AI Test Systems Engineer, Tesla AI
Skills
About the role
What to Expect
Tesla’s AI Integration team builds the infrastructure that powers the future of self-driving vehicles and humanoid robotics (Optimus). The AI Test Systems Engineer designs the systems that ensure Tesla’s AI is safe, reliable, and continuously improving, not only in the real world, but at every step of development.
This role develops scalable test platforms and automation systems that combine real-world fleet data, hardware-in-the-loop validation, and large-scale simulation to catch issues early, maximize coverage, and accelerate iteration. This is more than testing, it is building the feedback loop that drives AI evolution.
Simulation is central to this mission. The engineer helps design and scale the systems that replay complex real-world scenarios with precision, reproduce rare edge cases, and validate end-to-end autonomy in virtual environments. These simulations are essential to how Tesla trains, debugs, and refines AI at scale.
The role also builds backend services for test orchestration, dynamic simulation environments, and data analysis across petabytes of sensor and behavioral data. These systems enable engineers to iterate faster and ship systems with guaranteed safety.
At Tesla, rapid innovation is a core part of how the future is built. This work strengthens that foundation, closing the loop between simulation and reality to drive real-world progress.
What You'll Do
Develop innovative evaluation and test solutions across all of Tesla’s AI system features, ensuring holistic, end-to-end validation of autonomy capabilities for both vehicles and Optimus
Architect and implement next-generation test platforms that integrate Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL), simulation, and AI-driven analysis to validate autonomy systems in chaotic, real-world scenarios
Design, build, and scale simulation environments and scenario-generation pipelines that reproduce real-world conditions deterministically and test coverage with randomized scenario generation
Build scalable infrastructure-as-code solutions to automate CI/CD test workflows, from scheduling to execution, ensuring rapid iteration and high reliability
Design systems that leverage AI/ML to identify edge cases, optimize test scenarios, and prioritize safety-critical failures
Build scalable systems to aggregate, visualize, and extract actionable insights from petabytes of test data across diverse test variants, enabling teams to make data-driven decisions
Collaborate closely with Autonomy and firmware teams to embed intelligent test frameworks directly into development pipelines, reducing bottlenecks and accelerating deployment
Integrate LLM-based tooling to automate root-cause analysis of test failures, turning hours of manual debugging into instant insights
What You'll Bring
Strong foundation in software engineering with a focus on system design, object-oriented programming, distributed systems, and scalable backend architectures
Advanced proficiency in Python, including object-oriented design, multi-threading, and scripting; experience with C++ a plus
Deep hands-on experience building and owning HIL and/or SIL testing frameworks, with a track record of solving complex validation challenges
Hands-on experience with containerization technologies such as Docker or Singularity and CI/CD tools like Jenkins, TeamCity, or Artifactory
Comfortable working in Linux/Unix environments with expertise in Bash, scripting, and low-level system debugging
Experience leveraging Agentic tooling in production systems
A relentless drive to improve quality without sacrificing velocity, with a proven ability to own end-to-end solutions from concept to deployment
Hands-on experience with simulation frameworks for autonomy or robotics - building or scaling simulation infrastructure, scenario generation, synthetic data, or sim-to-real validation
Compensation and Benefits
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
Expected Compensation
$118,000 - $390,000/annual salary + 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.
Tesla is also committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities. Please let your recruiter know if you need an accommodation at any point during the interview process.
Compensation
This Systems Engineer role pays $118k-$390k/yr. Within typical range for systems engineer roles in United States.
Questions about this role
Want AI Applyd to auto-apply to roles like this?
We tailor your resume per posting, fill the forms, and track replies for you.