Internship, Software Engineer, Autonomy Systems Foundations (Winter/Spring 2027)

Consider before Applying

This position is expected to start January 2027 and continue through Spring term (ending approximately May 2027) or continuing into Summer 2027 if available and there is an opportunity to do so. We ask for a minimum of 12 weeks, full-time (40 hours/week) and on-site, for most internships. Our internship program is for students who are actively enrolled in an academic program. Recent graduates seeking employment after graduation and not returning to school should apply for full-time positions, not internships.

International Students: If your work authorization is through CPT, please consult your school on your ability to work 40 hours per week before applying. You must be able to work 40 hours per week on-site. Many students will be limited to part-time during the academic year.

About the Team

As a C++ Software Engineer within the Autonomy group, you will have the opportunity to apply your technical skills to a variety of system components & foundational code targeting higher performance of Self-Driving and Humanoid robot. The nature of the role means that the code you will write, debug, and maintain will almost always connect with a variety of other components. You will be building robust code foundations for the autonomy teams to write their applications on top of and evangelize best software practices for the better of Self-Driving and Humanoid robot. You will be developing system tools to benchmark, characterize and optimize the latency and throughput of the autonomy workloads on the Full-Self-Driving chip. You will write tests and integrate with our evaluation pipeline to ensure the system and functional stability of our stack.

• Write, debug and maintain robust C/C++ software to the entire Autopilot and Humanoid robot software stack
• Depending on needs and your interests/skills, you might work on code related to our high-frame rate Camera & Vision stack, write GPU kernels, design and implement low memory footprint image compression libraries, implement high-performance inter-process communication data buffers, improve/extend our image & raw data logging/telemetry code, or make our evaluation/replay software more stable and performant
• Optimize hardware resources usage, leverage custom hardware components where appropriate
• Advocate for best coding practices amongst the group, build tools helping engineers to write better code (for instance, performance/memory tracking)
• Generalize software frameworks when necessary while keeping in mind that too much abstraction can sometimes become a bottleneck
• Currently pursuing a degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or relevant field of study with a graduation date between May 2027 - May 2028
• Strong proficiency in C/C++
• Experience or familiarity with Computer Vision, Machine Learning & related software concepts a plus
• Experience with performant software design, object-oriented C++, compiler design and/or hardcore lower-level C code a plus, but preferred
• Proficient developing software on a Linux host, for embedded Linux targets (cross-compilation, etc.) a plus

Benefits

As a full-time Tesla Intern, you will be eligible for:

• Medical plans > plan options with $0 payroll deduction
• Family-building, fertility, adoption and surrogacy benefits
• Dental (including orthodontic coverage) and vision plans. Both have an option with a $0 payroll contribution
• Company Paid (Health Savings Account) HSA Contribution when enrolled in the High Deductible Medical Plan with HSA
• Healthcare and Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA)
• 401(k), Employee Stock Purchase Plans, and other financial benefits
• Company Paid Basic Life, AD&D, and short-term disability insurance (90 day waiting period)
• Employee Assistance Program
• Sick and Vacation time (Flex time for salary 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
• Commuter benefits
• Employee discounts and perks program

Expected Compensation

$125000.00 - $125000.00 + 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.