Summary
David Rivas is a veteran technology executive and hands-on CTO with 22 years of experience leading engineering, product, and hardware efforts across startups and multi-billion-dollar companies. Currently CTO at Rigetti Computing, he oversees both hardware and software for cloud-based quantum systems and previously ran engineering and product for its services and systems. He has a track record of building organizations and shipping consumer-scale software, cloud infrastructure (AWS/GCP), and hardware products—from Nokia and Sun leadership roles to founding and scaling SaaS companies in maritime and retail. A strategic dealmaker and operator, he combines P&L responsibility, M&A/IP negotiation, and partner management with deep technical chops rooted in an MSEE from UC San Diego. Notably, his background spans applied mathematics and scientific programming, giving him an uncommon fluency in both rigorous computation and product-scale engineering.
22 years of coding experience
8 years of employment as a software developer
Santa Monica Alternative School
University of California, San Diego