Post Silicon Validation Engineer, SI Hardware

Tesla Si Hardware TeamThe Tesla SI 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 SI 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 SI 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 SI-driven automotive and energy solutions, shaping a future where intelligent machines enhance human life.The role will focus on developing post-silicon validation plans, tools, and infrastructure for Tesla's custom SoCs and platform designs. As a Post-Silicon Validation Engineer, the candidate will take on challenges like validating the neural-network inference and vision compute pipeline, performing system level power characterization, and troubleshooting complex hardware bugs and field returns. The candidate will regularly take part in hardware design and schematics review, firmware development, and building automated test infrastructures for running large volume of post-silicon system level tests.

The role also extends into pre-silicon validation on hardware emulation platforms and into developing production test content for system level test (SLT).ResponsibilitiesCreate and execute synthetic workloads that stress the various functional blocks inside the silicon platforms, such as the inference compute pipeline, vision/camera interface, fabric, and memory subsystemAnalyze how machine learning workloads execute on the inference compute pipeline, identifying bottlenecks and gaps to improve test coverageBring up and characterize Autopilot Custom Silicon and PCBA, with a focus on the neural-network inference compute pipelineDevelop and run validation content on hardware emulation platforms ahead of tapeoutReview RTL and microarchitecture with the design team, raising issues and feedback before tapeoutCollaborate with diverse teams — hardware design, system/microarchitecture, ML model design, compiler engineering, and firmware — on schematic reviews, co-design decisions, and automated test infrastructureWrite test plans, develop test cases, and catch design bugs before production, assisting in root-causing and fixing issues as they're foundContribute to code reviews for test infrastructure and automation to maintain code quality and reliabilityDevelop production test content for system level test (SLT), partnering with SLT and ATE engineersCharacterize and improve power and performance consumption at a system levelRequirementsDegree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or equivalent experienceDeep knowledge of computer architectureAbility to read RTL (Verilog/SystemVerilog) well enough to review designs and raise issuesMicrocontroller & Embedded Systems Programming Experience in C/C++Python and bash scriptingFamiliarity with git and version control systemsDesign, verification or validation disciplines, system/platform level debug and root cause isolation, methodology and toolsExperience with Test Automation Framework DevelopmentFamiliarity with neural network / ML inference concepts — including LLM and transformer architectures, training, and inference optimization — and awareness of broader trends in ML workloads and simulation methodologies, useful for keeping test coverage relevant as silicon and workloads evolveCompensation & BenefitsBenefitsAlong 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 deductionFamily-building, fertility, adoption and surrogacy benefitsDental (including orthodontic coverage) and vision plans, both have options with a $0 paycheck contributionCompany Paid (Health Savings Accounts) HSA Contribution when enrolled in the High-Deductible medical plan with HSAHealthcare and Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA)401(k) with employer match, Employee Stock Purchase Plans, and other financial benefitsCompany paid Basic Life, AD&DShort-term and long-term disability insurance (90 day waiting period)Employee Assistance ProgramSick and Vacation time (Flex time for salary positions, Accrued hours for Hourly positions), and Paid HolidaysBack-up childcare and parenting support resourcesVoluntary benefits to include: critical illness, hospital indemnity, accident insurance, theft & legal services, and pet insuranceWeight Loss and Tobacco Cessation ProgramsTesla Babies programCommuter benefitsEmployee discounts and perks programEarned Wage Access: Real-time pay access paid daily, subject to eligibility and schedule (applicable for below Sr. Managers levels)Expected Compensation $128,000 - $354,000/annual salary + cash and stock awards + benefitsPay offered may vary depending on multiple individualized factors, including market location, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. The total compensation package for this position may also include other elements dependent on the position offered. Details of participation in these benefit plans will be provided if an employee receives an offer of employment.