Sr. AI Engineer, Application Security

You'll work alongside world-class engineers, researchers, and security experts to define security standards, build defensive tooling, and embed security into every phase of the AI lifecycle. This is a high-impact role with direct influence on the safety, reliability, and trustworthiness of Tesla's autonomous systems - enabling a world of sustainable abundance powered by intelligent, secure technology.

• Secure-by-Design AI Architecture: Lead the design and implementation of AI systems with security as a core requirement - applying principles such as zero trust, least privilege, and continuous integrity verification
• Adversarial Defense & Robustness: Develop and deploy defenses against adversarial attacks (e.g., image perturbations, model inversion, data poisoning) in perception, prediction, and planning models
• Data Security & Privacy: Implement secure data pipelines for training and validation, including encryption, anonymization, access controls, and audit logging - especially for sensitive driving and user data
• Model Integrity & Provenance: Build systems to track model lineage, detect tampering, and ensure only trusted models are deployed in vehicles
• Secure CI/CD for AI: Design and maintain secure, automated pipelines for model training, testing, and over-the-air (OTA) deployment - integrating vulnerability scanning, container security, and policy enforcement
• Threat Modeling & Risk Assessment: Conduct regular security assessments of AI systems, including red teaming, attack surface analysis, and risk prioritization
• Incident Response & Forensics: Lead investigations into AI-related security incidents (e.g., model drift due to attack, data leakage, spoofing attempts) and drive post-mortems and remediation
• Internal Security Tooling: Develop and maintain tools for detecting model vulnerabilities, monitoring for anomalies, and automating security checks in AI workflows
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner with Tesla's Security, Compliance, Legal, and Product teams to ensure AI systems meet internal standards and regulatory requirements (e.g., ISO 21448 (SOTIF), NIST AI RMF, GDPR)
• Mentorship & Leadership: Guide junior engineers, conduct technical reviews, and lead security-focused initiatives across the AI engineering org

• Degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Mathematics, or a related field or equivalent experience
• 7+ years of professional software engineering experience, with at least 3 years focused on AI/ML systems in production environments
• Deep expertise in machine learning frameworks (PyTorch, TensorFlow) and their security implications (e.g., model extraction, inference leakage)
• Proven experience securing complex software systems: secure coding, authentication, API security, and vulnerability management
• Hands-on experience with AI security tools: IBM Adversarial Robustness Toolbox, Microsoft AI Fairness 360, TensorFlow Privacy, Evidently AI, or similar
• Strong background in containerization (Docker, Kubernetes) and cloud platforms (AWS, GCP), including secure configuration and IAM
• Solid understanding of cryptography (encryption, hashing, digital signatures) and its application in AI/ML systems
• Excellent communication, leadership, and problem-solving skills

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

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.