Thermal Event Engineer, Energy Products, Battery Abuse Test Engineering

Tesla Motors, Inc.
80,000 - 174,000 USD
paid holidays, flex time, 401(k)
United States, California, Fremont
Oct 22, 2025
What to Expect As a member of the Abuse Testing & Engineering group, you will be at the forefront of ensuring the safety of Tesla's Energy Products by testing them against extreme real-world scenarios and beyond. You will provide rapid feedback to inform designs early in development by understanding the system performance against extreme electrical, mechanical and thermal stresses. You will undertake destructive thermal safety testing for Energy storage devices with a keen eye towards battery runaway characteristics. In this role, you will collaborate with battery pack & enclosure design engineers as well as modeling engineers to make sure the products meet rigorous internal requirements. You will lead the testing, through planning and execution (with technician support), interpreting tests results and providing rapid feedback resulting in products with best-in-class safety performance. What You'll Do Understand the product risks and create detailed test plans by collaborating with design/ modeling teams Own the test planning activities (e.g. sensor instrumentation, data acquisition) and coordinate with program managers as well as technicians in build and test teams Conduct tests safely and in a manner faithful to the design intent / failure mode Analyze thermal and electrical data, video footage and present test results to stakeholders Identify and execute ideas to increase the efficiency and quality of energy products thermal testing Interpret regulations and tailor tests setup and results accordingly What You'll Bring Bachelor's Degree in Engineering or a related field, or equivalent experience 5+ years of experience in grid-scale energy storage/ compliance/ thermal testing Ability to plan many concurrent activities in a fast-paced, rapidly changing environment Hands-on experience doing physical assembly, electrical wiring and troubleshooting Experience with data analysis tools- Matlab or Python preferred Role includes up to 25% travel to test sites 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: Aetna PPO and HSA plans > 2 medical 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 Account) HSA Contribution when enrolled in the High Deductible Aetna 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 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 Weight Loss and Tobacco Cessation Programs Tesla Babies program Commuter benefits Employee discounts and perks program Expected Compensation $80,000 - $174,000/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.