Tesla

Makes electric cars, robotaxis and grid batteries

Senior Manager of Quality - Optimus

Quality EngineeringConfirmed live in the last 24 hours

Full-timeAustin, TX, USANo salary listedIn-person

About the Job

Requirements

Demonstrate exceptional ability through technically complex products shipped and difficult problems personally solved.
Have 10 or more years of experience in quality, reliability, or hardware engineering on complex electromechanical products, including 5 or more years leading engineering teams.
Have experience taking hardware from development into volume production; experience in automotive, aerospace, robotics, consumer electronics, or medical devices is ideal.
Have strong hands-on technical depth in at least one of electric motors and actuators, gearboxes and transmissions, power electronics, battery systems, sensors, or embedded systems.
Be fluent with failure analysis tools and methods such as CT and X-ray, scanning electron microscopy, metallography, electrical characterization, and teardown analysis.
Have strong data skills, including writing SQL or Python or building tools to analyze large production and field datasets; experience with statistical methods such as SPC, DOE, and Weibull is expected.
Have working knowledge of quality frameworks including FMEA, 8D, APQP/PPAP, IATF 16949, and ISO 9001, and sound judgment about where to apply them.
Reason from physics, question requirements, and challenge assumptions, including one's own.
Have a track record of recruiting and developing engineering talent and building teams that move with urgency.

Responsibilities

Build, lead, and grow a high-caliber team of quality, failure analysis, reliability, and supplier quality engineers across the Optimus program, from prototype builds through high-volume production.
Own the quality strategy for the robot, including actuators, hands, sensors, battery, compute, wiring and harness, structures, and firmware.
Investigate technical failures by leading teardowns, failure analysis, and root-cause investigations using physics-of-failure reasoning as well as statistics.
Build quality into design and equipment design by partnering with design and manufacturing engineering on DFMEA and PFMEA, tolerance analysis, design reviews, and validation plans.
Understand and review reliability programs, including accelerated life testing, HALT/HASS, wear and fatigue characterization of actuators and transmissions, and reliability growth modeling.
Build quality data infrastructure using telemetry from robots in the field and on the factory floor, end-of-line test data, and process data to identify issues early; automate where possible.
Lead supplier quality for critical and novel components by helping supply chain develop suppliers, running audits and PPAP/APQP where valuable, and driving corrective action across the global supply base.
Set up inline and end-of-line inspection and test strategies, including vision systems, functional tests, and calibration, to maintain quality during production ramps.
Own field quality for deployed robots through triage, containment, corrective action, and feedback into design and manufacturing.
Set measurable quality metrics and goals, and report risks and tradeoffs to executive leadership.

Category	Manufacturing
Location	AUSTIN, Texas
Requisition ID	287932
Type	Full-time

Job Description

Optimus is Tesla's general-purpose humanoid robot. It's one of the hardest engineering problems in the world, and we are taking it from prototype to production at a scale no one has attempted. A robot that works next to people has to be extremely reliable, so quality is a core engineering problem here and not a compliance function. <br><br>We're looking for a Senior Manager of Quality to build and lead the team that makes Optimus robust enough for millions of units. This is a hands-on technical leadership role. You'll be expected to dig into root cause yourself, at the component, firmware, and system level. You'll work directly with the design, manufacturing, supply chain, and SI teams, and you'll have real influence on the product and the factory that builds it. <br><br>If you've ever looked at a quality organization and thought “this should be run on engineering first principles and data driven feedback, not paperwork,” this role is for you.

Job Responsibilities

Build, lead, and grow a high-caliber team of quality, failure analysis, reliability, and supplier quality engineers across the Optimus program, from prototype builds through high-volume production

Own the quality strategy for the whole robot: actuators, hands, sensors, battery, compute, wiring and harness, structures, and firmware

Go deep on technical failures. Lead teardowns, failure analysis, and root cause investigations using physics-of-failure reasoning, not only statistics

Build in quality at the design and equipment design stage. Partner with design and manufacturing engineering on DFMEA and PFMEA, tolerance analysis, design reviews, and validation plans so problems get designed out before they reach the line

Understand and review reliability programs: accelerated life testing, HALT/HASS, wear and fatigue characterization of actuators and transmissions, and reliability growth modeling

Build the data infrastructure for quality. Use telemetry from robots in the field and on the factory floor, end-of-line test data, and process data to find issues before they escalate. Automate everything that can be automated

Lead supplier quality for critical and novel components. Help supply chain develop suppliers, run audits and PPAP/APQP where it adds value, and drive corrective action across the global supply base

Set up inline and end-of-line inspection and test strategies, including vision systems, functional tests, and calibration, so quality keeps pace with aggressive production ramps

Own field quality for deployed robots: triage, containment, corrective action, and closing the loop back into design and manufacturing

Set clear, measurable quality metrics and goals, and report candidly to executive leadership on risks and tradeoffs

Job Requirements

Evidence of exceptional ability, shown through technically complex products you've shipped and hard problems you've personally solved

10+ years in quality, reliability, or hardware engineering on complex electromechanical products, including 5+ years leading engineering teams

Experience taking hardware from development into volume production, ideally in automotive, aerospace, robotics, consumer electronics, or medical devices

Strong hands-on technical depth in at least one of these areas: electric motors and actuators, gearboxes and transmissions, power electronics, battery systems, sensors, or embedded systems

Fluency with failure analysis tools and methods such as CT and X-ray, SEM, metallography, electrical characterization, and teardown analysis

Strong data skills. You're comfortable writing SQL or Python, or you've built tools to analyze large production and field datasets. Experience with statistical methods (SPC, DOE, Weibull) is expected

Working knowledge of quality frameworks (FMEA, 8D, APQP/PPAP, IATF 16949, ISO 9001), plus the judgment to apply them only where they add value

A first-principles mindset: you reason from the physics, question requirements, and push back on assumptions, including your own

A track record of recruiting and developing top engineering talent and building teams that move with urgency

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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