Image Sensor Engineer

What to Expect

As a Staff / Senior Staff Image Sensor Engineer at Tesla, you will own implementation and industrialization of CMOS image sensors and camera modules—from validated design intent through process freeze, production test, factory ramp, and sustained high-volume manufacturing. Your focus is not research-grade pixel invention; it is making sensors work reliably, repeatably, and cost-effectively at Tesla scale across vehicle programs.

You will translate electro-optical and system requirements into manufacturable module designs, supplier process controls, incoming/EOL test coverage, and line-ready build instructions. You will lead NPI gates, yield and cosmetic defect reduction, second-source and capacity ramps, and field/factory issue closure with CIS vendors, module makers, Manufacturing, Quality, and Supply Chain. Expect heavy time on characterization benches, pilot lines, and production floors—not only in the lab.

What You’ll Do

• Own end-to-end implementation of image sensor and camera-module designs into production: DFM/DFA, stack-up freeze, BOM readiness, build documentation, and release criteria for NPI through HVM

• Industrialize sensor/module processes with module manufacturers and internal lines—die attach, wirebond/flip-chip, active alignment, lens/barrel assembly, filter/cover glass, sealing, and cure profiles—driving Cp/Cpk, scrap reduction, and cycle-time targets

• Define production test and inspection strategy (wafer/probe correlation where applicable, module EO test, cosmetic AOI, functional/EOL, burn-in or stress screens as required); set guardbands, golden samples, and MSA for factory metrology

• Establish and maintain EO and image-quality specs that are factory-executable: QE/response, noise, defective pixels, PRNU, black level, HDR/flicker behavior, multi-camera matching—balanced for perception needs and manufacturing yield

• Lead yield, defect, and process excursions: Pareto analysis, DOE on assembly and test, root-cause with FA (optical, electrical, physical), and permanent corrective actions into supplier control plans and Tesla work instructions

• Drive automotive-grade qualification and production validation for sensors/modules (TC, THB/HAST, mechanical shock/vibe, solar/UV load, life tests); lock process change management (PCN) and requalification triggers

• Partner with Manufacturing Engineering, Test Engineering, and Quality on line bring-up, takt and capacity models, traceability, and containment playbooks for factory and field escapes

• Manage CIS and camera-module supplier industrialization programs: process capability audits, dual-source enablement, cost-down without quality regression, and ramp readiness for new vehicle launches

• Resolve implementation issues at the system boundary—thermal, EMI, flex/PCB interface, connector/sealing, contamination, stray light introduced by assembly tolerances—and feed learnings into next-gen designs

• Mentor implementation and camera manufacturing engineers; standardize playbooks for sensor NPI, factory metrics dashboards, and cross-program industrialization best practices

What You’ll Bring

• Degree in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Optics, Physics, Manufacturing Engineering, or related field, or equivalent practical experience. Industrialization track record outweighs pure research pedigree

• 8+ years (12+ years preferred) bringing CMOS image sensors and/or camera modules from prototype into high-volume manufacturing—automotive, mobile, industrial machine vision, or similar high-reliability volume products

• Proven ownership of camera or imaging-module NPI: process development, equipment/fixture bring-up, production test deployment, yield ramp, and sustained HVM support

• Working fluency with CIS electro-optical behavior and failure modes (noise, defectives, thermal dark current, HDR/flicker, packaging stress) sufficient to set specs, debug lines, and challenge vendors—without requiring a pure pixel-design background

• Hands-on experience with module assembly processes (active alignment, bonding, sealing, optical stack) and factory quality systems (control plans, FMEA, SPC, 8D, traceability)

• Demonstrated ability to define EO/functional production tests, correlate lab-to-line metrology, and use data (Python, JMP, or equivalent) to drive yield and process improvement

• Experience with automotive or equivalently rigorous qualification, PCN/change control, and supplier process audits for imaging or precision optoelectronic assemblies

• Comfortable operating across Design, Manufacturing, Test, Quality, and Supply Chain; clear communicator who can freeze a process, call a line stop, or present ramp risk to program leadership

• Own industrialization strategy across camera platforms, unblock multi-site ramps, dual-source critical sensors/modules, and raise the manufacturing bar for imaging hardware

• Bias to the factory floor and supplier lines; willingness to travel to module makers and Tesla manufacturing sites as needed (often 25%+ during ramps)