Tesla

Makes electric cars, robotaxis and grid batteries

Design Manager - MEP Infrastructure

Building Services EngineeringConfirmed live in the last 24 hours

Full-timePalo Alto, CA, USANo salary listedIn-person

About the Job

Requirements

A degree in Architecture, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or Structural Engineering, or equivalent experience.
At least 5 years of professional experience in infrastructure or facility design, with demonstrated fluency across engineering disciplines.
Ability to decompose complex systems and identify the governing variables that drive design decisions.
Track record of questioning inherited constraints and finding better solutions when warranted.
Experience evaluating trade-offs quantitatively, not just qualitatively.
Comfort with ambiguity and incomplete information, including knowing when to seek more data and when to decide with the information available.
Experience delivering IFB, IFP, and IFC packages for complex MEP and infrastructure projects, and familiarity with VDC/BIM-driven project delivery for industrial or R&D facilities.
Understanding of delivery methods such as design-bid-build, IPD, and fast-track, and when each is appropriate.
Strong documentation and communication skills, including distilling complex technical problems into clear, actionable plans for diverse stakeholders.

Responsibilities

Deconstruct complex infrastructure challenges to identify physical, regulatory, and operational constraints before committing to solutions.
Challenge design assumptions inherited from previous projects and validate that each requirement reflects actual need rather than historical convention.
Drive infrastructure projects from early concept through IFC, making decisive trade-offs across cost, schedule, constructability, and operational performance.
Take full accountability for design quality, ensuring solutions are robust, buildable, and aligned with long-term operational requirements.
Define fit-for-purpose strategies for design deliverables and permit packages based on project-specific risk profiles and schedule drivers.
Determine the appropriate level of design resolution at each phase (30%, 60%, 90%, IFP, IFC) based on the decisions each milestone must enable.
Structure and facilitate design reviews that surface substantive issues rather than merely confirm compliance with templates.
Probe designs for failure modes, constructability gaps, and coordination conflicts before they become field problems.
Extract requirements from stakeholder inputs; distinguish hard constraints, preferences, and assumptions; and convert multi-stakeholder needs into clear, actionable engineering scope.
Identify critical-path design dependencies and sequence work to de-risk procurement and construction timelines; recognize when design decisions block downstream activities and drive timely resolution.

Category	Construction & Facilities
Location	PALO ALTO, California
Requisition ID	276217
Type	Full-time

Job Description

We're looking for an Infrastructure Design Manager with deep expertise in mechanical, electrical, structural, or architectural engineering; someone who doesn't just follow playbooks but questions assumptions and builds solutions from fundamental truths. In this role, you'll own the full design and engineering lifecycle for R&D infrastructure, from concept through construction. You won't inherit predefined solutions; you'll be expected to deconstruct complex problems to their core elements, evaluate trade-offs rigorously, and drive engineering decisions that optimize for real-world constraints; not convention. This role is for you if you naturally begin with curiosity—asking "why?" before jumping to "how?"—and possess the analytical instinct to pinpoint the critical 20% of constraints that shape 80% of a design decision. You thrive in ambiguity, transforming uncertainty into clear, actionable engineering scope with confidence and clarity. You reject simplistic trade-offs and instead seek innovative, integrative solutions that honor competing requirements without compromise. You uphold a rigorous technical standard—not just for yourself, but for your team—and can clearly articulate the rationale behind that standard, ensuring quality, scalability, and long-term impact. We operate in a demanding, fast-paced environment where the ability to distinguish real constraints from inherited assumptions separates great engineers from good ones.

Job Responsibilities

Deconstruct complex infrastructure challenges to identify the true constraints; physical, regulatory, operational; before committing to solutions
Challenge design assumptions inherited from previous projects; validate that each requirement reflects actual need, not historical convention
Drive infrastructure projects from early concept through IFC, making decisive trade-offs across competing priorities (cost, schedule, constructability, operational performance)
Take full accountability for design quality—not just milestone completion—ensuring solutions are robust, buildable, and aligned with long-term operational requirements
Define fit-for-purpose strategies for design deliverables and permit packages based on project-specific risk profiles and schedule drivers
Determine the right level of design resolution at each phase (30%, 60%, 90%, IFP, IFC) by understanding what decisions each milestone must enable
Structure and facilitate design reviews that surface real issues—not just confirm compliance with templates
Probe designs for failure modes, constructability gaps, and coordination conflicts before they become field problems
Extract true requirements from stakeholder inputs; distinguish between hard constraints, preferences, and assumptions. Convert complex, multi-stakeholder needs into clear, actionable engineering scope that the team can execute against
Identify critical-path design dependencies and sequence work to de-risk procurement and construction timelines. Recognize when design decisions are blocking downstream activities and drive resolution with appropriate urgency

Job Requirements

Degree in Architecture, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or Structural Engineering, or the equivalent in experience
Minimum 5 years of professional experience in infrastructure or facility design and have demonstrated fluency across engineering disciplines, you can challenge specialists with informed questions, not just defer to them
Proven ability to decompose complex systems and identify the governing variables that drive design decisions
Track record of questioning inherited constraints and finding better solutions when warranted
Experience evaluating trade-offs quantitatively, not just qualitatively
Comfort with ambiguity and incomplete information—you know when to seek more data and when to decide with what you have
Experience delivering IFB, IFP, and IFC packages for complex MEP and infrastructure projects and familiarity with VDC/BIM-driven project delivery for industrial, or R&D facilities
Understanding of delivery methods (design-bid-build, IPD, fast-track) and when each is appropriate, with high ownership mentaility. You solve problems, not point them out.
Strong documentation and communication skills, you can distill complex technical problems into clear, actionable plans for diverse stakeholders
Intellectually curious with a bias toward understanding why things work, not just that they work and are energized by hard problems that don't have obvious answers.

About the Company

Tesla

Makes electric cars, robotaxis and grid batteries

Tesla makes electric cars and batteries that store power for homes and utilities, and it develops self-driving software and humanoid robots. In 2023, its Model Y became the first electric vehicle to rank as the world's best-selling car. Buyers order the Model 3 sedan, Model Y SUV, or Cybertruck pickup directly from Tesla instead of through dealers, and they charge on its Supercharger fast-charging network. It also sells Megapack and Powerwall batteries, runs a robotaxi service, and charges drivers a monthly fee for self-driving software that still needs their supervision. Tesla was founded in 2003, with Elon Musk as its lead early investor and a recognized co-founder, and it is based in Austin, Texas.

Company size: 10,001+
Company stage: IPO
Headquarters: Austin, TX
Founded: 2003

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