SoC Performance Engineer, AI Hardware

Tesla Motors, Inc.
paid holidays, flex time, 401(k)
United States, Texas, Austin
Jan 30, 2026
What to Expect The Tesla AI Hardware team is at the forefront of revolutionizing artificial intelligence through cutting-edge hardware innovation. Comprising brilliant engineers and visionaries, the team designs and develops advanced AI inference chips tailored to accelerate Tesla's machine learning capabilities. A key part of this effort is Dojo, Tesla's custom supercomputer system built to efficiently train massive neural networks on vast video data from the fleet. The work of Tesla's AI Hardware team powers the neural networks behind Full Self-Driving (FSD), and Tesla humanoid robot, Optimus, pushing the boundaries of computational efficiency and performance. By creating custom silicon and optimized architectures, the team ensures Tesla remains a leader in AI-driven automotive and energy solutions, shaping a future where intelligent machines enhance human life. Join Tesla's AI Hardware team to pioneer the next generation of AI accelerators. In this role, you will focus on system-level performance verification for our custom System-on-Chip (SoC) designs, ensuring optimal performance, power efficiency, and reliability in AI workloads. The ideal candidate is an experienced SoC performance engineer with a strong background in verification and debugging, comfortable working rapidly in a small-team environment. What You'll Do Develop and execute subsystem and system-level performance tests to verify AI hardware performance Debug performance issues in simulation, emulation, and post-silicon environments, identifying root causes and proposing optimizations Collaborate with hardware architects, software teams, and design engineers to validate SoC architectures against machine learning workloads Analyze performance metrics (e.g., throughput, latency, power consumption) and correlate results across pre- and post-silicon stages Create automated test frameworks and scripts to streamline performance verification processes Conduct architectural explorations and trade-off analyses to guide SoC design improvements for AI acceleration Document findings, methodologies, and recommendations to inform cross-functional teams and future hardware roadmaps What You'll Bring Degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related field, or equivalent experience 3+ years of industry/research experience in SoC performance verification, including subsystem and system-level testing Proven expertise in debugging hardware issues in simulation (e.g., RTL simulators), emulation platforms (e.g., FPGA-based), or post-silicon environments Strong proficiency in Python and C++ for test development, automation, and analysis; familiarity with hardware description languages (e.g., Verilog/SystemVerilog) is a plus Solid understanding of SoC architectures, AI accelerators, memory systems, and parallel computing principles Excellent problem-solving and debugging skills, with a track record of resolving complex performance bottlenecks Ability to work collaboratively in fast-paced teams, with clear communication skills for technical documentation and presentations. Knowledge of ML workloads, compiler optimizations, or performance modeling tools is a plus 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: Medical plans > 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 Accounts) HSA Contribution when enrolled in the High-Deductible 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 (90 day waiting period) Employee Assistance Program Sick and Vacation time (Flex time for salary positions, Accrued hours for Hourly 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