Exceptional People + Purpose Beyond Profit = Watershed Outcomes

Exceptional People + Purpose Beyond Profit = Watershed Outcomes

Propulsion Thermal System Modeling Engineer II

Rivian

Rivian

Tustin, CA, USA · United States
USD 96,700-120,900 / year
Posted on Aug 26, 2025

Job Description

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

Propulsion system modeling is a vital function provided by the Propulsion Systems team, allowing virtual battery, drive unit and thermal systems to represent the response of a component at system level. This virtual propulsion system is developed from concept level all the way to a twin to physical assets, and is the combination of detailed components coupled with respective controllers and required interfaces. All this is to evaluate propulsion designs and solutions as they develop against key impacted vehicle attributes – and the development of these models requires clear model requirements, organization and tracking of development and stable releases, simulation robustness and traceability, and finding and pushing component boundaries that result in the optimized battery, drive units and thermal systems of the future.


Responsibilities

  • Work with Attribute leads surrounding the decomposition of Vehicle performance (energy efficiency, heat management, drive and charging requirements related to heating and cooling requirements of the battery, drive-unit and cabin systems)
  • Work with Thermal sub-system teams leads to theorize, develop and virtually assess the performance of thermal systems, in conjunction with specific vehicle and propulsion configurations
  • Support the creation of Thermal control strategies that minimize energy consumption and meet identified vehicle requirements
  • Collaborate on the decomposition of battery and drive unit needs to meet performance objectives
  • Work with x-functional leads and engineering content owners, & Thermal technical program manager to estimate design cost of technical solution, and rank alongside other levers to attribute goals
  • Work with adjacent simulation teams to identify model requirements (interfaces, fidelity and flexibility, accuracy and performance)
  • Detail Simulink model requirements from model owners specifically: minimum viable model content, required accuracy & design representation aggressiveness/confidence levels
  • Integrate Thermal system models with Battery and Drive-unit systems into the Vehicle modeling environment – enabling Vehicle-Propulsion coupled simulations for current and future programs
  • Use version control, model testing and a robust release process
  • Run model standard test-cases to produce coupled propulsion system scorecard performance
  • Use physical test data including system-in-vehicle data to understand, validate and collaboratively correlate real world to simulation

Qualifications

  • Strong experience with MatLab, Simulink is a must
  • Model integration experience is a must, thermal modeling from first principles is a plus
  • Have familiarity in Electrical, Thermal and Control domains
  • Have experience in atleast 1 related group, ie HV battery, Cell, HVAC, Drive unit
  • Experience with EV use cases and attribute cycles that these models will support
  • Drive to push the art-of-the-possible via interactive modeling which can identify component limits and targeted next steps
  • Desire for traceability and accountability in model based twin – with appreciation and cascade of model capability as it progresses in design maturity
  • Familiarity with physical test data at component, system or vehicle level
  • Git version control experience, Ticket based system development tracking, Approval and Merge request process
  • Familiarity with the concept of shell model + model parameters as a database/model referencing
  • Be able to delegate and encourage delivery from cross-functional teams

Pay Disclosure

Salary Range for California Based Applicants: $96,700.00 - $120,900.00 (actual compensation will be determined based on experience, location, and other factors permitted by law).

Benefits Summary: Rivian provides robust medical/Rx, dental and vision insurance packages for full-time and part-time employees, their spouse or domestic partner, and children up to age 26. Full Time Employee coverage is effective on the first day of employment.




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.