Forward Deployed Engineer, Energy

What To Expect

Tesla is seeking an experienced Forward Deployed Engineer with a proven track record in on‑site deployment and optimization of manufacturing operating systems. This role is critical in executing rapid deployments, troubleshooting real‑time issues, and ensuring seamless integration of technology and manufacturing systems to support Tesla's global energy operations, including Megafactories, Cell production lines, and Powerwall manufacturing sites. This is a traveling position, up to 50% of the time.

• Embed at energy manufacturing sites to diagnose flow, quality, and reliability problems using industrial engineering methodology, then build and deploy software to solve them.
• Utilize existing dashboards to triage and understand line health, OEE, and production KPIs, and align with site stakeholders on priorities.
• Deploy and engage users to adopt systems for production forecasting, manufacturing analytics, and line health monitoring on‑site, providing immediate insights to inform local team strategies and resource allocation.
• Study existing workflows on the floor, design new standard work or improvements, and scale the workflow to increase operator and supervisor adoption. This includes documenting and translating proposed improvements for future production lines and course‑correcting process deviations.
• Design and deploy AI/ML applications directly in production environments, including computer vision for quality inspection, RAG‑powered SOP and troubleshooting tools, predictive maintenance models, multi‑agent workflows, and discrete event simulations to optimize scheduling, productivity, material flow, and risk management during active manufacturing operations.
• Collaborate with partner organizations such as Production, Quality, Maintenance, Supply Chain, and Controls to ensure organizational flow across sites and lines.
• Take existing processes and implement long‑term solutions that are scalable for next‑generation energy manufacturing, prioritizing safety, quality, and throughput in high‑pressure, forward‑operating environments.
• Act as the on‑the‑ground technical expert, traveling to end users across multiple sites, translating deployment challenges into actionable solutions and driving progress through effective communication to remote leadership for quick alignment and decision‑making. Expect up to 50% travel to support manufacturing sites on the ground.

• Bachelor's Degree in Engineering, or equivalent experience.
• Proven experience in forward‑deployed roles across full production life cycles—from on‑site line setup and integration to troubleshooting and commissioning—in manufacturing, renewable energy, or industrial production settings.
• Demonstrated experience or curiosity with software or automation techniques, including software tools and platforms like SQL, Python, C# (C‑Sharp), R, Tableau, Power BI, and hands‑on experience with real‑time data pipelines (e.g., Apache Kafka or AWS Kinesis).
• Strong software engineering skills, including version control with Git, containerization and orchestration using Docker and Kubernetes, CI/CD pipelines (e.g., Jenkins or Git Hub Actions), and familiarity with deployment pipelines.
• Experience with automation scripting (e.g., Bash, Ansible) and integrating software with hardware systems, such as MAC devices, PLCs, or embedded systems on the manufacturing floor, to enable real‑time monitoring and deployment in production environments.
• Demonstrated ability to deploy and scale analytics solutions on‑site, including setting up KPIs, automating local reporting, and integrating insights into daily production workflows under tight deadlines.
• Experience in cross‑functional, forward‑deployed teams involving manufacturing engineering, production, quality, supply chain, and operations—navigating ambiguity and adapting to fast‑paced, high‑volume production challenges.
• Fluency in Lean manufacturing methodology: standard work, takt time, OEE, value stream mapping, kaizen, and A3 problem solving. Walk a line and identify issues before lunch.
• A coding portfolio of deployed, production projects in Python, Type Script, or comparable languages (Git…