions that align with our commitment to innovation and quality. This role requires a deep understanding of vehicle electrical architectures, power electronics, and deterministic software orchestration.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with external customer brands to harmonize desired vehicle behaviors with technical architecture constraints. Ensure the core vehicle power moding software is flexible enough to support a diverse portfolio of vehicles without requiring bespoke changes for each brand.

• Own the end-to-end technical definition of the vehicle power moding system; partner with the TPM to ensure the technical roadmap is accurately scoped and prioritized to align with vehicle program milestones.

• Lead the design of arbitration logic to resolve competing power requests from various subsystems while ensuring the vehicle always maintains a safe and predictable power state.

• Define the software interfaces and APIs for the power moding service, ensuring seamless communication over an Ethernet backbone with other zonal controllers.

• Partner with functional safety and energy management teams to implement power-related “Limp-Home” strategies; own the software orchestration required to execute tiered load-shedding and degraded state transitions in response to system failures.

• Drive the decomposition of high-level vehicle requirements into testable technical specifications for software, hardware, and integration teams.

• Define the deterministic timing and sequences between power moding software and LV/HV subsystems, utilizing positive feedback loops to ensure rail stability before releasing zonal loads.

• Manage the vehicle-level sleep budget by allocating, monitoring, and enforcing limits; collaborate with the energy management team to align these budgets with vehicle range and standing time targets.

• Support the definition of test cases for SIL (Software-in-the-Loop) and HIL (Hardware-in-the-Loop) environments, focusing on high risk corner-case transient power transitions.

• Lead functional analysis (DFMEA/FTA) to define power-moding behaviors during hardware failures or degraded system states.

• Guide engineers in requirement decomposition and traceability, and the nuances of integrating high-complexity power systems.

• Willingness to travel up to 10% as required

Qualifications

• B.S. or M.S. in Electrical Engineering, Systems Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical field.

• Minimum of 8+ years of experience in systems engineering for complex electromechanical platforms (e.g., Aerospace, Defense, Grid-scale Energy, Robotics, or Automotive).

• Proven ability to design timing-critical sequences where software logic must manage high-transient loads and ensure system stability.

• Deep understanding of high-voltage to low-voltage conversion and the challenges of managing stable power rails in systems with limited energy buffering.

• Expertise in requirements management tools (e.g., Flow, Jama, Polarion, or DOORS) and experience decomposing high-level system intents into testable software/hardware specifications.

• Demonstrated ability to set technical direction, lead cross-functional negotiations, and harmonize requirements between competing domains.

• Strong experience with functional analysis tools such as DFMEA and Fault Tree Analysis (FTA) to ensure system reliability and safety-critical uptime.

• Proven ability to work in a fast-paced development environment and manage technical scope across multiple vehicle platforms simultaneously.

• Familiarity with safety-critical standards (e.g., ISO 26262, DO-178C, or IEC 61508) and the design of fail-safe power state transitions.

• Exceptional ability to translate qualitative “user feel” into quantitative system requirements and technical specifications.

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.

Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies may receive your 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.

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