What are the responsibilities and job description for the Sr. Sensor Hardware Engineer, Vehicle Dynamics & Interaction position at Tesla?
What To Expect
Every input a Tesla takes — from the road beneath it or the person inside it — is a signal your hardware has to get right. The road pushes back through the steering rack; a driver reaches for a button without looking. Both are physical acts the car must read perfectly, millions of times a day — and both come down to the same craft: translating force, torque, position, and proximity into a signal the car can act on.
Vehicle-dynamics sensing — handwheel angle/position, steering torque, rack position, suspension travel, wheel speed, brake pad position and pressure, inertial state — feeds FSD and vehicle control. As the chassis moves to steer-by-wire, brake-by-wire, and active suspension, these signals lose their mechanical fallback — your sensor becomes the safety-critical source of truth, and it has to be right every time.
Human-interaction sensing — solid-state buttons, capacitive touchpads, electromechanical door handles and switches, stalk and seat sensors, proximity sensors — captures how people engage with the vehicle. And as FSD takes the wheel, the cabin becomes the product — interior sensing will drive the next generation of the passenger experience.
You'll own a focused set of these subsystems and go deep — end-to-end from requirements through design, validation, supplier accountability, and production launch.
This is a role for an engineer who wants to be the definitive owner of a subsystem — not one contributor among many. You'll take first-of-its-kind hardware from concept to high-volume production at a pace few companies can match, meeting automotive reliability and safety standards on one of the most visible products in the world.
What You'll Do
Own your subsystems end-to-end and be accountable for how they perform in the field, not just at launch Define sensor performance as measurable hardware requirements, tied to FSD, vehicle dynamics, safety, and user experience — then own the systems that deliver them at scale Challenge inherited architectures from first principles. When the existing approach hits a fundamental limit, make the case and drive the alternative to production Make technology, architecture, and integration decisions where precedent is absent, and defend them with data and sound reasoning Lead schematic design, component selection, PCB layout, and BOM definition for analog front-ends, signal conditioning, and vehicle interface electronics Design and validate for extreme chassis environments (vibration, thermal swings, EMI) and/or HMI durability, latency, and false-trigger immunity Build validation plans with measurable pass/fail criteria tied to performance, safety, and FSD outcomes — not just component specs. Collaborate with autonomy, safety, vehicle dynamics, product design, and design studio teams to align sensor hardware with functional, reliability, and experiential requirements across the vehicle Drive suppliers to performance, reliability, and cost targets, holding partners accountable to their commitments Compress prototype-to-production timelines through disciplined iteration and early manufacturing engagement
What You'll Bring
Deep experience shipping sensor hardware to production in either domain — vehicle-dynamics sensing (e.g. steering torque/angle, wheel speed, brake pad position and pressure, inertial) or human-interaction sensing (e.g. capacitive touch, switches, proximity). Depth in one domain is what matters Fluency across the transducer technologies behind force, torque, position, and proximity sensing — magnetic (Hall, magnetoresistive), inductive, capacitive, piezoelectric, MEMS, and optical — with the judgment to select the right one for each measurement Comfortable defining requirements and making risk-based decisions under incomplete information — you identify knowledge gaps, design experiments, and decide without complete specifications PCB and EMC design for harsh automotive environments — signal/power integrity, thermal performance, shielding, filtering, and transient suppression to ISO 7637 and ISO 16750-2 (Altium preferred) Signal-chain design: preamp, analog filtering, ADC, and DSP integration across varied environments Automotive communication interfaces (CAN-FD, LIN, 10BASE-T1S, SPI, I²C, SENT) and the trade-off judgment to pick among them Automotive qualification standards (AEC-Q100) and ISO 26262 functional safety High-volume manufacturing experience with direct supplier / CM collaboration, including holding partners accountable Drive alignment through clear technical argument and data, not organizational authority, and communicate complex hardware trade-offs to autonomy, perception, safety, and manufacturing teams
Benefits
Compensation and 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
Expected Compensation
$100,000 - $282,000/annual salary cash and stock awards 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
Every input a Tesla takes — from the road beneath it or the person inside it — is a signal your hardware has to get right. The road pushes back through the steering rack; a driver reaches for a button without looking. Both are physical acts the car must read perfectly, millions of times a day — and both come down to the same craft: translating force, torque, position, and proximity into a signal the car can act on.
Vehicle-dynamics sensing — handwheel angle/position, steering torque, rack position, suspension travel, wheel speed, brake pad position and pressure, inertial state — feeds FSD and vehicle control. As the chassis moves to steer-by-wire, brake-by-wire, and active suspension, these signals lose their mechanical fallback — your sensor becomes the safety-critical source of truth, and it has to be right every time.
Human-interaction sensing — solid-state buttons, capacitive touchpads, electromechanical door handles and switches, stalk and seat sensors, proximity sensors — captures how people engage with the vehicle. And as FSD takes the wheel, the cabin becomes the product — interior sensing will drive the next generation of the passenger experience.
You'll own a focused set of these subsystems and go deep — end-to-end from requirements through design, validation, supplier accountability, and production launch.
This is a role for an engineer who wants to be the definitive owner of a subsystem — not one contributor among many. You'll take first-of-its-kind hardware from concept to high-volume production at a pace few companies can match, meeting automotive reliability and safety standards on one of the most visible products in the world.
What You'll Do
Compensation and Benefits
Along with competitive pay, as a full-time Tesla employee, you are eligible for the following benefits at day 1 of hire:
$100,000 - $282,000/annual salary cash and stock awards 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 - $282,000