Sr. Studio & Perceived Quality Engineer

Irvine, CAFull-time$108k–$135kPosted Jul 21, 2026

About Us

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

The Senior Studio Perceived Quality Engineer is a dynamic, multi-faceted role that bridges the gap between creative design and engineering excellence. You are largely responsible for ensuring that the sensory experience and design execution of our adventurous products live up to our brand’s promise. By combining a keen eye for aesthetics with technical rigor, you will convert subjective sensory inputs into objective engineering specifications, championing good, fundamental design across the entire vehicle.

This role goes beyond traditional Perceived Quality. You will act as a core Studio Design Engineer, working closely with all disciplines to arbitrate technically challenging areas and integrate architectural engineering into appealing creative designs. You will lead early attribute consumer research, theme packaging development, and feasibility for interior and exterior Class ‘A’ surfaces.

The ideal candidate is self-motivated, technically proficient, possesses an unusual blend of creativity and engineering acumen, and is ready to mentor others while driving world-class vehicle-level craftsmanship.

Responsibilities

Lead craftsmanship development: Drive vehicle-level craftsmanship and establish criteria for excellence through competitive benchmarking and early attribute research related to Gap + Flush, Firmness + Feel, and Craftsmanship Execution
Set objective specifications: Define and provide specifications to Studio, Engineering, and Supplier teams for visible part interfaces, haptics, paint, surface quality, and more vehicle attributes.
Drive interface maturation: Support interface/section maturation, drive proven interface characteristics into program master sections, and verify Studio and Engineering conformance to inputs.
Validate and verify: Support dimensional variation analysis and risk assessment studies. Virtually validate data for craftsmanship excellence and triage associated issues on physical prototype builds for rapid resolution.
Manage build standards: Translate requirements into a detailed build standard and lead the handoff to production teams.
Vehicle Audits: perform vehicle and part level reviews for Studio Aesthetic standards to detect issues early, and triage issues for rapid resolution.

Qualifications

Education: Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Design Engineering, Transportation Design, or a related technical discipline.
Experience: 5 years’ experience with Craftsmanship, Perceived Quality, or Studio Engineering in automotive, or similar high quality product engineering discipline.
Section + Tolerance Stacks: Deep knowledge of part and assembly tolerance stack analysis, GD&T, and statistical qualification of equipment, design for manufacturing (feasibility limitations of part design)
Eye for Design: A keen eye for aesthetics, and a deep understanding of the technical and manufacturing limitations required to achieve premium perceived quality.
CAD: 3+ years experience with Catia V5 or V6 (or similar CAD software).
Bonus Skills: Proficiency in VRED and Class A surface modeling is preferred.
Manufacturing Knowledge: Strong understanding of material impact on overall craftsmanship, component manufacturing tooling requirements, lead times, and design for manufacturing.
Regulatory Knowledge: Working knowledge of domestic and global homologation, legal, and safety requirements is preferred.
Interpersonal Skills: Excellent communication and task-management skills; ability to influence cross-functional teams and build strong relationships in a highly confidential, fast-paced studio environment.
Travel: Must be willing to travel 10-30%.

Pay Disclosure

The salary range for this role is $107,800 - $134,800 for California 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 annual performance bonus and equity awards.

We offer a comprehensive package of benefits for full-time and part-time employees, their spouse or domestic partner, and children up to age 26, including but not limited to paid vacation, paid sick leave, and a competitive portfolio of insurance benefits including life, medical, dental, vision, short-term disability insurance, and long-term disability insurance to eligible employees. You may also have the opportunity to participate in Rivian’s 401(k) Plan and Employee Stock Purchase Program if you meet certain eligibility requirements. Full-time employee coverage is effective on their first day of employment. Part-time employee coverage is effective the first of the month following 90 days of employment. More information about benefits is available at rivianbenefits.com.

Company Statements

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 candidateaccommodations@rivian.com.

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.