Sr. Cell Engineer, Qualification Tesla Motors, Inc. 109600 - 234000 USD paid holidays, flex time, 401(k) United States, California, Palo Alto Nov 07, 2026

What to Expect Battery cells are the common denominator for every Tesla product. We want team-focused employees with strong communication skills who challenge and want to be challenged, and who create and innovate. We want teammates who will thrive in a fast-paced company with real hardware and are self-motivated, disciplined, and detail oriented.

You will work alongside seasoned industry experts, high aptitude recent graduates, and people from every stage in between. We look for anyone with an exceptional ability to solve problems in both individual and team settings. In this role, you will work collaboratively with cross-functional teams to push the boundaries of battery technology and improve the product experience for our customers globally. You will play a key role in characterizing battery materials, understanding degradation mechanisms, and optimizing cell performance in areas such as charge capability, energy, and lifetime. In this position you will manage multiple high-impact projects, utilizing existing techniques, developing innovative approaches, and analyzing data to accelerate the characterization of batteries. What You'll Do

Be a key member of a cross functional team to lead qualification efforts for new cell programs from concept to completion

Conduct investigations, prepare related status reports for problems or issues and make recommendations as required

Interpret and quantify degradation modes of various battery chemistries and propose countermeasures

Develop new electrochemical/chemical tests to analyze battery materials or parameters, elucidate fundamental mechanisms leading to degradation, and improve cell performance

Interpret electrochemical and electrode characterization data to optimize lithium-ion battery performance on new and existing cells What You'll Bring

Bachelor's Degree in Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Material Science, or equivalent experience

3+ years of industrial experience in cell testing and qualification

Hands-on experience in battery assembly, teardown, testing, characterization and diagnostics

Experience with performing FMEA as a methodical approach for identifying potential risks in a new or changed design /process

Familiar with degradation mechanisms and of batteries and battery materials

Ability to learn new concepts and methods, propose design of experiments, and execute independently

Some coding experience preferred (i.e. MATLAB, Python, and/or similar data analysis tool)

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)

Expected Compensation

$109,600 - $234,000/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. Notify me of jobs like this