Staff Software Engineer, Charging

Rivian's Charging Cloud team is a truly full-stack group of engineers building the systems that power Rivian's charging network — from real-time charge session management to backend infrastructure that keeps drivers on the road. This is not a role for someone who waits to be told what to do. We're looking for an engineer who sees problems before they become incidents, pulls teammates forward rather than waiting to be assigned, and communicates with a clarity that makes the whole team faster. Technical depth is a prerequisite — but what separates this role is the mindset: strong ownership, proactive thinking, and a genuine investment in the success of the people around you. This position carries an explicit path toward engineering leadership and, for the right person, future management responsibility. Responsibilities Own systems end-to-end. Design, architect, and implement robust, scalable backend and cloud systems. You hold the full picture — from database schema to API contract to production health — and you don't hand off accountability at the boundary of your ticket. Drive technical direction. Lead architectural decisions, author RFCs, and shape the long-term evolution of the platform. You bring strong opinions formed from first principles and hold them loosely when presented with better evidence. Communicate with precision and purpose. Translate complex technical trade-offs into clear language for engineers, product managers, and cross-functional partners. Write well. Say hard things directly and constructively. Make async decisions stick because your written reasoning is sound. Elevate the team. Mentor and sponsor junior and mid-level engineers — not just through code review, but through pairing, design sessions, and honest feedback delivered with care. You measure part of your own success by how much better the people around you get. Be proactive, not reactive. Identify risks, gaps, and opportunities before they surface as incidents or blocked projects. Raise issues early, bring a proposed path forward, and follow through without being chased. Ship reliable, production-grade software. Develop RESTful APIs, microservices, and event-driven components with a focus on performance, security, and long-term maintainability. Own on-call responsibilities and treat production health as a first-class concern. Stay current and bring it back. Track meaningful developments in cloud infrastructure, distributed systems, and backend engineering. Apply what's relevant — and help the team learn from what you've found.