What to Expect
Consider before submitting an application:
This position is expected to start around January 2026 and continue through the Winter/Spring term (ending approximately May 2026) or continuing into Summer 2026 if available and there is an opportunity to do so. We ask for a minimum of 12 weeks, full-time and on-site, for most internships. Our internship program is for students who are actively enrolled in an academic program. Recent graduates seeking employment after graduation and not returning to school should apply for full-time positions, not internships.
International Students: If your work authorization is through CPT, please consult your school on your ability to work 40 hours per week before applying. You must be able to work 40 hours per week on-site. Many students will be limited to part-time during the academic year.
The Internship Recruiting Team is driven by the passion to recognize and develop emerging talent. Our year-round program places the best students in positions where they will grow technically, professionally, and personally through their experience working closely with their manager, mentor, and team. We are dedicated to providing an experience that allows the intern to experience life at Tesla by including them in projects that are critical to their team’s success.
Multiple Locations Possible: Palo Alto, CA; Austin, TX; Fort Collins, CO
What You’ll Do
Your application for the Hardware Design Engineering – Silicon Development Internship will be considered across all opportunities for the teams listed below:
- The Autopilot Physical Design team specializes in block-level implementation using industry-standard EDA tools. As an intern, you will contribute to implementing SOCs and related IPs from synthesis through tapeout. You will have the opportunity to enhance result quality and streamline workflows by developing designs in TCL, Perl, and/or Python
- The Signal Integrity and Power Integrity (SIPI) team work on high-speed serial interface signal integrity and testing, memory SI/PI, system level power supply design/validation and power integrity for the automotive electronic systems (Autopilot)
- The Autopilot Silicon and Systems Validation team focuses on validating Pre and Post Silicon phases of the Autopilot Silicon and System that includes the SoC, PCBA, Firmware and Platform. They work closely with the Autopilot Firmware and the Autopilot Application Software teams to build confidence in the overall HW/SW platform that runs in the cars. This team builds validation test infrastructures that are capable of launching a variety of synthetic and use-case based tests in order to catch any hardware or firmware defects prior to production
- The Autopilot Silicon and System Design team is responsible for designing and productizing silicon chips, ASICs, and the overall system for Tesla Autopilot. This team architects, designs, and verifies the entire system. This team is responsible for writing firmware and software drivers to communicate with the system. They are looking for interns with strong electrical engineering fundamentals, understanding of hardware-software concepts, and familiarity with PCBA design. Schematic entry and simulation, lab skills, and scripting are a must. Experience in mixed signal design, high speed signaling, or power supply design is preferred
What You’ll Bring
- Currently pursuing a degree in Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related field
- Knowledge of PCB manufacturing technologies, and DFM. Engage with PCB/PCBA vendors for a successful PCB fabrication/assembly
- Knowledge of system level aspects of low power and high-power design and the ability to model and analyze power at system and core level
- Familiarity with Embedded board bring-up
- Strong comfort in C, C++, Python, and/or Linux OS Scripting
- Understanding fundamentals of real-time operating system (RTOS) principles
- Experience in design, verification or validation disciplines, system/platform level debug and root cause isolation, methodology and tools
