SoC Performance Engineer, AI Hardware

What to Expect

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.

• 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

• 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/System Verilog) 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

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 with plan options there is $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 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