Tesla Motors is hiring: Technical Artist, Simulation, Self-Driving in Palo Alto

As part of the Tesla Autopilot team, you will help lead the development of photorealistic, procedural environments that test, challenge and improve our Full Self Driving technology. Work alongside other artists, technical artists and simulation engineers to grow coverage of our virtual world to include more regions, variations, biomes and drivable topologies. Your goal will be to supercharge our end-to-end self driving neural networks by training them on automated procedurally created environments for anywhere in the world and beyond. The software, assets and virtual worlds that you create will convince the car it is driving in real locations to ensure the safety of our products by reproducing real driving behavior.

Responsibilities

• Use Houdini, Maya and in-house tools to create large, detailed road networks and associated assets in a procedural manner
• Utilize proprietary fleet data sources, neural network outputs and 3rd party spatial data to maximize location coverage
• Respond to data requirements and Full Self Driving product direction by providing realistic environments and assets
• Work closely with the AP Simulation team to continuously improve and automate asset creation workflows

Requirements

• Portfolio and/or code examples demonstrating large-scale generation of procedural environments
• Excellent knowledge of Houdini, Python and Vex
• Extensive experience with automated 3D production pipelines and CI as used in film and game development
• Understanding of high performance assets in relation to ray traced rendering and graphics pipelines
• Pragmatic and able to deliver solutions to virtual world building problems with a first-principles approach
• Solid analytical & spatial math skills related to road topology and geometry generation
• Experience with Git, GitHub Automation, Linux and Docker
• Proficiency with C++ and game/simulation engine programming
• Understanding of vision-based ML and experience with NN training

Compensation and Benefits
Benefits

Along with competitive pay, as a full-time Tesla employee, you are eligible for the following benefits at day 1 of hire:

• Aetna PPO and HSA plans > 2 medical 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 Account) HSA Contribution when enrolled in the High Deductible Aetna medical plan with HSA
• Healthcare and Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA)
• LGBTQ+ care concierge services
• 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
• Employee Assistance Program
• Sick and Vacation time (Flex time for salary 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

$96,000 - $240,000/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.