I applied through a recruiter. The process took 4 weeks. I interviewed at Rivian (Bloomington, IL) in Oct 2019
Interview
Long process with multiple rounds. Every individual I dealt with in the process was professional, but it was clear the company is extremely disorganized in terms of hiring strategy. When asking simple critical questions like, "in what city will I be working" "how much travel will there be" I could not get a straight answer. It seemed like the answer to this question had one answer when the process started and a different answer when I went in for the final round interview. At some points in the process I got same day responses and at other points there were week long delays.
Ultimately my biggest take away was that the company lacks a coherent strategy as they rush to assemble new teams.
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