I applied online. I interviewed at Rivian in Nov 2025
Interview
I had a phone screening with a recruiter in November 2025 for the Program Manager position at the Rivian Foundation. After confirming with me twice on the day of the interview, the recruiter was 20 minutes late to our scheduled call, then sent me a NDA that I was required to review and sign before beginning the interview.
The next hour involved me listening to this recruiter's personal journey at Rivian and his nonstop monologue about what a great company it was. The only question he asked me was why I was interested in the job. It culminated in him saying that he would schedule a second interview right away with one of the hiring managers as soon as I responded to a few questions. Later that evening, I received a list of 12 short answer questions via text message and was assured that as soon as I submitted my responses, that I would hear back to schedule a next interview in 48-72 hours.
After not hearing anything for a month, I followed up and received an automatic response that I had not been selected to move forward. It was a relief and I really felt like I dodged a bullet in continuing with the interview process. My experience with the recruiter was so bizarre that it turned me off from the company altogether.
The only valuable piece of information I received from the screening call that the salary range for the program manager position is 112K - 150K.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Short answer questions included:
-describe experience in grantmaking versus grant writing, managing grant lifecycles
-describe a time you were outcome focused under changing conditions
-how do you deliver a tactful 'no'
-how do you find clarity under pressure
-describe a time you improved a process that helped team operations
I applied through a recruiter. The process took 4 weeks. I interviewed at Rivian in Jul 2021
Interview
I've interviewed for three different roles at Rivian now, since I am interested in the company. But in each interview process I've gotten ghosted or the hiring manager did not show up at the scheduled time.
While I love the company, I think the recruiting is seriously lacking. I was first reached out to by a recruiter for a role, after a few rounds, I had never heard back.
In the second role I applied for, I made it to the final round and was told that I was not chosen because I lacked automative experience. However, I was told in the beginning that the team was not looking for a candidate with automotive experience. So why were they wasting my time?
In my third role I'm applying for, I had a second round scheduled and the hiring manager never showed up. And I never heard back from the recruiter.
All three of these negative experiences have changed how I think about the company. I think the recruiting experience needs to be improved.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Why Rivian?
Why are you looking to leave your current role?
Other typical HR screening questions
I applied online. I interviewed at Rivian (Belgrade, Central Serbia) in Mar 2025
Interview
The process was clear, both the recruiter and the hiring manager were pleasant to talk to. Didn't get to the third step, but still it was a good experience overall. Didn't wait much for replies, they responded when they said they would.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
A tough situation with a stakeholder and how I resolved it.
I applied online. I interviewed at Rivian in Jan 2024
Interview
Zoom interview. I had to prepare a 20 minute presentation on something I am passionate about. Interviewers were nice. Process was tedious. After all of that, I was told the position no longer existed.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Values, previous experience, other generic questions.
