What To Expect
Consider before submitting an application:

This position is expected to start May 2026 and continue through summer term (ending approximately August 2026 or later, if available). We ask for a minimum of 12 weeks, full-time (40 hours/week) 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.

About the Team:

Tesla is seeking a highly motivated Software Engineer Intern for the Optimus Connectivity Team to help develop low latency and highly reliable connectivity to the bot. The role involves embedded software design and development across system layers, with an emphasis on performance, stability, and efficiency. You will help build the foundational infrastructure that supports autonomy workloads, working closely with cross-functional teams in a fast-paced and dynamic environment.

What You'll Do

Assisting in writing, debugging, and maintaining components such as camera and vision processing pipelines, GPU kernels, low-memory footprint libraries, inter-process communication buffers, or tools for telemetry and logging

Supporting development and testing of networking protocols and connectivity features, including Ethernet and TCP/IP

Participating in efforts to optimize software performance and hardware resource usage, including working with custom hardware when applicable

Contributing to test automation systems that help validate the reliability and performance of networking and connectivity features

Learning and applying best coding practices, including writing clean, efficient, and maintainable code

Helping improve internal tools for tracking software performance and memory usage

Collaborating on generalizing and improving software frameworks while learning how to balance performance with good design practices

What You'll Bring

Currently pursuing a degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Physics, or a related field

C/C++ Experience

Basic understanding of networking concepts and protocols such as Ethernet and TCP/IP

Interest in low-level systems software and operating system fundamentals, such as memory management, threading, or performance optimization

Experience developing software on a Linux environment, exposure to cross-compilation or embedded Linux is a plus

Familiarity with multithreading, system-level programming (POSIX), SIMD instructions, or GPU programming (e.g., CUDA or OpenCL) is a plus

Benefits
Compensation and Benefits
As a full-time Tesla Intern, you will be eligible for:

Medical plans > plan options with $0 payroll deduction

Family-building, fertility, adoption and surrogacy benefits

Dental (including orthodontic coverage) and vision plans. Both have an option with a $0 payroll contribution

Company Paid (Health Savings Account) HSA Contribution when enrolled in the High Deductible Medical Plan with HSA

Healthcare and Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA)

401(k), Employee Stock Purchase Plans, and other financial benefits

Company Paid Basic Life, AD&D, and short-term disability insurance (90 day waiting period)

Employee Assistance Program

Sick and Vacation time (Flex time for salary 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

Commuter benefits

Employee discounts and perks program

Expected Compensation

$100,000 - $150,000/annual salary + 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.

, Tesla