Mechanical Design Engineer - Battery Cell Equipment

Job Description

As a Mechanical Design Engineer in Tesla's Battery Cell team, you will be responsible for the mechanical side of battery assembly and testing equipment. You will be joining a team that works closely with cell design engineers, process engineers, and manufacturing engineers. We are hardcore and the work is fast-paced and challenging – Tesla’s mission and vision must excite you.

Cell assembly is one of the few fields that pushes the limits of a wide breadth of mechanical engineering.  You will be required know and apply statics & dynamics, fluids & thermals, mechanics & vibration, etc.  Our work is highly multi-disciplinary and you will be expected know or learn basic controls methodology, controls hardware and sensor selection, and machine design. Strong design skills, a ‘first-principles’ approach to problem solving, and curiosity to learn and develop are must-haves.

At Tesla, our design work doesn't only exist on a computer screen - design engineers will drive prototype builds, engineering testing, and validation of our equipment. You will own the equipment design from conception thru to deployment and beyond. You will also be tasked with solving problems that will require you to dive deep into fully understanding and clearly defining the problem, performing root cause analysis, and developing a way to solve it and proving its efficacy thru practical validation. 

Job Responsibilities

• Modeling and design of mechanical components and assemblies including plastics, sheet metal,  fasteners, and other components
• Selection and application of appropriate off the shelf components including motors, bearings, gears, sensors, pneumatics, cables, fasteners, thermal hardware, etc.
• Mechanical design analysis including thermal, tolerances, structural, vibrations, kinematics, fluids, etc.
• Solve electronics packaging issues including: thermal management, fastening, connector application, busbar design, cable routing, etc.
• Develop engineering test plans for designs
• Create drawing packages and manufacturing instructions for parts and assemblies
• Assist in engineering prototype builds and component fabrication
• Collaborate with other mechanical, systems, electrical, digital control, manufacturing, industrial design, and test engineers to take designs from prototype through mass production

Job Requirements

• 3 or more years of experience as a Mechanical Engineer
• Experience with SolidWorks CAD and PDM software
• Experience with machine design
• Strong understanding of drafting standards and the application of GD&T (e.g., ASME Y14.5)
• Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering, or equivalent experience
• Proven strong understanding of engineering fundamentals and ability to apply them to equipment design and process development for high volume manufacturing
• Solid base of failure mode analysis and problem solving skills
• Working knowledge of mechanics, kinematics, and structure design, thermodynamics, heat transfer, and fluid dynamics
• Experience on student engineering teams and organizations such as BAJA or Formula SAE, or similar, is a plus