While Rivian’s current teams are laser-focused on bringing the mass-market R2 to production, the company’s R&D department is already laying the groundwork for the next major leap in its automotive technology.
A recent wave of newly published engineering job postings on Rivian’s site reveals exactly what they’re planning to build in the future. Rivian is actively and aggressively staffing up to develop steer-by-wire systems, wireless vehicle charging, and updated low-voltage architectures for its L4 autonomy packages.
Steer-by-Wire
According to those recent job listings, Rivian is seeking specialized Senior Staff Technical Project Managers to lead the development of a steer-by-wire system.
Currently, the Tesla Cybertruck is the only mainstream production EV to fully embrace steer-by-wire. The technology completely severs the physical mechanical connection (the steering column) between the steering wheel and front tires, replacing it with electric motors and redundant sensors.
For Rivian, implementing steer-by-wire offers several massive advantages. It brings a dynamic steering ratio, enabling the vehicle’s software to change how much the wheels turn based on speed and drive mode. This means you won’t have to cross over your arms to make a tight U-turn in a parking lot, but the vehicle would also remain perfectly stable and smooth at 70 mph on the highway.
Removing the physical steering shaft also frees up valuable interior cabin space and saves weight. More importantly, a fully electronic steering system is also a prerequisite for a vehicle that will eventually have L4 autonomy.
Finally, and perhaps the most important, steer-by-wire enables easy conversion of vehicles from Left-Hand-Drive to Right-Hand-Drive, an essential aspect for Rivian’s eventual expansion to Europe. Since the R2 for Europe has been delayed, it could be due to the requirement for Steer-by-Wire.
Wireless Charging
Plugging in your EV at the end of the day is second nature to most owners, but Rivian is looking to eliminate that step. Recent postings for a Charging Attributes Engineer explicitly list wireless charging as a core development focus, alongside V2L (Vehicle-to-Load), V2H (Vehicle-to-Home), and standard DC fast charging.
While wireless charging pads in home garages offer a fantastic luxury convenience, they are also a vital piece of the autonomy puzzle. If Rivian eventually achieves Level 4 autonomy, it needs a way to refuel itself without human intervention.
Low-Voltage Upgrades
To tie it all together, Rivian is hiring heavily for software and hardware engineers to design low-voltage electrical systems specifically tailored for redundancy, intended for autonomous vehicles.
During their recent Autonomy & AI Day, Rivian confirmed their long-term goal of achieving true Level 4 autonomy, powered by their in-house RAP1 compute processor, alongside a suite of sensors, including LiDAR on future R2 models.
However, you cannot safely deploy an L4 vehicle without bulletproof redundancy. If the primary high-voltage system fails while the car is driving, the low-voltage system must be robust enough to take over and power the steer-by-wire motors, electronic brakes, and autonomy computers long enough to safely pull over.
How Far Away Is This?
While it is unlikely we will see steer-by-wire or wireless charging on any variant of the R2 in the near future, these job postings prove that Rivian isn’t just trying to break into the competitive mid-size SUV market, but actively building a vertically integrated tech stack, much like Tesla.
