Hvac Engineer Jobs in California

INTRODUCTION

The HVAC NVH Engineer is part of the NVH Attributes team and plays a critical role in driving the noise and vibration refinement of Rivian’s HVAC and thermal systems. This position is responsible for leading HVAC-focused NVH development spanning HVAC blowers, ducting, vents, valves, thermal lines, and full vehicle thermal integration systems. In this role, the engineer will collaborate closely with thermal systems design, controls, CAE, manufacturing, suppliers, and vehicle integration teams to execute component, subsystem, and vehicle-level NVH testing, diagnose root causes, and drive design improvements that elevate Rivian’s refinement, sound quality, and customer experience.

The ideal candidate possesses strong technical depth in acoustics, vibration, and thermal system behavior, combined with hands-on testing capability and a customer-focused mindset. This role will focus on both airborne and structure-borne noise mechanisms, including tonal noise, airflow-induced noise, and vibration transfer paths into the vehicle cabin.

This role requires a high degree of hands-on agility and physical engagement, including the ability to install and remove sensors and thermal system hardware, manipulate test setups, and support vehicle, climatic wind tunnel, and bench level testing. The position requires the ability to lift, move, and handle test equipment and thermal system components, work in confined or industrial spaces, and stand or move for extended periods during test execution.

ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITIES

The role will be located at Rivian’s Irvine, CA engineering offices, with expected travel to testing and development facilities across the U.S. (Arizona, Michigan, Illinois, Texas, etc.).

• Lead HVAC system NVH development across vehicle programs from concept through production launch.
• Define and own HVAC NVH targets at component, subsystem, and vehicle levels, including tonal, broadband, transient, and sound quality metrics.
• Develop and execute HVAC NVH test plans for bench, subsystem, and vehicle-level evaluations.
• Identify and mitigate noise and vibration issues related to HVAC blowers, heat exchanger cores, airflow-induced noise, duct and vent acoustics.
• Perform root cause analysis using Transfer Path Analysis (TPA), order tracking, Operational Deflection Shapes (ODS), Modal analysis, Frequency Response Functions (FRFs), Sound intensity and sound power measurements.
• Collaborate with design, CAE, controls, packaging, and supplier teams to develop robust NVH solutions.
• Support correlation activities between simulation and physical testing to improve predictive capability.
• Develop and refine test methods, data processing workflows, and objective metrics for HVAC NVH evaluation.
• Conduct subjective vehicle evaluations and translate customer perception into actionable engineering requirements.
• Support End-of-Line (EOL) NVH strategies and manufacturing quality initiatives.
• Communicate technical findings clearly through concise reports, presentations, and executive summaries.

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS

- Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering with specialization in acoustics or vibrations.
- Experience with EV thermal systems and electric compressors.
- Experience with HVAC airflow and aeroacoustic development.
- Strong proficiency with HVAC aeroacoustic and CFD simulation tools (e.g., PowerFLOW, STAR-CCM+, Fluent, or similar CAE platforms) for airflow, thermal, and noise analysis.
- Experience developing vehicle-level NVH targets and sound quality metrics.
- Understanding of production variation, manufacturing effects, and EOL testing strategies.
- Experience supporting supplier development and component validation.
- Strong, hands-on background in NVH testing, including sound power, TPA, FRFs, modal analysis, and vehicle-level diagnostics.
- High confidence in vehicle subjective assessments and the ability to correlate customer perception with objective engineering data.
- Proficiency with modern NVH tools and data analysis environments, including Testlab, Artemis, MATLAB, and Python.
- Strong technical judgment, ownership mindset, demonstrated ability to collaborate cross-functionally and ability to drive complex problems to closure in fast-paced development environments.
- Excellent technical communication skills, with the ability to influence design decisions using data-driven insights.