Sr. Manufacturing Controls Dev Engineer, Foundry, Optimus

What to Expect The Castings Manufacturing Engineering Group is the part of the Materials Engineering Group responsible for the design, build, launch and handover of state of the art Casting lines and equipment currently used for vehicle and humanoid programs. This team is focusing on achieving the highest efficiency, manufacturing volume and safety while proving performance and documenting every aspect of the project for handover to sustaining.

The Controls Engineer in Castings will own the controls systems behind Tesla's molten metal operations, from aluminum melting and holding furnaces through metal transfer and dosing, into the largest die cast machines in the world (Giga Press). This role blends classic machine controls (PLC, robotics, safety, HMI/SCADA) with thermal process and combustion control in a hot, high-throughput foundry environment. You will develop, implement, commission, troubleshoot and optimize furnace and die casting cell controls, and partner with Process, Maintenance, and Facilities teams to drive uptime, metal quality, and energy efficiency.

What You'll Do Own controls for the melt deck: Melting furnaces, holding and dosing furnaces, launders, degassing and filtration systems, and molten metal transfer equipment

Specify, program, and commission gas burner management and combustion control systems such as flame safeguard controllers, gas trains, safety shutoff valves, purge and light-off sequences, air/fuel ratio and oxygen trim in compliance with NFPA 86, NFPA 54, and FM Global requirements

Architect, develop and debug PLC code using Siemens TIA Portal with an emphasis on generating code that is organized, structured, documented, maintainable and reusable

Develop and tune closed-loop thermal control strategies (PID, cascade, feedforward) for bath temperature within the process window

Implement (ANSI/RIA15.06/OSHA compliant) control reliable safety systems for robots, gantries, presses, and molten metal handling equipment, including functional safety for combustion and high-temperature hazards (ISO 13849 / IEC 61508)

Lay out new industrial electrical control panels which are NFPA79/NEC/UL508A compliant, and create electrical, pneumatic, hydraulic and fluid schematics with accounting for the heat, dust, and vibration of a foundry environment

Support and assist the maintenance team in troubleshooting difficult breakdowns and chronic equipment failures on furnaces, burners, hydraulics, and cell automation

Identify weak areas of the production systems using root cause analysis and first principles thinking and implement effective countermeasures using all available means

Optimization and improvement of human machine interfaces, SCADA systems and MES interfaces; generate aesthetically simple HMI screens for complex machinery while providing sufficient feedback for troubleshooting

Participate in the development and enforcement of Tesla standards, and manage furnace and equipment suppliers through design reviews, FAT, installation, and start of production

What You'll Bring Degree in Electrical Engineering, Mechatronics Engineering, Controls Engineering, or a closely related field, or equivalent experience

5+ years of professional controls engineering experience using Siemens TIA Portal, including direct experience at an aluminum foundry, die casting, or other molten metal / high-temperature production site

Hands-on experience with aluminum melting and holding equipment such as stack or tower melters, reverb and crucible furnaces, dosing furnaces, launders, and rotary degassers

Demonstrated experience with gas burner controllers and combustion safety systems (Honeywell, Siemens LMV5x, Fireye, Autoflame or equivalent), gas trains, flame supervision, and burner tuning

Working knowledge of NFPA 86 and NFPA 54 for fuel-fired furnaces, plus NFPA79, National Electric Code, and UL508A for industrial control panels

Strong temperature and process control fundamentals: thermocouple/RTD selection and wiring, loop tuning, alarm and interlock design

In depth knowledge of Safety standards (ANSI/RIA15.06, OSHA, ISO 13849) and experience supporting functional safety assessments

HMI/SCADA programming experience – Siemens TIA Portal (WinCC) and/or Ignition 8

Proficient in CAD working with electrical diagrams and prints (EPLAN preferred)

Proficiency selecting appropriate circuit protectors, wire, cable, sensors, safety hardware, PLC hardware, remote I/O, VFD, robots and servo systems rated for foundry conditions

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)

Tesla is an Equal Opportunity / Affirmative Action employer committed to diversity in the workplace. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, gender identity or any other factor protected by applicable federal, state or local laws.

Tesla is also committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities. Please let your recruiter know if you need an accommodation at any point during the interview process.