Sr. Software Engineer, Data, Autonomy

Rivian • Palo Alto, CA

8h

About The Position

The Autonomy organization at Rivian is seeking a highly skilled and hands-on Staff Data Engineer to join our Cloud and Data team. This role is ideal for an experienced engineer who thrives at the intersection of data architecture, distributed systems, and scalable engineering. You will design, build, and maintain critical data infrastructure to support the next generation of autonomous vehicle development. You will contribute to the implementation of scalable, reliable, and secure data pipelines, remaining deeply involved in hands-on development and operational excellence. The ideal candidate is a self-starter who can work independently on well-scoped problems, take ownership of complex components, and deliver projects end-to-end with
guidance when needed. You will collaborate closely with engineering and product teams, contribute to technical design discussions, review code, and help improve data platform reliability, performance, and scalability over time

Requirements

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical field.
• 5+ years of experience in data engineering, software engineering, or distributed systems.
• Proven experience designing and operating large-scale data systems using Spark, Databricks, or equivalent tools.
• Strong knowledge of AWS services (e.g., S3, Lambda, EKS, DynamoDB, IAM) and data lake architecture.
• Hands-on experience with Kubernetes and container orchestration for managing scalable, resilient workloads.
• Proficiency in Python, Go and SQL, with a focus on writing modular, testable, production-grade code.
• Deep understanding of streaming and batch data processing paradigms, including data ingestion from edge devices.
• Demonstrated ability to work independently, self-direct, and lead projects without close supervision.
• Familiarity with data governance and access control frameworks such as Unity Catalog or AWS Lake Formation.
• Strong communication skills and the ability to influence through clear technical reasoning and collaboration.

Nice To Haves

• Experience working with geospatial data, vehicle telemetry, or IoT-scale pipelines is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and optimize scalable, high-throughput data pipelines to process vehicle telemetry, sensor logs, and simulation outputs using Spark, Databricks, and AWS services.
• Contribute to the design and evolution of distributed data architectures across batch, streaming, and hybrid processing frameworks to support both real-time and offline autonomy use cases.
• Own the development and delivery of complex data engineering components and well-scoped projects, from implementation through deployment and operational support.
• Collaborate closely with cross-functional teams including Perception, Simulation, QA, and Safety to deliver reliable and performant data infrastructure aligned with autonomy requirements.
• Apply engineering best practices for CI/CD, testing, monitoring, and observability to improve the quality and reliability of data workflows.
• Participate in code reviews, design discussions, and technical knowledge sharing to help raise the bar on system design and implementation quality across the team.
• Implement data processing frameworks that support privacy-aware data handling, geospatial enrichment, and high-volume data ingestion and transformation.
• Evaluate and adopt new tools, libraries, or platform features to improve pipeline performance, scalability, and cost efficiency.
• Tackle moderately ambiguous technical problems by collaborating with stakeholders, proposing solutions, and iterating toward scalable implementations.
• Stay current with data engineering trends and apply best practices thoughtfully to real-world autonomy data challenges

Benefits

• Rivian provides robust medical/Rx, dental and vision insurance packages for full-time employees, their spouse or domestic partner, and children up to age 26. Coverage is effective on the first day of employment.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level