Remote Engineering

Making progress in the work-from-home era

By Rivian

April 17^th, 2020

We build our vehicles to withstand the shocks and stresses of any adventure, and our organization is no different. In the midst of adjusting to the pandemic, our vehicle development continues making progress.

A Rivian test vehicle during assembly (with a camp-inspired camouflage wrap and test-spec, blacked-out headlights).

For many aspects of our program, working remotely has impacted logistics, not productivity. Rivian software engineers continue at full pace on some of the most critical parts of product development — including the systems that control our driving dynamics, energy management, autonomy, wireless connectivity, digital experience and more. Because these systems are built in-house and run software we design, code and test ourselves, the product is able to advance, even with the team working from home.

Our vehicle development team — at home and making it happen.

As for our vehicle dynamics team, who normally prefer being behind the wheel and not stuck at home, social distancing presents a new set of challenges. From his kitchen table in Southern California, Pete, one of our development engineers, is keeping kinematics and compliance testing on schedule – even though the vehicle he’s working on is in North Carolina.

From 2,500 miles across the country, Pete devised a way to remotely control diagnostic settings and stream real-time data into his computer. Under normal circumstances, he would be at the controls in person. But with the ability to dial in whatever settings he wants from home, he was able to collect the hard data and move the program forward.

In ordinary times, we would prefer to be in the shop or out on the trail. But these aren’t ordinary times. We’re facing each new day with optimism, ingenuity and grit. Soon, when work restrictions ease and our test fleet is back out there, we’ll be better prepared and moving faster than ever. We can’t wait.

So, what’s up with that design?

Did you notice the artwork on our test vehicles? No, that’s not a new Rivian paint option. It’s the “test camo” handiwork of our Industrial Design team. Originally created as an interpretation of our Compass logo, we turned it into a camp-inspired vehicle wrap. We've included this design – and more – in our stay-at-home activity book, which you can download here. Grab your crayons.

Thank you to our friends at Morse Measurements in Salisbury, North Carolina for helping conduct our remote testing.

Test vehicles shown. Certain features, finishes and options do not represent production intent.

Some images shown may contain pre-production vehicles and vehicle specifications mentioned in this blog post may have changed. Please refer to our website or reach out to Customer Service for current vehicle information.