Staff Materials Design Engineer, Electrical Insulation, Energy

Tesla•Palo Alto, CA

16d•$120,000 - $210,000

About The Position

Tesla is currently seeking a motivated and accomplished Staff Materials Engineer to support our Energy Hardware product line. You will be responsible for identifying, developing, evaluating, testing and qualifying materials needed for electrical device insulation. Additional responsibilities include driving engineering tradeoffs, including reliability, cost, and manufacturability. Experience with typical electrical insulation materials (semi-conductors, ceramics, dielectric fluids, encapsulation, dielectrics) is required.

Requirements

Master's Degree in Materials Science Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Physics, or Mechanical Engineering, or equivalent experience
8+ years of industry experience in applications requiring electrical insulation is required
Proficient with statistical software, sql data mining, scripting languages, and FEA (electric field and loss simulations)
Exceptional organization, cross discipline collaboration and communication skills
Excellent problem-solving skills
Detailed-oriented, able to work both independently and in a collaborative project-focused environment, prompt and dependable, and excellent communication skills
Resilient in the context of a fast-paced and fluid environment
Comfortable in doing more with less and mission driven

Responsibilities

Evaluate and qualify materials including dielectrics, semi-conductors and semi-conducting coatings, ceramics, and other insulating materials, working closely with the electrical/mechanical design, manufacturing and supply chain teams
Engage with and manage external partners and vendors for materials development and drive implementation into production
Perform insulation characterization/performance evaluation including partial discharge (PD) measurements and electrical properties characterization
Conduct Failure Analysis (FA) to understand and correct materials and design shortcomings. Support the design team in analyzing trade-offs via FMEA
Understand application-relevant electrical properties of the insulation material from both insulation and loss perspective. Develop corresponding structure-property relationships
In collaboration with reliability engineers, understand degradation pathways mechanically and electrically via reliability testing on materials and components under environment conditions
Determine and support process development and optimization for the prototyping and manufacturing processes of the insulation materials
Write materials specifications, test procedures, SOPs
Develop novel high volume production methods to efficiently process the insulation

Benefits

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