Sr Manager, EPC Software & Controls TPM

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

Rivian is seeking a Senior Manager to lead Electric Power Conversion Software and Controls

Technical Program Management. This leader will oversee the planning and execution of

embedded software and control programs that enable Rivian’s power-conversion products,

while directly managing a team of Technical Program Managers.

The role sits at the intersection of software and controls engineering, power electronics,

systems engineering, vehicle integration, product development, and program leadership. The

successful candidate will create clarity across a portfolio of products and vehicle programs,

establish a reliable plan of record, drive technical and programmatic decisions, and ensure that

software and controls deliverables are ready for integration, validation, release, launch, and

sustaining support.

This is a hands-on leadership role for someone who can zoom out to shape an organization and

roadmap, while also engaging deeply enough with embedded software and controls

development to identify dependencies, challenge assumptions, and drive resolution of complex

issues. The Senior Manager will be expected to lead through influence across functions,

develop a high-performing TPM team, and build scalable operating mechanisms that improve

predictability and execution across EPC.

Responsibilities

Lead the EPC software and controls TPM organization

• Directly manage, coach, and develop EPC software and controls Technical Program

Managers; establish clear expectations for ownership, technical depth, communication,

and follow-through.

• Define the team’s operating model, roles and responsibilities, coverage model,

prioritization framework, and engagement model with software, controls, hardware,

systems, test, quality, manufacturing, service, and vehicle program teams.

• Build a culture of technical curiosity, accountability, early risk identification, constructive

escalation, and disciplined execution.

• Lead hiring, onboarding, performance management, talent reviews, succession

planning, and career development for the TPM organization.

• Set a high bar for the quality of program plans, status reporting, decision records, risk

management, and technical issue closure.

Own portfolio planning and execution

• Own the integrated roadmap and plan of record for EPC embedded software and

controls across power electronics, inverter embedded software, motor controls, FuSA,

and vehicle integration.

• Translate product, vehicle, systems, and engineering objectives into executable program

plans with milestones, dependencies, critical paths, resource assumptions, and

measurable outcomes.

• Coordinate planning across the software development lifecycle, including requirements,

architecture, implementation, integration, calibration, verification, validation, release,

launch, and sustaining activities.

• Establish predictable planning and review cadences that provide working teams and

senior leadership with a clear view of progress, risks, decisions, and support needed.

• Balance competing priorities across new product introduction, platform development,

sustaining engineering, field issues, technical debt, and future technology development.

• Ensure that software and controls plans remain aligned with hardware maturity,

prototype and vehicle build timing, test-asset availability, feature maturity, and

production-intent milestones.

Drive technical program leadership

• Serve as a senior program leader and escalation point for complex EPC software and

controls issues that cross organizational or product boundaries.

• Work with engineering leaders to break down ambiguous problems into clear

deliverables, owners, decision points, and closure criteria.

• Drive early identification and active management of interfaces and dependencies,

including power electronics, inverter embedded software, motor controls, FuSA, and

vehicle and DCFC Charger integration.

• Partner with technical leads to ensure requirements, interfaces, assumptions, and

acceptance criteria are sufficiently defined for execution.

• Challenge incomplete problem statements, unclear ownership, weak evidence,

unrealistic timing, and unresolved cross-functional dependencies.

Lead software release, integration, and validation readiness

• Establish and improve software and controls release planning, including branch strategy,

feature maturity, release criteria, change control, sign-off expectations, and post-release

follow-through.

• Align software and controls deliverables with system integration, bench, SIL/HIL, dyno,

mule, vehicle, and production validation activities, as applicable.

• Partner with hardware TPMs and engineering teams to plan bring-up, prototype builds,

integration events, test campaigns, and issue-resolution cycles.

• Ensure that launch-critical issues are contained, escalated with sufficient context, driven

to root cause, and closed with validated corrective actions.

• Improve the connection between engineering execution and program objectives so that

software teams understand what must be delivered, why it matters, and by when.

Build scalable systems and operating mechanisms

• Create and maintain a single source of truth for EPC software and controls program

status, including schedules, milestones, risks, dependencies, decisions, issue health,

and release readiness.

• Define standard templates, dashboards, review forums, and data-quality expectations

across the TPM team.

• Improve the use of tools such as Jira, Confluence,and engineering/release systems to

support transparent execution and effective decision-making.

• Establish mechanisms for capturing lessons learned and applying them to future

programs, development processes, release practices, and team standards.

Partner across the company

• Represent EPC software and controls in program reviews, technical reviews, launch

governance, leadership reviews, and cross-functional escalation forums.

• Communicate clearly from working-level technical detail to executive-level summaries,

making risks, options, recommendations, and decision asks easy to understand.

• Build trust by providing accurate status, surfacing bad news early, closing the loop on

commitments, and keeping stakeholders aligned through changing conditions.

• Help define and continuously improve the interface between EPC and adjacent software,

controls, hardware, charging, and vehicle-integration organizations.

Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree in engineering, computer science, business, or a related technical

discipline; equivalent practical experience may be considered. Master’s degree

preferred.

• 10+ years of experience in technical program management, software/controls

engineering, or a related technical discipline.

• 3+ years of experience leading people, teams, or complex cross-functional programs;

direct management experience is required for this role.

• Experience leading embedded software, controls, or firmware programs through

development, integration, validation, release, and production or customer launch.

• Strong understanding of software development lifecycle practices, requirements

management, issue tracking, release management, and engineering validation.

• Demonstrated experience managing multiple interdependent programs and aligning

technical teams to a common plan of record.

• Demonstrated ability to influence without relying solely on formal authority, resolve

…