Staff Welding Development Engineer

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. 

In this role you’ll join a diverse group of subject matter experts in the Materials Engineering team and bring your own expertise in the domain of fasteners. You will make an impact across every Rivian product line by being a champion for commonality, technical excellence, drawing definition and engineering standards. You will use your experience to develop and characterize fastener parts and joining techniques with hands-on laboratory work and sound scientific principles.

Responsibilities:

• Use expertise and process knowledge to determine the root-cause of defects seen in common fusion and solid-state welding techniques, including GMAW, laser beam welding, resistance spot welding and friction stir welding.
• Primary technical point of contact for diagnosing and containing emergent manufacturing and in-service weld quality concerns

Qualifications:

• Experience with hybrid joining processes and fastening systems that utilize plastic deformation, such as flow drill screws and self-piercing rivets.
• Familiarity with primary automotive structures with critical weld quality requirements, such as Body, Interior and Chassis assemblies.
• Experience with the validation & troubleshooting of welding equipment and its electromechanical sub-assemblies, such as sensors, transmitters, control systems, transformers, power supplies, torch heads, reamers etc.
• Experience with the joining requirements and validation of joints for electromechanical sub-assemblies (sensors, transmitters, power supplies, controllers, etc).
• Expertise in industry welding standard, such as ASME, AWS, ISO, CQI, GMW, etc, and the ability to author in-house weld process and weld quality standards.
• The ability to implement and validate Weld Quality Management Systems and Weld Audit Procedures for both fusion and solid-state welds
• Working knowledge of robotic systems commonly used in weld automation (KUKA, Fanuc, ABB, Cloos, etc) and the ability to develop welding procedures at the laboratory scale and translate these procedures to production-representative equipment.
• Top-notch communication skills and the ability to improve weld quality through 1:1 consultations with designers & manufacturing, authoring of design guidance and technical presentations to the engineering community
• Familiarity with weld performance evaluation methods, preparation of welding procedure specifications (WPS) and procedure qualification records (PQRs) and the testing methods required to support them
• Experience with computational analysis of welds, the generation of static and dynamic test data and support of CAE teams.
• Experience with the metallurgy of steel and aluminum alloys, their manufacturing methods and influences on welding parameters and quality
• Capable of safely operating basic metallographic laboratory equipment and performing failure analysis on welded components
• 10+ years of experience as a welding engineer in a manufacturing environment
• BS in Welding Engineering, Materials Science & Engineer, Mechanical Engineering or other relevant field. MS or PhD preferred.

Preferred:

• Knowledge of statistical process control methods
• Experience with BEV-specific structures such as skateboard and battery frame assemblies
• Advanced degree (M.S. or Ph.D.) in relevant engineering discipline
• Familiarity with ANSA, Optistruct, ABAQUS and/or CATIA