Sr. Software Engineer – Test Infrastructure & Tooling

Job description

ABOUT US Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies is a joint venture between two industry leaders with a clear vision for automotive’s next chapter. From operating systems to zonal controllers to cloud and connectivity solutions, we’re addressing the challenges of electric vehicles through technology that will set the standards for software-defined vehicles around the world. The road to the future is uncharted. By combining our expertise across connectivity, AI, security and more, we’ll map a new way forward. Working together, we’ll create a future that’s more connected, more intelligent, more sustainable for everyone. ROLE SUMMARY We are seeking a highly experienced senior Software Engineer to join our team to own test infrastructure, internal tooling, CI/CD, and automation for our Consumer Applications test organization in Palo Alto. In this role, you will be the primary engineering owner for building and evolving the systems that power our test teams: from lab and bench tooling, to automation frameworks, to pipelines that keep our releases safe and fast. You will partner closely with test engineers, developers, and program leads to define strategy, implement scalable solutions, and continuously improve how we validate software across mobile, cloud, and in‑vehicle systems. If you love building reliable platforms and tools that unblock others, and you’re excited to shape how we test complex, distributed systems, this role is for you. Location: Palo Alto, CA (onsite, with hands‑on access to lab equipment, benches, and test infrastructure) RESPONSIBILITIES - Own and evolve test infrastructure - Design, implement, and maintain shared test infrastructure for the test team, including automation harnesses, runners, lab/bench tooling, and execution services. - Build reliable services and libraries that make it easy for test engineers to create, run, and debug automated tests (e.g., SDKs/CLIs, job orchestration, logging, reporting and artifact handling). - Partner with hardware/lab/automation teams (HIL/SIL/benches, devices, vehicles) to integrate physical test assets into a cohesive, software‑driven test platform. - Lead CI/CD and automation for testing - Own CI/CD pipelines that run unit, integration, system, and end‑to‑end tests for Consumer Applications (mobile, cloud, infotainment, and related services). - Define and implement strategies for test selection, parallelization, flakiness reduction, reporting, and reliability, keeping pipelines fast and trustworthy. - Integrate automated testing into pre‑merge and post‑merge workflows (e.g., gating rules, quality signals, dashboards, notifications). - Build internal tools and developer experience - Develop internal tools and dashboards for infotainment testing, vehicle access testing, cloud services, and mobile app testing that improve visibility into test runs, coverage, lab utilization, and release readiness. - Improve current self‑service interfaces (APIs, CLIs, web UIs) that allow test engineers and developers to schedule, configure, and debug tests on shared infrastructure. - Standardize test project structure, templates, and best practices so teams can adopt automation quickly and consistently. - Proactively identify gaps in test infrastructure and internal tools and design, build, and roll out new tools that the team is missing, driving adoption and ongoing improvements. - Drive quality and collaboration across teams - Work closely with test engineers, SDETs, and product/feature teams to understand their scenarios and translate them into robust infrastructure and tooling. - Help establish test strategy and test‑pyramid–aligned approaches (unit, SIL, HIL, system, and end‑to‑end) that leverage your infrastructure. - Participate in technical design reviews, provide feedback on testability, and promote shift‑left testing and automation across the org. - Operate, measure, and continuously improve - Own monitoring, alerting, and SLOs for key pieces of test infrastructure and pipelines. - Analyze results from test runs and pipelines to identify bottlenecks, flaky areas, and high‑value automation investments. - Proactively prioritize and deliver improvements that increase stability, reliability,while reducing manual work, and accelerate release cycles. - Ensuring the reliability and stability of test assets to support both manual and automated testing activities across teams. QUALIFICATIONS - Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Software/Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related field. - 5+ years of hands-on software engineering experience, with a focus on test infrastructure, tools, or CI/CD platforms. - Strong programming skills in one or more of: Python, Go, C++, Java, TypeScript/JavaScript, with an emphasis on building reliable backend services and tooling. - Deep experience with CI/CD systems (e.g., Jenkins, GitLab CI, GitHub Actions, Buildkite) and build systems (e.g., Bazel, CMake, Gradle, Buck). - Proven experience designing and maintaining automation frameworks and infrastructure for complex systems (cloud, mobile, or embedded). - Familiarity with cloud platforms and containers (AWS or similar, Docker, Kubernetes), including secrets management, artifact storage, and observability tooling. - Strong understanding of testing concepts and practices (test pyramid, flaky test mitigation, test isolation, mocking, stubbing, test data management). - Experience working with or integrating hardware‑in‑the‑loop (HIL), software‑in‑the‑loop (SIL), or lab/bench setups is a plus. - Comfort with Linux environments, scripting (bash), and common developer tools (Git, GitHub/GitLab, code review workflows). - Excellent communication skills, with the ability to partner across test, development, and operations teams and to document designs and best practices clearly. - Strong understanding of modern AI applications and tools (e.g., code assistants, test‑generation frameworks, log/trace analysis copilots) and experience integrating AI into developer and test workflows and CI/CD. - A track record of ownership, initiative, and continuous improvement—you enjoy finding gaps in infrastructure and closing them with thoughtful, scalable solutions. TOTAL REWARDS Full-time positions include base salary, eligibility for an annual performance bonus, and eligibility for equity. In addition to base salary, Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies offers benefits tailored to the local market. For more information on the benefits available for full-time employees, check out our Global Benefits Site https://rvtech.mybenefits.life. External candidates can apply for this role through the Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies careers site (https://rivianvw.tech/#careers). If you are a current employee, please apply through our internal job board https://app.ashbyhq.com/internal/job-board/b10a9912-eb45-4a84-9a34-84b2a459923a. EQUAL OPPORTUNITY Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. 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. We are also committed to ensuring compliance with all applicable fair employment practice laws regarding citizenship and immigration status. Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies 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 and Volkswagen Group Technologies” 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 and Volkswagen Group Technologies 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) record keeping; (vi) ensuring network and information security and preventing fraud; and (vii) as otherwise required or permitted by applicable law. Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies 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 and Volkswagen Group Technologies affiliates; and (iii) Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies’ service providers, including providers of background checks, staffing services, and cloud services. Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies may transfer or store internationally your Candidate Personal Data, including to or in the United States, Canada, 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. If you provide a mobile telephone number as part of your application or during the recruitment process, Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies may use that number to contact you via SMS text message for recruitment-related purposes, including scheduling, logistics, and status updates. Message and data rates may apply. You may opt out of SMS communications at any time by replying STOP to any text message you receive from us. Consent to receive SMS messages is not a condition of applying for or being considered for employment. Please see our Candidate Data Privacy Notice (English) https://assets.ctfassets.net/2md5qhoeajym/53otRWdzXPzSdWPgiel5T/07c61b0eed2d91f2f403f788fd20d315/RVTech_Candidate_Data_Privacy_Notice_-_Nov_2024.pdf and Candidate Data Privacy Notice (Serbian) https://assets.ctfassets.net/2md5qhoeajym/40xUZMehbGToclkLqWXW0E/eb5b553bd8af7c607066253fbb227bda/RVTech_Candidate_Data_Privacy_Notice_-_Nov_2024_Serbian.pdf for more information. -- Please note this job posting represents an open, active vacancy. Additionally, we are not currently accepting applications from third party application services.