Staff Software Development Engineer in Test, Infotainment
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
Join the Infotainment QA team, playing a crucial role in testing and ensuring the quality of infotainment firmware and functions across all stages of the development life-cycle — through automation, manual testing, or semi-automated methods, verifying software meets required standards and validates functionality. As a senior member of the team, you will lead testing projects end-to-end, drive them across the finish line, and contribute to building and enhancing automation tools and infrastructure to support scalability.
Responsibilities
Lead test projects from planning through completion — defining scope, milestones, and success criteria, and driving execution across teams to ensure quality deliverables land on time.
Develop and execute test plans and test cases for Infotainment Media applications — including media playback (Bluetooth, streaming services, USB), audio routing and focus handling, radio/tuner, and media session behavior across connectivity and power transitions.
Identify, analyze, and document defects encountered during integration testing on sub-system HILs and in vehicle, and drive root-cause analysis and resolution to closure.
Work closely with developers to resolve issues and ensure defects are effectively addressed, escalating and communicating risk clearly when timelines or quality are at stake.
Collaborate with cross-functional teams to understand product requirements and system architecture, and articulate test strategy, status, and results effectively to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
Plan and prioritize testing activities across multiple concurrent workstreams, context switching effectively between projects while keeping each on track.
Serve as a technical lead and mentor within the QA team, setting best practices and raising the bar on testing quality.
Contribute to continuous improvement initiatives for testing processes and methodologies.
Maintain test environments and ensure they're up-to-date.
Design and implement automated integration tests for media use cases — such as source switching, playback controls, metadata validation, and audio quality checks — to improve test efficiency and enable automated testing early in the development cycle.
Qualifications
Bachelor's Degree or greater in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or related field.
8+ years hands-on experience integrating and testing automotive infotainment sub-systems or similar consumer electronics devices.
Demonstrated experience leading test projects or initiatives, with the ability to plan, prioritize, and manage multiple parallel efforts.
Excellent communication skills — able to clearly articulate technical issues, test status, and risk to engineers, managers, and cross-functional partners.
Strong understanding of software testing principles, methodologies, and techniques.
Proficiency with version control systems (e.g., git).
Solid scripting skills (Python, Shell) for test automation.
Comfortable with POSIX-based embedded systems (Linux, Android, and/or QNX).
Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills with attention to detail.
Ability to work independently and manage time/priorities.
Experience with android/adb.
Automotive, CAN, and Ethernet experience is a plus.
Experience with pytest, Appium, and other automation tools.
Total Rewards
We build the exceptional — and we believe the people doing that work should be rewarded accordingly. In addition to a competitive base salary, full-time positions may be is eligible to participate in our annual company performance bonus program.