Quality Engineer, Body in White, Energy Programs

About the role

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• Quality Engineer, Body in White, Energy Programs
• Job Category
• Manufacturing
• Location
• Lathrop, California
• Req. ID
• 286222
• Job Type
• Full-time
• What to Expect

Tesla is accelerating the world's transition to sustainable energy and our Energy business is at the forefront of this effort.

We're seeking an experienced Quality Engineer to oversee the manufacturing of Body in White (BIW) structures, ensuring that welded assemblies and the manufacturing processes— including spot welding, MIG welding, and related joining techniques—meet the highest standards of safety, reliability, and quality.

To ensure the highest standards, we are striving for a "built right first time" and zero defect mindset, with a strong emphasis on continuous improvement, to guarantee that every BIW component and vehicle body that leaves our factory meets our exceptional standards.

What You’ll Do

Accountable for the quality of incoming components and quality controls and assurance in the BIW production process, with a focus on spot welding, MIG welding and other joining methods, driving continuous improvement

Responsible for solving complex technical challenges impacting internal and external customers by leading problem-solving processes utilizing methodologies such as 8D, Lean Six Sigma and Shainin, particularly related to weld integrity, joint strength and assembly defects

Lead cross-functional teams to safeguard and improve product and component quality, including risk assessment, containment actions, conducting in-depth root cause analysis, experiments, executing corrective and preventive actions, including lessons learned for future BIW designs and welding processes

Lead cross-functional teams to achieve and improve internal & external customer satisfaction, field reliability, nonconformities, scrap and improving first pass yield for BIW welding operations, along with additional relevant objectives and key results

Lead Advanced Product Quality Planning for new vehicle programs, including development of quality-critical product, component, and process requirements and characteristics for BIW structures, such as spot and MIG weld specifications, including supplier qualification

Drive Design & Process Failure Mode Effect Analysis (FMEA) to identify risks in BIW welding processes (e.g., weld defects, porosity, or distortion) and implement appropriate actions to mitigate these risks together with cross-functional teams, including proactive and continuous improvement of current controls

Identification and deployment of critical product/subassemblies/components and manufacturing requirements for BIW to ensure customer and production needs, including supplier development for welding equipment and materials

Develop, validate, implement, and consistently improve effective quality controls across BIW production lines—focusing on spot welding, MIG welding, robotic automation, and inspection techniques—in coordination with Design, Production, Operations, Controls and Maintenance teams

Participate in program, project, and design change management reviews to ensure BIW subsystem quality and reliability requirements are met, including analysis, trials and validation of weld processes

Assist development with dimensional analysis, statistical tolerancing, and other methods to investigate the effects of part and process variability (e.g., electrode wear in spot welding or wire feed in MIG welding) on system performance and manufacturability, including process capability analyses to investigate and improve the ability of suppliers and production processes to meet defined specifications and quality standards for BIW assemblies

What You’ll Bring

• Degree in Electrical, Mechanical, Chemical, Materials or Industrial Engineering, or equivalent experience
• Minimum 2 years of experience in a manufacturing environment and Quality Engineering function, with emphasis on automotive or metal fabrication
• Minimum 1 year of experience with BIW assemblies, welding processes (spot welding, MIG welding), or sheet metal manufacturing preferred
• Quality Engineering expertise including ASQ certification preferred (Certified Quality Engineer, Certified Six Sigma Green/Black Belt, Certified Quality Auditor, Certified Manager of Quality, etc.)
• Exceptional problem-solving skills and expertise utilizing problem-solving methodologies such as 8D, Lean Six Sigma, and Shainin methodology; relevant certification is a plus

Specific training, fundamental understanding, and demonstrated success in applying Automotive Core Tools and other relevant methods and tools (8D, FMEA, Control Plan, SPC, Capacity Study, MSA, APQP, PPAP, DOE, Hypothesis Testing, etc.), with application to welding and joining processes

Strong background and demonstrated success analyzing and interpreting large sets of data, including data mining, databases, and scripting experience (e.g., MySQL, Python); Minitab, JMP, or other statistical software expertise preferred for weld quality data analysis

• Understanding and familiarity with Quality Management standards such as ISO 9001 and IATF 16949
• Bring broad technical expertise and background to work with cross-functional teams, including engineering, manufacturing, service engineering, and suppliers, particularly in BIW welding technologies and automotive body structures

Compensation and Benefits

Expected Compensation $75,600 - $162,000/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.

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