The process took 3 months. I interviewed at Rivian (New York, NY) in Mar 2020
Interview
Interviews consist in an initial talk with an outsourced recruiter, then an on site marathonic interview with an HR person who has barely any idea what they ate doing other than a sales pitch about collaborative working (typical cheap stuff). Then an interview with a rather young enthusiastic engineer how has barely enough experience and brings theoretical examples of problems rather than actual hands-on stuff, finally an interview with the hiring manager who has lots of old school ideas yet valuable experience, but too little time to solve all the problems from bring up a department from scratch. Some miscommunication leads to very high expectations for the hire, with hints that there's going to be long unpaid overtime with the virtual promise of unlimited PTO.
Final the positive outcome of the interview hints an offer, but as they expect someone to give their life for less, apparently one has a high price tag that just leads to circles about whether or not they will either send an offer for lower (without knowing their benefits or other compensation) or just a thank you for your time after 3 months of little to no communication (ghosting)
I applied online. I interviewed at Rivian (Normal, IL) in Dec 2025
Interview
The interview process was pretty chill. First, I had a quick call with HR, then a technical round where they asked about my experience and projects. After that, there was a final discussion with the manager. Overall, it was smooth and not too stressful.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
If a wheel has a 5x4.5 bolt pattern, what do the 5 and 4.5 represent?
The interview process is extremely time-consuming and lasted for over a month, and it doesn't even seem like they're interested in hiring anyone other than someone like Elon Musk. I had a near-perfect interview with extremely relevant work experience and yet was rejected for an experience mismatch. Not even going to bother applying to this company henceforth. They do not deserve top talent and will eventually seep into mediocrity while competing with other EV brands.
Panel interview with a standard set of questions looking for traits and how comfortable you are with problem solving. Team was focused if you are able to handle a complex situation