Sr. Joining Engineer, Spot Welding & Projection Welding

What to Expect

Tesla is seeking a highly motivated and experienced Senior Joining Engineer to join our Body in White (BIW) team supporting Welding Lines BL4. As the resistance joining specialist, you will own process health and continuous improvement for spot welding and projection nut welding systems at scale. You will maintain and improve processes, tooling, and automated robotic systems, and work cross-functionally to resolve production constraints and improve line performance.

What You’ll Do

• Serve as the subject matter expert for Resistance Spot Welding (ST-Weld Guns / Centerline + WTC controls) and Projection Nut Welding (Centerline) across BL4
• Own process performance for high-density spot weld content (e.g. BCL/BCR, BIL/BIR, BOL/BOR, CIW) and projection nut welding on NFIL/NFIR/NFOL/NFOR
• Support related secondary equipment critical to weld quality and uptime: tip dress (C&D), tip changers (C&D), and water servers (Dwyer / Roccon)
• Perform root cause analysis on complex resistance welding issues (expulsion, undersized nuggets, electrode wear, stick, shunt, water/cooling, cable/secondary circuit, control faults) and drive robust countermeasures
• Lead production trials to optimize weld schedules, electrode management, and introduce new product designs
• Analyze production processes to ensure safety while maximizing Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE)
• Lead non-conforming material (NCM) activities, including rework procedures and troubleshooting of weld-related line fallout

What You’ll Bring

• Degree in Mechanical, Mechatronics, Automotive, Welding, Materials/Structural Engineering, or equivalent experience
• Experience in metallurgy and fusion welding preferred
• Experience in Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing (GD&T) required
• 6+ years developing and improving high-volume manufacturing processes; at least 2+ years hands-on in laser welding and/or MIG welding in automated/robotic environments
• Strong knowledge of laser process fundamentals (optics, focus, power density, shielding, seam finding/tracking) and MIG process control (parameters, consumables, torch dress, vision-guided welding)
• Ability to initiate design and process changes using DfM, Poka-Yoke, and failure-mode elimination
• Strong understanding of BOM, MES, quality specifications, process capability (Cpk), and change management