Sr. Manager Material Supply

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.

Summary The Senior Manager is a critical strategic leader responsible for directing both multi-shift, plant-wide material handling operations and the engineering configuration teams. This role ensures seamless logistical support essential for production, while concurrently leading the team that manages all engineering changes and implements the Plan for Every Part (PFEP) from the Supply Chain Engineering team. Reporting directly to the Director of Material Handling, this individual will build, mentor, and lead a diverse, cross-functional team of subordinate managers, engineers, group leaders, and hourly technicians to drive continuous improvement, operational excellence, and lean material flow.

Strategic Leadership & Team Building: Directs, mentors, and builds a comprehensive team consisting of Material Handling Managers, Group Leaders, process engineers, and hourly technicians. Manages all direct reports, designs organizational structures, defines job duties, and provides continuous mentoring, quarterly feedback, and annual performance reviews. Ensures leadership compliance and excellence in safety documentation, ergonomics, employee engagement, training, attendance, overtime management, and performance evaluations. Develops succession planning, cross-functional training, and leadership development programs across operations and engineering functions. Engineering, PFEP & Configuration: Directs the engineering team in the successful implementation and optimization of the Plan for Every Part (PFEP). Holds overall responsibility for the continuous maintenance of all Material Flow systems configuration, including part location and control cycle data in SAP. Monitors and modifies Min-Max levels for replenishment, continuously optimizing for lean flow and accurate inventory controls. Maintains all part and location signage in both the plant and all internally operated warehouse locations. Develops, implements, and maintains department-wide 5T, 5S, and all visual management standards. Change Management & Cross-Functional Integration: Acts as the department liaison for all engineering work—coordinating directly with Supply Chain Engineering, Product Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, and Production Process Engineering to ensure material flow supports all improvements and issue resolutions. Receives engineering and overall product change information from NPI and Launch teams, develops comprehensive implementation plans, and coordinates with Production and Material Handling teams to ensure zero disruption to the production schedule. Serves as the primary lead for any concern items raised for the department. Leads the material handling strategy and acts as a project manager for pilot product programs, new model launches, complex model mix activities, and planned shutdown events. Visits customer locations and partner plants during major milestone events to support the teams and strategic initiatives as required. Operations & Continuous Improvement: Evaluates bottlenecks in upstream processes, develops countermeasures for downstream delivery issues, and drives cost reductions through continuous improvement projects. Analyzes department-wide quality and performance metrics, providing analytics to support the smooth execution of material flow processes. Champions and strategically implements the RMS Quality Network across the organization with an emphasis on the five core principles. Oversees the