Sr. SoC Power & Performance Architect, AI Hardware Tesla Motors, Inc. 160000 - 312000 USD paid holidays, flex time, 401(k) United States, California, Palo Alto Sep 26, 2026

What to Expect

The Tesla AI Hardware team is at the forefront of revolutionizing artificial intelligence through cutting-edge hardware innovation. Comprising brilliant engineers and visionaries, the team designs and develops advanced AI inference chips tailored to accelerate Tesla's machine learning capabilities. A key part of this effort is Dojo, Tesla's custom supercomputer system built to efficiently train massive neural networks on vast video data from the fleet. The work of Tesla's AI Hardware team powers the neural networks behind Full Self-Driving (FSD) and Tesla's humanoid robot, Optimus, pushing the boundaries of computational efficiency and performance. By creating custom silicon and optimized architectures, the team ensures Tesla remains a leader in AI-driven automotive and energy solutions, shaping a future where intelligent machines enhance human life. The Tesla AI Hardware team is looking for a Sr. SoC Power & Performance Architect to work on industry-leading AI accelerators in Palo Alto, CA. The candidate is expected to define power requirements, drive power-performance trade-off analysis, and lead cross-functional efforts to deliver best-in-class energy efficiency across our custom silicon, from early architecture through mass production. What You'll Do

Lead the definition of power requirements for AI accelerator SoCs to optimize Power-Performance-Area (PPA) under peak current and thermal constraints

Own and drive cross-functional teams to deliver on competitive power key performance indicators (KPIs) for one or more major SoC IPs such as the compute fabric, memory subsystem, or multimedia subsystem

Propose and drive power and performance optimizations throughout the design process, from concept to mass productization

Apply low-power design techniques including multi-VT, clock gating, power gating, and Dynamic Voltage-Frequency Scaling (DVFS/AVS)

Drive power-performance trade-off analysis to inform engineering reviews and product roadmap decisions

Develop and refine power and performance models for processors and system-software architectures

Partner with cross-functional teams (architecture, RTL design, implementation, verification, and performance engineering) throughout the design flow

Represent the status of SoC power to the executive leadership team What You'll Bring

Degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related field or equivalent practical experience

Experience with power management, low-power architecture, and power optimization techniques (multi-Vth/power/voltage-domain design, clock gating, power gating, DVFS, AVS)

Knowledge of energy-efficient chip design fundamentals and related tradeoffs

Understanding of processors (GPU a plus), system-software architectures, and their performance/power modeling techniques

Familiarity with performance monitors and simulators used in modern processor architectures

Experience across the full product-delivery cycle (definition, architecture, design and implementation, testing, and productization)

Strong grasp of performance/power estimation and optimization methodology

Minimum 5 years of industry experience related to power/performance estimation and optimization (senior-level candidates with 10+ years in power management or low-power design/methodology strongly preferred)

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

$160,000 - $312,000/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.