Official Rivian Stories: A CHAT WITH ANSHU Rivian VP of Digital Tech

[kanundrum]

https://stories.rivian.com/a-chat-with-anshu


Anshu Narula is currently leading Rivian’s digital engineering initiatives with teams based out of our Palo Alto, CA and Vancouver, BC offices. We recently caught up with Anshu to learn more about technology's role in Rivian's mission - Keep The World Adventurous Forever.




Let’s start off with an easy one — what is your official title here at Rivian?
My title is VP of Digital Technology. What that means is that I lead the development of all the applications we use to not only engage our customers externally, but also our internal partners as well.

Tell us a little about your career path up to this point. How did you initially become interested in the digital technology field?
I had taken several computer science classes back in middle school that really piqued my interest. The challenge was that I never considered computer science as a profession back then. I don’t know why, I just didn’t. I actually began working towards a career in law for a while until I was luckily able to figure things out.
My first job out of college was as a software engineer, which led to all types of different roles afterwards. Everything from engineering and product management to leading quality and site reliability. Working at start-ups and big companies alike — airlines, semi-conductors, test automations, fintech. Now I get to help accomplish our mission at Rivian - Keep the World Adventurous Forever. What a strange journey it’s been but I’m glad it's all worked out the way it has.

How is Rivian different than the previous places you’ve worked?
Rivian is very different. The spirit of collaboration here allows us to work at quite an accelerated pace. It’s all very exciting. Everything we do requires extensive thought, but things also need to happen with speed. After all, we are launching multiple electric vehicles into the world, starting from scratch.

"We’re difficult to label as 'automotive' in the traditional sense, because if you think about it, our vehicles are more like software on wheels."

Sponsored