Mechanical Design Engineer, R&D

Tesla is seeking a highly motivated Mechanical Engineer to design and support automated manufacturing equipment that produces Tesla's industry changing products, specifically for the Automation Development Agile (R&D) team in Elgin, IL. Focusing primarily on prototype and proof of concept equipment, this Mechanical Engineer will investigate and develop new automation strategies to innovate/improve existing manufacturing processes for all Tesla products. Agile projects differ from the broader automation projects within Mechanical Engineering with shorter timelines, extensive testing, and emphasizing learnings for the entire manufacturing organization. Tesla is driven to excellence in product design and manufacturing, and our vertical integration enables working directly with design and manufacturing engineers to optimize the product design for automated manufacturing. We expect the Mechanical Engineer to be organized, creative, take pride in their work, have analytical ability, attention to detail, and collaborate in a fast moving design environment.

Since each Tesla machine is a custom design and build, the Mechanical Engineer must want to learn and implement rapidly changing technology to deliver the best possible solution, with an openness to exploring ideas that may fail. The candidate, ideally, has a large breadth of manufacturing knowledge with a solid theoretical foundation for approaching problems with multiple strategies and engineering principles. Due to the smaller size of this team, engineers that have diverse backgrounds in controls, electrical, project management, and manufacturing engineering will bring an added benefit to the team as they can wear multiple hats and fill in where needed.

• Develop and optimize designs in 3D CAD software with associated CAE tools
• Complete and release component designs and documentation, including 2D drawings and BOM's
• Design of experiment implementation
• Design test procedures to isolate most critical modules
• Iterate on designs after rigorous testing
• Collaborate with internal design/manufacturing teams
• Validate manufacturing, assembly, and service feasibility
• Validate components per defined engineering requirements
• Conduct engineering studies (i.e. FEA, DFM) and report findings
• Participate in the sourcing process and manage engineering relationships with suppliers

• 3 or more years of experience designing custom automation
• Basic knowledge of GD&T
• Exposure to component design, analysis, and validation
• Comfortability in Solidworks
• Bachelor's Degree in Mechanical Engineering, or equivalent experience

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