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 Join as Senior Validation Software Engineer in Autonomy Hardware and Sensing Systems team. You will be part of the team to build Rivian’s next generation hardware platform including Rivian in-house AI accelerator SoC to enhance vehicle performance and autonomous driving capabilities. Responsibilities Work w/ SoC validation team to refine and execute the SoC validation plan Use C/C++ software and FPGA technology to validate SoC for the next generation hardware design, enable SoC internal functional blocks and peripheral interfaces. Develop automatic testing tools and generate test coverage reports. Build benchmark tools to evaluate performance of the hardware system, including throughput, latency, resource utilization, IO or compute frequency metrics Document validation progress and results in Rivian’s tracking system, to maintain good traceability Qualifications Required: Bachelors/Masters Degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering or related field 1-10 years experience in related field. Good in C/C++ and scripting language (e.g., Python, Linux shell, etc.) Good analytical skills, written and verbal communication skills, and a team player Preferred: With projects focusing on platform/embedded software development Prior experience in AMD Zynq Petalinux development and FPGA design (Verilog) Prior experience in AI accelerator is a plus Prior experience in SoC peripheral interfaces like JTAG, I2C, UART, SPI, ethernet, DDR, PCIe is a plus Prior experience in camera data processing like MIPI interfaces, ISP, video encoder is a plus Pay Disclosure Pay Range: The salary range for this role is $146,000 - $183,000 annually for Bay Area 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. Benefits: 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 3/15/2026. 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.
Sr. Validation Software Engineer
This role focuses on validating the hardware platform, including an in-house AI accelerator SoC, for Rivian's next-generation vehicles. The engineer will develop software and use FPGA technology to test the SoC, create automatic testing tools, generate reports, and build benchmark tools to evaluate system performance. Experience with C/C++, scripting languages, and embedded systems is required, with a plus for AI accelerator, FPGA, and camera data processing experience.
What you'd actually do
- Work w/ SoC validation team to refine and execute the SoC validation plan
- Use C/C++ software and FPGA technology to validate SoC for the next generation hardware design, enable SoC internal functional blocks and peripheral interfaces.
- Develop automatic testing tools and generate test coverage reports.
- Build benchmark tools to evaluate performance of the hardware system, including throughput, latency, resource utilization, IO or compute frequency metrics
- Document validation progress and results in Rivian’s tracking system, to maintain good traceability
Skills
Required
- Bachelors/Masters Degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering or related field
- 1-10 years experience in related field
- Good in C/C++
- scripting language (e.g., Python, Linux shell, etc.)
- Good analytical skills
- written and verbal communication skills
- team player
Nice to have
- projects focusing on platform/embedded software development
- Prior experience in AMD Zynq Petalinux development
- FPGA design (Verilog)
- Prior experience in AI accelerator
- Prior experience in SoC peripheral interfaces like JTAG, I2C, UART, SPI, ethernet, DDR, PCIe
- Prior experience in camera data processing like MIPI interfaces, ISP, video encoder
What the JD emphasized
- AI accelerator is a plus