Manager, Automation Controls Engineering (Battery) at Rivian · Normal

Role Summary

The Manager, Automation Controls Engineering – Equipment Engineering, leads day to day efforts of our Equipment Engineering controls team in the Battery manufacturing shop across all production shifts. The role is located in Normal, IL. The position reports directly to the Director, Engineering and Maintenance.

Responsibilities

• Managing the day-to-day operations of a team of automation engineers that support production and improvements to hardware and software involved in the manufacturing processes.
• Lead teams that maintain, modify, and properly version control equipment programs, configuration files, and documentation as changes are implemented. This includes but is not limited to hardware, electrical, safety, pneumatic, network, PLC, HMI, Vision, Robot, SCADA, and MES.
• Serve as authority on technical issues and make difficult trade-offs between key program benchmarks.
• Respond to escalations for critical production downtimes across shifts and reallocate resources as needed and support on technical gaps
• Assist with RFQ preparation and review vendor proposals for manufacturing automation equipment ranging in size from single work cells to entire lines.
• Lead equipment buy-offs at Rivian’s factory in Normal, IL for FAT, SAT, and safety.
• Guide the development of controls standards and specifications by feeding back lessons-learned and gaps from each project to ensure that future projects will run smoother.
• Partner with maintenance and process engineering to drive continuous improvement of the production lines by reducing cycle time, reducing downtime, increasing availability, and improving quality.
• Add or remove network devices from the equipment as needed, updating network switch configurations as needed.
• Lead emphasis writing code that is organized, structured, documented, maintainable and reusable.
• Troubleshoot, improve, and add features to HMIs to make them more user-friendly, intuitive and suitable for operating and troubleshooting equipment.
• Implement and make modifications to MES logic for production and performance management in the PLCs and HMIs.
• Ensure proper implementation of and modifications to (ANSI/RIA15.06/OSHA compliant) control reliable safety systems for safeguarding robots, gantries, conveyors, and other high volume manufacturing equipment.
• Support in the development and upskilling of the team to close identified technical gaps and improve team performance

Qualifications

• BS/MS Electrical Engineering (or equivalent – Majors in: Controls and Computer Control Systems, Mechatronic Engineering, Automation Engineering, etc.
• Experience managing teams of Controls Automation Engineers
• Skilled with Vendor and Project Management tools (JIRA, Confluence)
• Exceptional verbal and written communication skills
• Demonstrate composure and leadership by example in challenging situations - ability to drive complex projects to successful implementation while keeping cross functional teams focused and motivated
• Ability to lead and follow appropriately – balance ownership and delegation across teams of focusing leaders and decision makers on technology trends, tools, and strategies
• Expert with common controls hardware components used in high-volume manufacturing.
• Hands-on experience integrating high volume manufacturing equipment.
• In-depth knowledge of Safety standards (ANSI/RIA15.06, OSHA).
• Experience leading safety design reviews and validating equipment safeties during buy-off.
• In-depth knowledge of Electrical Standards (NFPA79, National Electric Code, UL508A).
• Experience developing electrical schematics using EPLAN, AutoCAD Electrical, or similar.
• Advanced proficiency programming industrial equipment using various IEC 61131-3 languages.
• writing standard and safety PLC projects from scratch for high-volume manufacturing equipment using Rockwell and Beckhoff PLCs.
• Experience creating HMI projects from scratch for high-volume manufacturing equipment using FactoryTalk View, WinCC, Ignition or TwinCAT HMI.
• Experience setting up, programming, and troubleshooting industrial 6-axis robots such as Fanuc, ABB, Kawasaki, etc.
• Experience designing topologies for and troubleshooting common fieldbus networks such as Ethernet/IP, EtherCAT, or Profinet.
• Experience interfacing manufacturing equipment with Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES).

Pay Disclosure

The salary range for this role is $125,800-$157,200 for Illinois 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 September 30, 2026.