Tesla is hiring: Staff Sensor Hardware Engineer, Motion Sensing in Palo Alto

Staff Sensor Hardware Engineer, Motion Sensing

Join to apply for the Staff Sensor Hardware Engineer, Motion Sensing role at Tesla.

What To Expect

The Sensing Hardware Team is seeking a hardware engineer specializing in motion sensing with 3+ years of industry experience. The role will primarily focus on developing motion sensing technologies for FSD (full‑self‑driving), vehicle control, and safety features. As a Sensor Hardware Engineer, you will be responsible for the overall performance of the sensing system and its features at any point in the product life cycle; serve as the owner of a given sensing system to address any issues discovered from development through deployment; understand and debug hardware and software interactions from prototyping through product launch; and manage priorities and support a host of projects simultaneously.

What You'll Do

• Specification generation: distill sensor product requirements into constraints and actionable engineering systems design discussions.
• Collaboration: lead cross‑functional sensor design discussions with electrical, software, supply chain, manufacturing, thermal, mechanical and service teams.
• Architecture definition: translate sensor design discussions into architecture and design documents in the form of system block diagrams, functional and performance requirements; define hardware and software interfaces.
• Schematic & PCB Layout: collaborate with board designers to review schematics and guide layout from motion‑sensing perspective and perform bring‑up and validations.
• BOM definition: work with the supply chain team to ensure components will meet performance, cost & manufacturing requirements.
• Prototyping: support early sensor prototype development to de‑risk new technologies.
• Hardware Validation: generate/execute bench‑level motion sensing validation plans; work with other electrical engineers to validate the electrical and EMC performance; work with reliability team to qualify the performance over various lifetime conditions.
• Production: work with manufacturing team and test team to define manufacturing process and test coverage to achieve high‑volume mass production with high yield.
• Feature Validation: define feature readiness milestones and qualification criteria; develop data collection and analysis pipeline at all stages of the project.
• Service & Improvement: work with software team and service team to monitor the feature and sensing performance, develop the triage and failure analysis workflow and investigate improvement opportunities from all aspects.

What You'll Bring

• Deep understanding of motion sensing in terms of sensor physics, feature development and integration challenges.
• Fundamental knowledge of sensor physics, circuit design, analog analysis and statistics.
• Hands‑on experience in system‑level design, architecture, characterization and validation.
• Proven cross‑functional collaboration and leadership skills; be able to present risk/performance analysis and recommendations to cross‑functional teams including execs.
• Serve as the central point‑of‑contact of a given sensing system for any issues during development or deployment; understand and highlight impacts of hardware, software, or process changes; understand and debug hardware and software interactions during design, launch, and deployment.
• Proficiency in Python, MATLAB; experience in physical simulation tools (e.g., ANSYS) and circuit simulation tools (e.g., SPICE) will be a plus.
• Proficiency in data visualization and statistical analysis, excellent written and verbal communication skills, experience in high‑volume mass production and experience in working with suppliers and contract manufacturers.

Benefits

Compensation and Benefits

• Medical plans: plan options with $0 payroll deduction.
• Family‑building, fertility, adoption and surrogacy benefits.
• Dental (including orthodontic coverage) and vision plans, both have options with a $0 paycheck contribution.
• Company paid Health Savings Accounts (HSA) contribution when enrolled in the high‑deductible medical plan with HSA.
• Healthcare and Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA).
• 401(k) with employer match, Employee Stock Purchase Plans, and other financial benefits.
• Company paid Basic Life, AD&D.
• Short‑term and long‑term disability insurance (90 day waiting period).
• Employee Assistance Program.
• Sick and vacation time (flex time for salary positions, accrued hours for hourly positions), and paid holidays.
• Back‑up childcare and parenting support resources.
• Voluntary benefits to include: critical illness, hospital indemnity, accident insurance, theft & legal services, and pet insurance.
• Weight Loss and Tobacco Cessation Programs.
• Tesla Babies program.
• Commuter benefits.
• Employee discounts and perks program.

Expected Compensation

$124,000 – $240,000 per year + cash and stock awards + benefits. Pay offered may vary depending on multiple individualized factors, including market location, job‑related knowledge, skills, and experience. The total compensation package for this position may also include other elements dependent on the position offered. Details of participation in these benefit plans will be provided if an employee receives an offer of employment.

Seniority level

Mid‑Senior level

Employment type

Full‑time

Job function

Engineering and Information Technology. Industries: Motor Vehicle Manufacturing, Renewable Energy Semiconductor Manufacturing, and Utilities.