Sr. Manager, ME Conveyor Engineering

Role Summary

The Rivian ME Conveyor Engineering Team aims to be at the forefront of innovation and technology in conveyor systems. Our mission is to support Rivian’s effort to deliver world-class electric vehicles by delivering automated manufacturing facilities with minimal development and commissioning time, that operate continuously with no unplanned downtime.

We're looking for visionary, boundary-breaking members who will be responsible for redefining the standards for manufacturing engineering conveyor systems, unlocking the potential of innovative technologies and their integration on production lines.

As a Sr. leader of the ME Conveyor Engineering team, you'll contribute to and support a team of highly skilled conveyor engineers who will create state-of-the-art conveyor systems to be deployed to General Assembly production lines with an edge in innovation, operator experience, and a willingness to take on ambitious conveyor challenges. You and your team will be responsible for the implementation of company standards and frameworks to create conveyor applications specific for equipment used in production processes. This team will provide guidance and support to our suppliers from the design phase through the start of production with thorough reviews and coordination and documentation of acceptance tests during buyoff at the suppliers’ site and after completion of commissioning. Working in synergy with suppliers and contractors, you'll ensure that data propagation between components for production tracking, manufacturing systems, and diagnostics are established and validated. You'll troubleshoot problems in the factory and partner with cross-functional leadership across the enterprise to solve conveyor-related challenges.

Through your contributions, your team will demonstrate excellence and quality in everything performed, with a strong desire to continuously improve. You'll be responsible for your deliverables and for establishing standards and best practices for deployment, conformance, and auditing of new and existing systems, making pragmatic, data-driven decisions, and clearly articulating reasoning. In collaboration with our platform development team, you'll propose and develop new strategies to push conveyor automation whenever possible and improve the development, configuration, and deployment time of new work cells. Together, you'll architect and implement conveyor and material flow solutions aimed at high-performance and extensibility, ensure that we deploy safe conveyor systems with best practices and security, dissect and reimplement manufacturing device communication protocols to achieve new integrations, and redefine and innovate conveyor and material handling solutions in the manufacturing industries.

These are exciting times for the ME Conveyor Engineering Team, and we need your unique talents to help us accomplish our lofty goals and ensure that Rivian continues to Keep the World Adventurous Forever.This position will be located at our Normal, IL, East Atlanta, GA or Plymouth, MI facility and will report directly to a Sr. Director, Manufacturing Engineering.

Responsibilities

• Manage a team of conveyor and AGV engineers and specialists supporting all centers (Paint,Body, GA, DU, Battery, Pack, Plastic, etc)
• Develop and implement strategic plans and initiatives to optimize conveyor, AGV andequipment operations, drive process improvements, and achieve organizational objectives.
• Collaborate with ME and Plant cross-functional teams and Facilities Engineering to ensureseamless coordination and execution of projects.
• Conveyor and AGV Functional Acceptance Testing (FAT) and Factory Site AcceptanceTesting (SAT)
• Own and maintain a common set of ME Conveyor and AGV equipment and processspecifications
• Develop project proposals, plans and scope-of-work helping determine resourcerequirements, project timelines, and budget allocations.
• Interface and influence internal and external stakeholders through a co-design approach toaddress technical inquiries, resolve issues and ensure customer (plant) satisfaction.
• Drive implementation of best practices through process optimization, new technologies, andadvanced manufacturing techniques.
• Ensure compliance with company policies, regulatory requirements related to safety, qualityand environmental standards.
• Support the application of digital design tools to achieve the right level of detail in designoutputs, minimizing rework, and enabling full equipment simulation.
• Apply cost engineering principles and techniques to analyze, control, and optimize projectand operational costs.
• Maintain a strong understanding of the latest technologies and digitization trends relevant toconveyor and AGV advanced manufacturing, and proactively apply this knowledge toimprove processes and solutions.
• If based in Plymouth, MI travel 50-75% will be required.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering or Business with equivalent industrial experience
• Minimum of 10 years of combined experience in automation engineering and tooling andequipment implementation and optimization.
• Strong Technical knowledge in conveyance, AGVs and automation.
• Proven knowledge of co-design with automation equipment suppliers.
• Demonstrated ability in effectively conveying complex information to diverse audiences.
• Strong financial acumen with a proven track record of managing budgets, forecastingfinancial performance, resource planning and ensuring projects meet financial targets.

Preferred Skills:

• MBA
• Master Electrician
• Experience in Bodyshop, GA, Paint, battery conveyor equipment
• Certification in project management (PMP), Lean Six Sigma, or relevant certifications intooling or advanced manufacturing technologies.
• Proven experience in operational excellence, with a strong focus on continuousimprovement.
• Well versed in current and emerging technologies and digitization trends relevant toindustrial manufacturing.

Pay Disclosure

The salary range for this role is $161,000-$201,200 for Georgia, Illinois and Michigan 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.      You can apply for this role through careers.rivian.com (or through internal-careers-rivian.icims.com if you are a current employee). This job is not expected to be closed any sooner than 7/1/2026.