Lab Operations Coordinator

About Us

Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies is a joint venture between two industry leaders with a clear vision for automotive’s next chapter. From operating systems to zonal controllers to cloud and connectivity solutions, we’re addressing the challenges of electric vehicles through technology that will set the standards for software-defined vehicles around the world. The road to the future is uncharted. By combining our expertise across connectivity, AI, security and more, we’ll map a new way forward. Working together, we’ll create a future that’s more connected, more intelligent, more sustainable for everyone.

Role Summary

We are looking for a highly organized and proactive Lab Operations Coordinator to keep engineering labs and test assets supplied, traceable, organized, and ready for use. This hands-on role owns purchasing coordination, receiving, inventory, equipment records, supplier follow-up, shipments, returns, and lab workflow for the Systems Integration and Diagnostics labs, and provides defined shared services — SAP transaction support and cross-site part transfers — to partner engineering teams. The position is based in Irvine, where the majority of builds and stocked material are located, and supports Palo Alto through remote coordination.

Responsibilities

• Purchasing and suppliers
  • Coordinate SAP requests, purchase orders, quotes, order status, backorders, invoices, returns, RMAs, and supplier follow-up. Serve as the SAP execution point for partner engineering teams, absorbing recurring transactional work that currently fragments engineering time. Verify request completeness and escalate pricing, vendor, approval, or sourcing decisions to the appropriate owner.
• Inventory and equipment
  • Maintain accurate records for lab equipment, test assets, components, consumables, harness materials, spares, and shared tools within the Systems Integration and Diagnostics labs. Coordinate receiving, inspection, labeling, storage, issuance, asset records, calibration visibility, cycle counts, and discrepancy resolution.
• Shipping, logistics, and expediting
  • Career with previously qualified suppliers for established, validated designs — order placement, part collection, delivery scheduling, receiving readiness, and dock coordination — so engineers are not managing routine build logistics. Chase and consolidate parts across sites against engineer-provided BOMs; for example, sourcing connectors, terminals, and components stocked in Irvine for builds and first articles at other sites, and driving them to the requesting site. Coordinate incoming deliveries, inter-site shipments, packing lists, tracking, carrier handoffs, and material movement between Palo Alto and Irvine. Support damaged shipments, missing items, returns, and supplier packing or quality issues through documented closure.
• Traceability and compliance support
  • Maintain BOM-to-asset traceability for test assets leaving the lab, including tagging, record linkage, and documentation sufficient to support data-security and TISAX audit requirements. Apply and maintain a consistent asset tagging method (physical documentation, barcode/QR linkage to build records, or equivalent) across sites.
• Lab workflow and readiness
  • Maintain a visible view of requests, incoming material, shortages, equipment status, service actions, and readiness blockers. Coordinate with engineers and technicians around build milestones, lab capacity, need-by dates, staging, storage, and escalation of risks.
• Process and reporting
  • Establish standard work for purchasing intake, receiving, inventory updates, asset tagging, shipment coordination, and issue escalation. Report on purchasing cycle time, open orders, overdue deliveries, inventory accuracy, calibration status, traceability coverage, and unresolved blockers.

Qualifications

• 3+ years of experience in lab operations, purchasing administration, inventory control, asset management, logistics, manufacturing operations, or a similar environment 2+ years will be considered with directly relevant lab or purchasing operations experience.
• Experience with an ERP or procurement platform; SAP experience strongly preferred, Coupa familiarity a plus.
• Strong spreadsheet, data-management, recordkeeping, follow-through, and communication skills.
• Ability to understand basic electrical/electronic lab equipment, part-number structures, inventory concepts, calibration needs, and safe material handling.
• Experience supporting automotive, aerospace, electronics, hardware development, HIL, validation, prototype, or test-lab environments is preferred.
• Familiarity with Jira, Confluence, asset-management systems, barcode/QR tracking, ESD practices, or multi-site material movement is a plus.
• Ability to lift 45 pounds.
• Must possess a valid driver's license with a clean record.