Sr. Joining Engineer, Laser Welding & MIG

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 laser and MIG joining specialist, you will own process health, equipment performance, and continuous improvement for high-value automated joining systems. You will maintain and improve existing processes, tooling, and robotic cells, and partner with cross-functional teams to remove bottlenecks and raise line performance.

What You’ll Do

• Serve as the subject matter expert for Laser Welding (IPG / Coherent), MIG Welding (Lincoln), and MIG Welding Vision (Servo-Robot + Vitronic) across BL4 (including BCL, BCR, and CIW)
• Own day-to-day process stability for laser welding cells (e.g. BCL/BCR laser weld guns) and CIW MIG + vision systems
• Perform root cause analysis on complex joining faults (beam quality, seam tracking, wire feed, shielding, distortion, porosity, spatter, vision false rejects) and drive permanent corrective actions
• Lead production trials to optimize laser and MIG parameters, introduce new product designs, and validate process windows
• Analyze production processes to ensure safety while maximizing Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE)
• Lead non-conforming material (NCM) activities, including rework procedures, containment, and line fallout troubleshooting for laser/MIG joints
• Utilize structured problem-solving techniques such as DMAIC, Ishikawa, Five Why (5W), and Eight Disciplines (8D)

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