Internship, Software Engineer Opticaster, Energy Engineering (Winter/Spring 2026)
About this internship
Tesla is hiring an on-site Software Engineer Opticaster intern for Winter/Spring 2026 in Palo Alto, CA, within its Automotive and Electric Vehicle industry work. This internship is geared toward students pursuing a Computer Science degree (or related field) who can program in Python (or similar languages) and work comfortably with Linux and Git. You may also support workflows that touch cloud and big data tools such as AWS, Spark, Airflow, or Kubernetes. The posted pay range is $20-$50 per hour.
Qualifications
Required
- Pursuing a Degree in Computer Science or related field
- Proficiency in Python or other relevant programming languages, with experience in Linux environments and Git
- Familiarity with cloud computing and big data technologies such as AWS, Spark, Airflow, or Kubernetes
Nice to have
- Experience writing clean, well-documented code and collaborating through code reviews in Git.
- Comfort troubleshooting in Linux (logs, permissions, process monitoring) and documenting what you find.
- Exposure to building or maintaining data pipelines or scheduling workflows, even in coursework or side projects.
- Familiarity with basic cloud concepts (storage, compute, permissions) that relate to AWS-based projects.
- Some hands-on practice containerizing or deploying small services, which can help when working around Kubernetes.
How to stand out (TUN tip)
Before applying, prepare 1–2 project examples that show Python work in a Linux/Git workflow and briefly note any exposure to AWS, Spark, Airflow, or Kubernetes. If you have relevant class projects, link to a repo (or a code sample) and include a short README describing what you built and what you learned.