Manufacturing Software Development Engineer

Tesla Motors, Inc.
paid holidays, flex time, 401(k)
United States, Texas, Austin
Nov 11, 2026
What to Expect Tesla is standing up Optimus manufacturing at Gigafactory Texas (GFTX) in Austin. This role owns the factory's data path: from the PLC to the operator, from a live machine to a decision. You will write Rust services that collect and serve industrial data, build Ignition HMI and SCADA that people can actually use under pressure, program PLCs so the data contract is correct at the source, and design SQL that stays fast as the line scales. The bar, in order: reliability, performance, ease of use. If those three conflict, reliability wins. You will work on the floor with controls, manufacturing engineering, and operations as equipment lands and ramps. It is not a panel-design, robot-programming, or EPLAN role. You make sure the data leaving the cell is correct, complete, and usable. What You'll Do Write high-quality, reliable, modular, and clean code in Rust for distributed applications that interact with a variety of devices and systems on the factory floor and in data centers Participate in team software development activities such as design, architecture, and code review Develop pipelines for industrial data collection, buffering, and delivery. Own latency, backpressure, and failure behavior. A quiet, correct path beats a clever one that drops data Design contracts and protocols that will be used by PLCs to publish machine state, counts, timers, and process results to SCADA and downstream systems Design database schemas and queries for operational and historical data. Keep reads fast. Keep writes honest Instrument new and existing equipment so operations, quality, and engineering can trust what they see: availability, downtime, counts, process traces. One source of truth Partner with line controls engineers on data interfaces during design, install, and ramp. You do not own electrical cabinets or robot cells; you own the data leaving them Debug across the stack when the screen is wrong: PLC tag, network, service, database, or HMI. Find the actual fault, not a nearby one Set and enforce data and HMI conventions so the next line does not invent a new dialect Support commissioning and ramp on the shop floor. Some travel to vendor sites or sister factories may be required What You'll Bring Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, Applied Mathematics, or equivalent work experience 3-5 years building production-grade enterprise software in Rust or other systems languages (C, C++, Go), preferably in manufacturing environments Deployed multi-region distributed applications to bare metal and Kubernetes Strong database design and querying skills across relational, non-relational, and time-series databases Able to work under competing deadlines without shipping fragile systems. A smaller, reliable surface beats a large one that lies Clear written and verbal communication. You will write for operators, controls engineers, and software peers 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)