What are the responsibilities and job description for the Internship, AI Performance Engineer, Performance Optimization (Summer 2026) position at Tesla?
What To Expect
Consider before submitting an application:
This position is expected to start May 2026 and continue through summer term (ending approximately August 2026 or later, if available). We ask for a minimum of 12 weeks, full-time (40 hours/week) and on-site, for most internships. Our internship program is for students who are actively enrolled in an academic program. Recent graduates seeking employment after graduation and not returning to school should apply for full-time positions, not internships.
International Students: If your work authorization is through CPT, please consult your school on your ability to work 40 hours per week before applying. You must be able to work 40 hours per week on-site. Many students will be limited to part-time during the academic year.
The Performance Optimization team takes research models and makes them run efficiently on Tesla's AI-ASICs, powering Autopilot and Optimus. This role sits at the intersection of AI research, compiler development, kernel optimization, and hardware design. You'll collaborate with AI researchers on novel quantization techniques, precision improvements, and non-standard architectures. You'll develop optimized kernels using our MLIR-based compiler stack to achieve real-time latency for self-driving and humanoid robots. You'll work directly with hardware teams to shape our next-generation AI and Dojo chips.
What You'll Do
Implement, optimize, and profile highly performant kernels for inference and training on Tesla's AI and Dojo ASICs Work on a variety of edge and datacenter workloads, from small encoders/decoders to distributed LLM inference Work with hardware teams to shape the next generation of Tesla hardware, evaluating architectural tradeoffs and balancing performance with versatility Research and implement state-of-the-art machine learning techniques to achieve high performance on our hardware Collaborate with the compiler team on programmability and performance
What You'll Bring
Pursuing a degree in Computer Science, Machine Learning, Computer Engineering, or relevant field of study with a graduation date between December 2026 - August 2027 Hands-on experience with kernel optimization, distributed systems, inference runtimes, or serving frameworks Experience with LLMs, transformers, state space models, diffusion models, CNNs, and their performance characteristics Familiarity with performance modeling and roofline analysis Understanding of computer and GPU architecture, SIMD, multithreading, and/or other accelerators with vectorized instructions Strong analytical and debugging skills Ability to work across team boundaries with compiler, hardware, and ML teams Bonus: contributions to ML serving frameworks, compilers, and frameworks (e.g. SGLang, LLVM, PyTorch, MLIR)
Benefits
Compensation and Benefits
As a full-time Tesla Intern, you will be eligible for:
Medical plans > plan options with $0 payroll deduction Family-building, fertility, adoption and surrogacy benefits Dental (including orthodontic coverage) and vision plans. Both have an option with a $0 payroll contribution Company Paid (Health Savings Account) HSA Contribution when enrolled in the High Deductible Medical Plan with HSA Healthcare and Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) 401(k), Employee Stock Purchase Plans, and other financial benefits Company Paid Basic Life, AD&D, and short-term disability insurance (90 day waiting period) Employee Assistance Program Sick and Vacation time (Flex time for salary 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 Commuter benefits Employee discounts and perks program
Expected Compensation
$100,000 - $150,000/annual salary benefits
Pay 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.
, Tesla
Consider before submitting an application:
This position is expected to start May 2026 and continue through summer term (ending approximately August 2026 or later, if available). We ask for a minimum of 12 weeks, full-time (40 hours/week) and on-site, for most internships. Our internship program is for students who are actively enrolled in an academic program. Recent graduates seeking employment after graduation and not returning to school should apply for full-time positions, not internships.
International Students: If your work authorization is through CPT, please consult your school on your ability to work 40 hours per week before applying. You must be able to work 40 hours per week on-site. Many students will be limited to part-time during the academic year.
The Performance Optimization team takes research models and makes them run efficiently on Tesla's AI-ASICs, powering Autopilot and Optimus. This role sits at the intersection of AI research, compiler development, kernel optimization, and hardware design. You'll collaborate with AI researchers on novel quantization techniques, precision improvements, and non-standard architectures. You'll develop optimized kernels using our MLIR-based compiler stack to achieve real-time latency for self-driving and humanoid robots. You'll work directly with hardware teams to shape our next-generation AI and Dojo chips.
What You'll Do
Compensation and Benefits
As a full-time Tesla Intern, you will be eligible for:
$100,000 - $150,000/annual salary benefits
Pay 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.
, Tesla
Salary : $100,000 - $150,000