Sr. Software Engineer, Firmware Release, Residential Energy Products

Tesla
Palo Alto, California, United StatesFull-time$168,000–$252,000Posted Aug 29, 2026

About the role

What To Expect

Tesla Energy is accelerating the world's transition to sustainable energy through a rapidly growing fleet of residential solar, battery energy storage systems (BESS), and charging systems deployed across hundreds of thousands of homes globally. Tesla Energy operates one of the largest residential battery fleets in the world with each unit running software that controls grid interaction, safety, and energy dispatch. Every software release touches customer homes, utility partners, and grid programs.

We are hiring a senior engineer to own the end-to-end software release lifecycle for the Residential fleet. You will be managing what ships to a diverse fleet, executing the rollout on our internal deployment platform, improving that platform, and turning the resulting fleet telemetry into a rigorous release-quality signal that catches regressions early.

This is a high-ownership IC role at the intersection of release engineering, platform contribution, and data analysis. You will be the single point of accountability for "is this release healthy in the field."

What You'll Do

Own the release plan. Partner with software leads, product managers, and TPMs to decide what firmware version goes to which cohort in the fleet. You will be the primary point of contact for residential energy stakeholders on firmware release status and planning. Accountable for keeping each fleet cohort on its intended version per the release plan. You will be accountable to maintain the fleet on the latest firmware version at any given time

Execute rollouts. Drive software/firmware deployments using Tesla's internal fleet deployment platform. Manage staging, piloting, and full-fleet phases. Own the go/no-go call at each phase, including holdbacks and rollbacks when field signals warrant it

Improve the deployment platform. Work closely with the fleet-tooling team to identify gaps in the deployment pipeline and contribute code to close them. You will be a meaningful engineering contributor to the platform, not just a user of it

Build the post-deployment analysis system. Design and build tooling that ingests fleet telemetry and high signal to identify new firmware bugs and regressions. This becomes the primary signal for release quality reviews and for prioritizing firmware bug fixes

Close the loop with firmware teams. Escalate suspected regressions with reproducible evidence. Track fix throughput. Represent the fleet's real-world behavior back into release planning discussions

What You'll Bring

Degree in Engineering, Computer Science or equivalent experience

Experience deploying software or firmware at scale, including familiarity with staged rollout and rollback strategies

Strong data analysis skills, including proficiency writing SQL against large datasets

Proficiency in a modern scripting or programming language (e.g., Python, Bash, JavaScript, Ruby)

Working knowledge of energy storage, power electronics, or related hardware systems

Experience using AI/LLM tools to accelerate engineering workflows

Strong problem-solving skills and exceptional attention to detail with the ability to produce clear, concise written documentation

Strong communication skills for cross-functional collaboration

Work travel is expected to be <5% in this job. This could include traveling to lab sites, customer sites, manufacturing facilities, etc.

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

Expected Compensation

$168,000 - $252,000/annual salary + cash and stock awards + 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

Responsibilities

  • Own the release plan and manage firmware version deployments
  • Execute rollouts and manage staging, piloting, and full-fleet phases
  • Improve the deployment platform by identifying gaps and contributing code
  • Build post-deployment analysis systems to identify firmware bugs
  • Close the loop with firmware teams and track fix throughput

Qualifications

  • Degree in Engineering, Computer Science or equivalent experience
  • Experience deploying software or firmware at scale
  • Strong data analysis skills and proficiency in SQL
  • Proficiency in a modern scripting or programming language
  • Working knowledge of energy storage or related hardware systems
  • Experience using AI/LLM tools to accelerate engineering workflows
  • Strong problem-solving skills and attention to detail
  • Strong communication skills for cross-functional collaboration

Benefits

  • Medical plans with $0 payroll deduction
  • Family-building, fertility, adoption and surrogacy benefits
  • Dental and vision plans with $0 paycheck contribution options
  • Company Paid HSA Contribution
  • Healthcare and Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts
  • 401(k) with employer match
  • Employee Stock Purchase Plans
  • Short-term and long-term disability insurance
  • Sick and Vacation time, and Paid Holidays
  • Back-up childcare and parenting support resources
  • Employee discounts and perks program

Skills mentioned

Firmware DevelopmentPythonSQLData AnalysisData PipelinesCI/CDSoftware TestingDebuggingAutomationGenerative AI

About Tesla

Tesla is accelerating the world’s transition to sustainable abundance. To achieve our mission, we're building a world powered by solar, enabled by battery storage and transported by electric vehicles. We’re committed to hiring and developing top talent from around the world for any given discipline. Headquartered in Texas, we operate six huge, vertically integrated factories across three continents. With over 100,000 employees, our teams take a first-principles approach to designing, building, selling and servicing our products in-house. Our world-class teams operate with a non-conventional philosophy of inter-disciplinary collaboration. Each member of the team is expected to challenge and to be challenged, to create, and to innovate. We’re tackling the world’s most difficult and important problems—and we wouldn’t succeed without our shared passion for making the world a better place.

Motor Vehicle Manufacturing10,001+ employeesAustin, Texas