Equipment Engineer, Cell Assembly

Tesla is seeking a highly motivated Equipment Engineer to contribute to the design, development, modification, and scale-up of new and existing automation equipment lines in our Assembly process for advanced cell manufacturing equipment supporting Tesla s cutting-edge battery cells.

The battery cell is one of the most complex and challenging components designed and manufactured at Tesla, and this is an exciting opportunity to work on a world-class manufacturing facility right here in Austin. Tesla is a demanding, fast-paced environment, and this role owns a critical subsystem of some of our most exciting products.

The Equipment Engineer will work with cross-functional teams throughout the entire lifecycle of the product and process, partnering closely with Design Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Quality, and Process teams to resolve production equipment issues and support NPI teams in bringing new products from initial design through prototype development and into full production.

• Provide engineering support to the production and maintenance teams when needed
• Validate and characterize new and current equipment and fixtures for introduction to the production floor
• Lead safety and ergonomic improvements to production equipment that meet or exceed regulations and best practices
• Collaborate with external equipment suppliers on equipment design and improvement
• Work with controls engineers to troubleshoot and recover processes via PLC, HMI, or tool management software, and implement changes and improvements
• Create detailed manufacturing instructions to define new processes and document new equipment operation, and train technicians and operators on these processes
• Develop preventive maintenance procedures and a comprehensive spare parts list to maximize equipment OEE
• Debug and optimize automated processes to maximize cycle time, and specify hand tools for manual assembly tasks
• Manage continuous improvement projects to drive equipment improvements based on PFMEA/DFMEA risk assessments
• Identify trends in OEE data, isolate causes and devise engineering solutions. Design and implement those solutions quickly and sustainably
• Degree in Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or equivalent experience
• 5+ years of experience as a hands-on mechanical/manufacturing engineer working on automation and/or electromechanical systems
• Demonstrated experience ramping equipment into manufacturing, including automation equipment, laser welding, fluid dispensing, design of electromechanical systems, PLCs (TwinCAT preferred), motion control, and data capture
• Proficiency designing mechanical equipment, fixtures, and tooling in CAD (SolidWorks; CATIA a plus). Understanding of design for manufacturability and proficiency in rapid prototyping/modeling to roll out upgrades quickly
• Electrical hardware proficiency, familiarity with the theory of operation of various sensors and transmitters and interpreting their data to drive problem-solving. Ability to spec sensors and transmitters for various applications a plus
• Demonstrated experience reading layouts, tooling drawings, and pneumatic and electrical schematics
• Experience with vision systems (Cognex, Keyence, etc.) required
• Knowledge of laser welding processes preferred
• Knowledge of chemical filling processes preferred
• Demonstrated experience designing and analyzing experiments and communicating findings to non-technical stakeholders. Proficiency in JMP or equivalent preferred

Benefits

Along with competitive pay, as a full-time Tesla employee, you are eligible for the following benefits at day 1 of hire:

• 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