Electric vehicle manufacturer Rivian has recruited Charlie Prather, a former Designer at Chinese EV maker Nio, as its new Lead Product Designer.
Prather announced his move on LinkedIn Monday, writing “Excited to share that I joined the design team at Rivian out in California.”
The designer brings experience from Nio‘s European operations, where he worked at the company’s Innovation Center in Berlin, Germany, as part of the product design team.
During his tenure at Nio from July 2023 to October 2025, Prather contributed to the User Experience (UX) of Banyan, the operating system that powers Nio vehicles across Europe.
This system runs parallel to Cedar, which serves Nio‘s latest NT3.0 platform vehicles in China.
Prather exited the Shanghai-headquartered Group after approximately two years in his role as Staff UI/UX Designer.
Rivian’s Upcoming Models
Rivian announced its R2, R3, and R3X models in March 2024, with the R2 mid-size SUV positioned as a critical volume product at a starting price of $45,000.
Production of the R2 is scheduled to begin in the first half of next year, though the company is expected to prioritize higher-end trim levels before manufacturing the entry-level variant.
The company currently has several hundred R2 test vehicles undergoing road testing across the United States, indicating the advanced stage of the vehicle’s development process.
Platform Strategy and Manufacturing Expansion
The new platform architecture underpinning the R2 will spawn multiple SUV variants, including the smaller R3 and performance-oriented R3X models.
Manufacturing plans call for the R3 to be produced at Rivian’s new Georgia facility, which has recently begun production.
The plant will be developed in two phases to accommodate additional R2 volume alongside R3 production and various model variants, with operations targeted to begin in 2028.
Once fully operational, the facility will have an annual production capacity of 400,000 vehicles.
Rivian Layoffs
Rivian announced last month that it is cutting 600 jobs, marking its fifth layoff in just two years.
As of Monday, the EV maker has 380 roles open on its website.
In an internal email announcing the layoffs, Scaringe noted that Rivian has “historically” had multiple functions “collectively capture what would typically be housed in a single marketing organization.”
Hence, the company is now recruiting its first Chief Marketing Officer (CMO).
However, the post will be immediately created, as the CEO will now act as “interim CMO” until then.
