Director Product Security

Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies is a joint venture between two industry leaders with a clear vision for automotives next chapter. From operating systems to zonal controllers to cloud and connectivity solutions were 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 well map a new way forward. Working together well create a future thats more connected more intelligent more sustainable for everyone.

As the Director of Product Security you will lead a structured high-performing product security team at one of the most consequential software-defined vehicle platforms in the automotive industry. This is an engineering leadership role. You will work shoulder-to-shoulder with elite software and hardware engineers driving technical excellence elevating the people and practices already in place and embedding security into the DNA of how we build. You own the execution not just the vision and you will be measured by the results your team delivers. Reporting to the Sr. Director Systems Engineering Safety and Software Quality you will lead the end-to-end product security strategy for Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies joint platform a technology stack that will underpin millions of future electric vehicles across Rivian Volkswagen Audi Scout and beyond.

This is not a compliance role. This is a builders role. You will embed security into the DNA of our zonal architecture over-the-air update pipeline cloud infrastructure and autonomous driving stack. Working shoulder-to-shoulder with elite software and hardware engineers who share your obsession with getting it right. Youll own the discipline lead the team and set the standard for what product security looks like at the intersection of Silicon Valley and the global automotive industry. he team and structure are in place. We are looking for a leader who inherits a high-performing org develops the people within it and evolves the team over time to meet the demands of an ever-changing security landscape building on whats working while continuously raising the bar. This role is located in our Palo Alto CA office and reports directly into the Sr. Director Systems Engineering Safety and Software Quality.

• Product Security Strategy & Architecture: Lead a team that will define and own the multi-year product security roadmap for Rivian and RV Techs joint SDV (Software Defined Vehicle) platform. Translate business objectives threat landscapes and regulatory requirements into a coherent executable security strategy spanning vehicle firmware cloud backend mobile applications and the OTA update pipeline.

• Secure-by-Design Engineering: Embed security across the full software development lifecycle. Partner with software hardware and platform engineering teams to conduct threat modeling and TARA (Threat Analysis and Risk Assessment) development of security requirements for implementation systematic test definition and execution on SIL (software-in-loop) HIL (hardware-in-loop) and test vehicle levels. You will also establish secure coding guidelines to be used across all core engineering teams and build automated security tooling (SAST DAST fuzzing) into CI/CD pipelines. Champion a security by design culture across a global engineering org of 1500.

• Automotive & Connected Vehicle Security: Lead adhering to compliance and security engineering efforts for automotive cybersecurity standards including ISO/SAE 21434 and UN Regulation No. 155. Secure zonal and E/E architecture ECU communication buses (CAN Automotive Ethernet) telematics V2X and ADAS/autonomy stacks. Own security of OTA update signing and delivery infrastructure.

• Vulnerability Management & Red Team Programs: Build and operate a world-class vulnerability management program covering vehicle software cloud services and mobile apps. Establish and manage a bug bounty program and coordinate penetration testing across all product surfaces. Oversee triage prioritization and remediation tracking in partnership with engineering teams.

• Supply Chain & Third-Party Security: Define and enforce security requirements across Tier-1 and Tier-2 automotive suppliers and software vendors. Build Software Bill of Materials (SBOM) practices oversee third-party security assessments and ensure supply chain integrity across the full software stack shared between Rivian and Volkswagen Group brands.

• AI & Autonomy Security: Secure RV Techs AI and autonomy platform including the Rivian Unified Intelligence stack and in-vehicle AI systems. Develop threat models for ML pipelines model integrity adversarial input attacks and in-vehicle inference security. Stay at the forefront of AI security as a rapidly evolving attack surface in safety-critical systems.

• Incident Response & PSIRT: Build and lead the Product Security Incident Response Team (PSIRT) for RV Tech. Establish coordinated disclosure processes incident playbooks and executive communication frameworks. Ensure rapid and effective response to security incidents affecting vehicle or platform software.

• Team Leadership & Talent Development: Inspire a high-performance product security team across Palo Alto Irvine Vancouver and Berlin. Create a culture of ownership technical excellence and continuous improvement while fostering collaboration across the RV Tech core engineering team and parent companies.

• Executive & Cross-Organizational Leadership: Report directly to the Sr. Director Product Security Safety and Software Quality and present to executive leadership and the board on product security posture program maturity and key risks. Engage with industry forums and standards bodies (Auto-ISAC NHTSA UNECE WP.29) as needed to stay current on the evolving regulatory and threat landscape.

Minimum Qualifications:

• 12 years of progressive experience in cybersecurity with at least 5 years in product security leadership at a software-defined product company (automotive consumer electronics aerospace robotics or similar).

• Deep technical expertise in application security embedded systems security or automotive cybersecurity with a hands-on engineering background not purely managerial.

• Demonstrated experience leading and upleveling an inherited product security or AppSec team developing people elevating practices and driving execution within an existing org structure. Greenfield build experience is a plus but not the primary requirement for this role.

• Proven ability to influence and drive security posture across engineering organizations without direct authority - the credibility to be taken seriously in a room full of elite engineers.

• Strong working knowledge of threat modeling methodologies (eg STRIDE PASTA TARA) secure SDLC practices and vulnerability management programs including coordinated disclosure.

• Experience securing cloud-native architectures at scale (GCP AWS or Azure) including cloud-to-vehicle communication channels and data pipelines.

• Track record of operating at the executive level presenting to the board partnering with the C-suite and translating deeply technical risk into business-level language.

• B.S. or M.S. in Computer Science Computer Engineering Electrical Engineering or equivalent practical experience.

Preferred Qualifications

• Direct experience with ISO/SAE 21434 UN Regulation No. 155 NHTSA cybersecurity best practices or other automotive-specific cybersecurity frameworks.

• Background in embedded security firmware security or hardware security (e.g. HSMs secure boot cryptographic key management in constrained environments).

• Experience at a mission-driven high-velocity technology company

• Familiarity with AI/ML security: adversarial robustness model integrity and securing inference pipelines in safety-critical systems.

We build the exceptional and we believe the people doing that work should be rewarded addition to a competitive base salary full-time positions may be is eligible to participate in our annual company performance bonus program.

Payments are discretionary and not guaranteed; actual amounts depend on company results and the terms of the plan in effect and require active employment at the time of payout. This role is also eligible for equity in the form of Restricted Stock Units (RSUs) subject to board approval and the terms of our equity incentive plans including applicable vesting requirements.

In addition to our compensation programs we invest in our people with a comprehensive benefits package designed to support the health wellbeing and financial future for full-time employees including health coverage retirement savings time off and family planning programs. Offerings vary by country. Learn more about our global benefit programs.

External candidates can apply for this role through the Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies careers site ( If you are a current employee please apply through our internal job board.

Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. 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. We are also committed to ensuring compliance with all applicable fair employment practice laws regarding citizenship and immigration status.

Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies 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

Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies 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 and Volkswagen Group Technologies 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) record keeping; (vi) ensuring network and information security and preventing fraud; and (vii) as otherwise required or permitted by applicable law.

Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies 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 and Volkswagen Group Technologies affiliates; and (iii) Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies service providers including providers of background checks staffing services and cloud services.

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Please see our Candidate Data Privacy Notice (English) and Candidate Data Privacy Notice (Serbian) for more information.

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Please note this job posting represents an open active vacancy. Additionally we are not currently accepting applications from third party application services.

Required Experience:

Director