Cabin Validation Engineer

About the Role

As a Cabin Validation Engineer supporting Supplier Industrialization for the Cabin Engineering team, you will drive the manufacturing readiness and quality of interior commodities. You will partner closely with Tesla Design, Validation, Quality, and Purchasing to translate design intent into robust, capable production processes. The goal is to deliver on-time, high-quality component parts to enable rapid development cycles and product launches. Team members operate as both experts and generalists with a get-the-job-done ethos. You will report to the Manager of Cabin Validation within Tesla's Cabin Engineering team and will be based in Fremont, California.

Key Responsibilities

• Plan, organize, direct, and conduct industrialization-related activities within the supply chain and cabin engineering teams.
• Develop, manage, audit, and improve supplier planning and execution of manufacturing process, assembly techniques, and quality controls from the advanced development phase to mass production.
• Facilitate communication and clarification of technical requirements between suppliers and Tesla Design, Purchasing, and Quality teams.
• Track supplier key metrics such as safety stocks and OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness) for critical suppliers and products on sustaining programs.
• Collaborate with Tesla Design and Validation teams to define validation requirements that meet product performance specifications.
• Lead, track, and improve supplier manufacturing process development and launch readiness for new products and design changes.
• Guide suppliers in developing exceptionally robust processes and procedures to promote efficient and seamless production of high-quality interior components.
• Drive supplier quality issues to robust and sustainable corrective actions and apply lessons learned across similar products and processes.
• Lead first article and cross-supplier dimensional measurement to compare suppliers, tune tooling inserts, and update simulation data.
• Develop supplier in-process and end-of-line test (EOLT) measurement and defect-detection capability, verify periodic supplier measurement data, and drive robust controls to eliminate quality swings.

Requirements & Tech Stack

• Minimum 1 year of experience supporting mechanical component manufacturing in a Supplier Quality, Quality Engineering, or Manufacturing Engineering role.
• Experience with vehicle interior components such as cockpit modules, headliners, hard trims, center consoles, seats, or door trims.
• In-depth knowledge of Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing (GD&T) and inspection.
• Experience in APQP (Advanced Product Quality Planning), PPAP (Production Part Approval Process), FMEA (Failure Mode and Effect Analysis), and Capacity Verification, Run at Rate, and OEE analysis.
• Familiarity with SPC (Statistical Process Control) and data analysis.
• Ability to communicate and direct supplier activities at the management level.
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, dynamic environment with excellent team-building skills across suppliers, peers, and other functional areas.
• Previous experience managing safety critical parts.
• Ability to travel an average of 30 to 40 percent, possibly on short notice.

Qualifications

• Degree in Mechanical Engineering, or equivalent.