Sr. Manager of Quality, Optimus

Description

Optimus is Tesla's general-purpose humanoid robot. It's one of the hardest engineering problems in the world, and we are taking it from prototype to production at a scale no one has attempted. A robot that works next to people has to be extremely reliable, so quality is a core engineering problem here and not a compliance function.

We're looking for a Senior Manager of Quality to build and lead the team that makes Optimus robust enough for millions of units. This is a hands-on technical leadership role. You'll be expected to dig into root cause yourself, at the component, firmware, and system level. You'll work directly with the design, manufacturing, supply chain, and SI teams, and you'll have real influence on the product and the factory that builds it.

If you've ever looked at a quality organization and thought “this should be run on engineering first principles and data driven feedback, not paperwork,” this role is for you.

Responsibilities

• Build, lead, and grow a high-caliber team of quality, failure analysis, reliability, and supplier quality engineers across the Optimus program, from prototype builds through high-volume production

• Own the quality strategy for the whole robot: actuators, hands, sensors, battery, compute, wiring and harness, structures, and firmware

• Go deep on technical failures. Lead teardowns, failure analysis, and root cause investigations using physics-of-failure reasoning, not only statistics

• Build in quality at the design and equipment design stage. Partner with design and manufacturing engineering on DFMEA and PFMEA, tolerance analysis, design reviews, and validation plans so problems get designed out before they reach the line

• Understand and review reliability programs: accelerated life testing, HALT/HASS, wear and fatigue characterization of actuators and transmissions, and reliability growth modeling

• Build the data infrastructure for quality. Use telemetry from robots in the field and on the factory floor, end-of-line test data, and process data to find issues before they escalate. Automate everything that can be automated

• Lead supplier quality for critical and novel components. Help supply chain develop suppliers, run audits and PPAP/APQP where it adds value, and drive corrective action across the global supply base

• Set up inline and end-of-line inspection and test strategies, including vision systems, functional tests, and calibration, so quality keeps pace with aggressive production ramps

• Own field quality for deployed robots: triage, containment, corrective action, and closing the loop back into design and manufacturing

• Set clear, measurable quality metrics and goals, and report candidly to executive leadership on risks and tradeoffs

Requirements

• Evidence of exceptional ability, shown through technically complex products you've shipped and hard problems you've personally solved

• 10+ years in quality, reliability, or hardware engineering on complex electromechanical products, including 5+ years leading engineering teams

• Experience taking hardware from development into volume production, ideally in automotive, aerospace, robotics, consumer electronics, or medical devices

• Strong hands-on technical depth in at least one of these areas: electric motors and actuators, gearboxes and transmissions, power electronics, battery systems, sensors, or embedded systems

• Fluency with failure analysis tools and methods such as CT and X-ray, SEM, metallography, electrical characterization, and teardown analysis

• Strong data skills. You're comfortable writing SQL or Python, or you've built tools to analyze large production and field datasets. Experience with statistical methods (SPC, DOE, Weibull) is expected

• Working knowledge of quality frameworks (FMEA, 8D, APQP/PPAP, IATF 16949, ISO 9001), plus the judgment to apply them only where they add value

• A first-principles mindset: you reason from the physics, question requirements, and push back on assumptions, including your own

• A track record of recruiting and developing top engineering talent and building teams that move with urgency

Compensation and 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
• Earned Wage Access: Real-time pay access paid daily, subject to eligibility and schedule (applicable for below Sr. Managers levels)