Staff Software Engineer, Tesla Access

Tesla Access is Tesla's centralized internal authorization platform powering fine-grained control across Tesla systems using ABAC, RBAC, and REBAC models, enforced with custom OPA policies. We're looking for a seasoned Staff Software Engineer to lead the evolution of Tesla Access - from enhancing stability and observability to scaling its adoption across all internal Tesla applications.

You will work at the intersection of security, infrastructure, and developer experience. You'll design and deliver highly reliable, scalable, and secure systems for authorization and access control, while guiding a team of passionate engineers through best practices in modern development workflows.

• Lead the design, development, and optimization of Tesla Access - our Golang-based authorization platform backed by PostgreSQL
• Enhance support for dynamic authorization models (ABAC, RBAC, REBAC) with custom OPA integrations
• Drive onboarding of internal applications onto the Tesla Access framework, including user management, request review workflows, and policy enforcement
• Implement robust observability and alerting for real-time visibility and proactive issue detection across services
• Build and maintain SDKs across multiple languages to support broad developer adoption
• Extend platform capabilities by integrating AI agents to enable agentic flows (e.g., auto-suggested access, auto-remediation)
• Mentor and uplift the engineering team, particularly in effective usage of LLMs for code generation, documentation, and collaborative development
• Ensure highly performant and secure gRPC APIs and internal service integrations
• Champion Kubernetes-native deployments, sidecar patterns, and secure service meshes for scalable rollouts

• 8+ years of experience building production-grade distributed systems or equivalent
• Deep expertise in Golang, PostgreSQL, and authorization systems (OPA, ABAC/RBAC/REBAC)
• Proficient in designing and implementing gRPC-based services and knowledge of protocol buffers
• Extensive experience with Kubernetes, Helm, and container orchestration in cloud-native environments
• Strong familiarity with sidecar patterns, service mesh architecture, and zero-trust networking
• Proven experience in building SDKs and tools across multiple languages (e.g., Python, Java, Typescript)
• Enthusiastic about observability - experience with tools like Prometheus, Grafana, OpenTelemetry, etc.
• Practical experience leveraging LLMs (ChatGPT, Code Interpreter, etc.) to accelerate engineering workflows and enhance team productivity
• Demonstrated leadership and mentorship in cross-functional engineering environments

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)
• 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

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.