Sr. Engineering Manager, Vehicle Software

Description:
Join an elite team of innovators redefining how Tesla connects with its customers and vehicles. As a Senior Manager of Fleetnet Engineering, you’ll lead the charge in building and scaling the next-generation server-side systems that power Tesla’s connected car ecosystem, Robotaxi, and Optimus. This is where cutting-edge IoT communication, real-time diagnostics, mission-critical APIs, and AI-driven intelligence meet the future of autonomous technology.
You will influence the direction of Tesla’s product roadmap and reimagine what’s possible in electric vehicles, autonomous ride-sharing, and embodied AI. We especially value leaders who actively experiment with the latest AI tooling in their own time — those who build personal projects, prototypes, and internal tools on nights and weekends to stay ahead of the curve and bring fresh, high-leverage ideas to the team.

Responsibilities:
Lead and mentor a team of software engineers, fostering a culture of technical excellence, rapid experimentation, and AI-augmented development
Define technical strategy for scalable, high-availability systems and APIs, ensuring alignment with business and product goals
Lead the transition of distributed applications to scalable, maintainable frameworks optimized for on-premises infrastructure
Collaborate with product leadership, SRE, and infrastructure teams to shape roadmap priorities and resolve cross-functional challenges
Drive decision-making around distributed systems, asynchronous messaging, security, and the integration of AI tooling to accelerate development and capabilities
Identify and champion opportunities to leverage emerging AI models, agents, and workflows to 10x team productivity and innovation
Share insights and prototypes from your own AI experiments with the broader team, helping raise the overall technical bar

Requirements:
10+ years of experience in software engineering, with 5+ years leading engineering teams in distributed systems or SaaS environments
Bachelor’s or advanced degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent experience
Proven expertise in designing and managing scalable, high-availability on-premises systems using modern web development frameworks such as Golang, Ruby/Rails, or similar technologies
Demonstrated success leading teams through complex technical initiatives with a track record of delivering high-impact results
Strong leadership skills: Ability to mentor engineers, resolve conflicts, and inspire cross-functional collaboration
AI Builder Mindset: You actively use modern AI tooling (e.g., Claude, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, local LLMs, LangChain-style frameworks, etc.) to build personal projects, internal tools, or open-source experiments on nights and weekends. You bring this hands-on curiosity and rapid prototyping habit into your leadership role
Strategic mindset: Comfortable balancing technical depth with business priorities while advocating for long-term system health
Customer and team-focused: Driven to empower others, drive innovation, and ensure systems align with Tesla’s vision

Compensation & Benefits:
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
$264,000 - $396,000/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.