Sr. Autopilot Hardware Validation Engineer, Thermal

We are a fast-growing, diverse team of multi-disciplinary engineers dedicated to advancing Tesla’s mission of accelerating the world’s transition to sustainable energy—specifically through the validation of thermal systems for our vehicle programs. From concept to production, our team ensures the functionality, performance, and durability of critical Autopilot hardware across all Tesla vehicle platforms. As a Thermal Test Engineer for the Compute HW validation team, you will take a leading role in designing and executing comprehensive test plans that validate the power and thermals of the autopilot cooling system. You’ll be responsible for shaping validation strategy, driving root cause investigations, and ensuring our systems meet stringent quality and reliability targets in real-world conditions. This role offers the opportunity to work across multiple vehicle programs—from current production to future platforms—and to collaborate closely with design, integration, reliability, manufacturing, and software teams. You’ll have the autonomy to lead test initiatives, improve methodologies, and mentor junior engineers, while influencing the design of next-generation thermal systems through data-driven insights. We’re looking for a highly motivated engineer with strong technical fundamentals, hands-on experience in vehicle or component-level testing, and a passion for problem-solving in a fast-paced, collaborative environment. If you’re excited about working at the intersection of innovation and impact and want to help shape the future of electric vehicles, we’d love to hear from you.

Responsibilities

Own and drive hardware validation efforts for thermal management for the AP chip and silicon level cooling systems. Your job is to figure out how these products could fail and to collaborate with design partners to drive changes Test, debug, and validate vehicle thermal hardware and firmware at the component, system, and full vehicle levels — including the debugging and validation of Tesla designed testing equipment and systems within a dedicated test infrastructure for comprehensive validation and performance Write and maintain test software to automate test execution, data collection and data analysis. Optimize test setups and infrastructure, driving continuous improvements and greater efficiency in validation processes Manage tests from setup through execution and reporting, including test planning, traceability, development, execution, inspections, root cause analysis, and data processing Ensure test findings are well-documented and quickly communicated to external teams, root cause test failures and work with design and software partners, failure analysis lab, reliability team and potentially suppliers to arrive at a corrective action Develop and maintain validation schedules, coordinate test resources, and communicate status/blockers to program managers Actively engage with teams across the organization to seek assistance, identify company tools, and propose process enhancements that elevate our testing setups and overall validation processes

Requirements

Degree in Mechanical, Electrical, Mechatronics Engineering, or equivalent experience Strong high-level background in CAN communication, including hands-on experience with network configuration, integration, and troubleshooting within automotive or similar embedded systems environments Coding experience with Python, Pytest, Git, and/or C Experience using standard lab and test equipment such as power supplies, DAQs, pressure transducers, flow meters, temperature sensors. A background in Thermodynamics with an understanding of refrigeration and coolant systems. Working principals of common thermal components Experience configuring and maintaining Jenkins pipelines to streamline development and support continuous integration processes is considered an asset Familiarity with Linux-based development environments and command-line tools for managing test equipment, running automated tests, and debugging hardware/system issues Experience working with high voltage and low voltage component validation (inverters, power electronics, motors) Experience using controlled environmental chambers to perform validation tests, develop and execute test plans, and verify system performance under varying conditions Familiarity with applying electrical engineering principles to troubleshoot and validate both vehicle systems and test infrastructure setups is a plus