Sr. Mechanical Reliability Engineer, Optimus

Tesla is actively working towards building humanoid robots at scale to automate tasks and assist with manufacturing and material handling. We are looking for an exceptional Mechanical Reliability Engineer to join our Design for Reliability team. In this role, you will play a key role in designing reliability into the mechanical components and sub-systems of our Optimus.

This role is highly engaging, and you will collaborate closely with cross-functional engineering teams to validate our ground-breaking hardware. You will follow the reliability lifecycle of the bot from concept through design, development, manufacturing, field operation, and you will design-in, confirm, and grow exceptional reliability at every stage.

We are looking for a candidate who has a strong background in mechanical components and systems for robotic applications. This role will involve primary responsibilities to several systems of the Bot, such as actuators, libs, and structures, with additional exposure to controllers and electrical distribution. You will identify possible failure modes and develop effective design and reliability validation test plans. We expect you to be flexible and learn quickly, as the project and corresponding needs may pivot rapidly.

You must have a genuine passion for engineering products that will fundamentally change the world, and you must be self-motivated with the desire to push boundaries. If you have a strong technical first-principles understanding, excellent problem-solving skills, and a genuine fascination with robotics, this is an exciting opportunity to contribute to the cutting-edge technology of the Optimus and shape the future.

The level of this position will be determined at the time of the interview.

• Work in cross-functional settings to assess product risks (e.g., DFMEAs) and possible failure modes to drive reliable design choices
• Apply solid knowledge of reliability methods and expertise in mechanical systems to design effective test plans for design validation and demonstration of reliability growth
• Define system and component-level mission profiles aligned with various Bot use cases
• Facilitate failure analysis to identify root cause and drive resolution for failures originating in testing and in the field
• Deliver data-based reliability design guidelines and clearly communicate reliability requirements to enable rapid continuous improvement

• Bachelor's Degree in Mechanical Engineering or equivalent experience
• 2+ years of experience working on reliability, test development and data analysis of complex mechanical or electro-mechanical, preferably robotic systems (including relevant internship or academic lab work)
• Strong problem-solving skills and thorough understanding of sophisticated electro-mechanical test setups
• Solid knowledge of material properties and failure mechanisms for rotatory machines, with demonstrated experience in developing associated design and reliability validation test methods
• Working knowledge of failure analysis techniques such as optical microscopy, SEM/EDS, CSAM, X-ray, CT, or related methods
• Working knowledge of applied statistics, and experience with statistical software such as JMP, Minitab, R, etc.
• Proven ability to manage parallel tasks effectively, with limited input information, and a desire to work in a fast-paced environment