Staff Advanced Diagnostics Engineer

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 Staff Advanced Diagnostics Engineer to serve as a technical authority for

factory and vehicle software diagnostics. This role will lead the triage, investigation, and

resolution of complex electrical, vehicle software, factory software, and IT issues that affect

vehicle quality, production throughput, end-of-line operations, and launch readiness.

The Staff Advanced Diagnostics Engineer will establish scalable diagnostic methods, improve

escalation workflows, and drive issues from initial detection through root cause, containment,

corrective action, and prevention. The role requires a hands-on engineer who can move quickly

between vehicle systems, factory equipment, software tools, data, and cross-functional teams.

Responsibilities

• Act as a senior technical first responder for complex vehicle, factory software, electrical

hardware, and production-impacting issues.

• Lead structured triage and root-cause analysis for recurring or high-severity concerns

across manufacturing and vehicle systems.

• Own problem resolution using disciplined methods such as 8D, fault-tree analysis, data

analysis, fault reproduction, and controlled experimentation.

• Investigate issues across vehicle ECUs, networks, diagnostics interfaces, embedded

software, factory applications, end-of-line systems, and supporting IT infrastructure.

• Use vehicle diagnostic tools, production data, logs, traces, network captures, and

electrical test equipment to isolate failures and validate corrective actions.

• Partner with Firmware Integration Engineering, Vehicle Software, Electrical Hardware,

Systems Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Operations, Quality, Reliability,

Service, and IT/MES teams to drive issues to closure.

• Support lineside, end-of-line, launch, rework, and flash-lab investigations, including

hands-on testing and vehicle or station troubleshooting.

• Define and improve escalation pathways, triage standards, diagnostic playbooks, and

response workflows for factory and vehicle software issues.

• Develop dashboards and metrics that improve prioritization, response time, and

recurrence prevention.

• Identify systemic patterns across vehicles, stations, software versions, configurations,

suppliers, and production processes.

• Translate diagnostic findings into clear requirements, defect reports, containment plans,

and corrective-action recommendations for engineering and manufacturing owners.

• Influence future vehicle, factory software, and diagnostic-tool architecture by

communicating lessons learned and design-for-diagnostics opportunities.

• Establish technical standards for issue severity, evidence collection, reproduction,

ownership, escalation, and closure criteria.

• Mentor engineers and technicians in advanced troubleshooting, data-driven problem

solving, and effective technical communication.

• Represent Advanced Diagnostics in technical reviews, launch readiness forums, incident

reviews, and leadership decision-making meetings.

Success in This Role

• Production and launch issues are triaged quickly with clear evidence, ownership, and

next steps.

• Root causes are identified and corrective actions are validated rather than relying on

temporary workarounds.

• Diagnostic coverage, tooling, documentation, and escalation workflows improve over

time.

• Recurring vehicle and factory software issues decline through systemic corrective action.
• Cross-functional teams have a clear, trusted technical partner for advanced diagnostics.
• Engineers and technicians become more capable and consistent in troubleshooting

complex issues.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, computer engineering, software engineering,

systems engineering, or a related technical field; equivalent experience may be

considered.

• Typically 6+ years of relevant experience in automotive systems, vehicle software,

factory software, electrical hardware, manufacturing engineering, test engineering,

reliability engineering, or advanced diagnostics.

• Deep experience troubleshooting complex hardware and software systems in a

production, launch, test, or service environment.

• Demonstrated experience leading root-cause investigations and corrective actions for

complex or recurring issues.

• Strong understanding of vehicle electrical architectures, ECUs, communication networks,

and diagnostic concepts.

• Experience with one or more of CAN, CAN FD, LIN, Automotive Ethernet, UDS, or

related vehicle communication protocols.

• Experience analyzing software logs, network traces, production data, test results, and

system telemetry.

• Proficiency with diagnostic and debugging tools such as CANalyzer, CANoe, Wireshark,

oscilloscopes, multimeters, data acquisition systems, or comparable tools.

• Ability to understand and troubleshoot interactions between vehicle systems, embedded

software, factory applications, manufacturing equipment, and IT/MES infrastructure.

• Strong technical writing and communication skills, including the ability to present

complex findings to engineers, operators, executives, and other stakeholders.

• Demonstrated ability to operate independently, establish direction in ambiguous

situations, and influence outcomes across organizational boundaries.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience supporting high-volume automotive manufacturing or major vehicle

launches.

• Experience with end-of-line testing, manufacturing execution systems,

flashing/programming, station controls, or factory automation.

• Experience with embedded software integration, firmware releases, configuration

management, or software version troubleshooting.

• Experience developing diagnostic scripts, data pipelines, dashboards, or automation

using Python or similar tools.

• Experience with cloud-connected vehicle systems, telemetry platforms, or remote

diagnostics.

• Familiarity with electrical schematics, wiring diagrams, board-level electronics, power

distribution, and signal integrity fundamentals.

• Experience defining diagnostic requirements or improving design-for-serviceability and

design-for-diagnostics practices.

• Experience mentoring engineers or technicians and setting technical standards for a

team.

Pay Disclosure

The salary range for this role is $114,100- $142,600 for Normal, IL-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 an annual performance bonus and equity awards.

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