Tesla jobs: Want to work for Musk? Tesla is looking for test pilots of sorts

Earlier this year, Tesla CEO Elon Musk posted a tweet stating that the company’s Austin-based Gigafactory needed more than 10,000 workers. A flurry of new Tesla positions opens the door for more prospective candidates; namely, test pilots of sorts for the company’s advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS).

On Thursday, Electrek initially reported on the Tesla ADAS operator openings in cities around the globe. A quick search of the Tesla careers page shows listings for ADAS test operators with U.S. openings listed in New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, the Bay Area, Washington, D.C., and Miami.

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Tesla ADAS test operators job description

The job posts outline the position responsibilities, applicant requirements and provide a brief summary of the role. Below, we will parse out the information listed in the Chicago-based ADAS test operator role.

“We are looking for a highly motivated individual to accelerate our vehicle-level testing for all current and future Autopilot features on the path to full self-driving,” reads the provided job description.

“The ADAS Test Operator will be responsible to identify improvements and regressions across software iterations. A strong candidate will be objectively focused when making judgements, highly organized with a great attention to detail, and a self-starter.”

The description said the role “could require” travel flexibility related to both international and domestic locations “to test vehicles on public roads, test tracks and proving grounds.”

Job responsibilities

Overall, the job responsibilities include surveying the region and designing “routes with perspective scenarios for Autopilot testing” as well as designing “test specs” and creating “judgement criteria using tools such as XRAY.” Additional job responsibilities include conducting “real-world testing” based on test specs and “providing ad-hoc support for specifically requested scenarios.” ADAS test operators will also be asked to “analyze test data, triage software issues and abnormal vehicle behaviors” using the company’s proprietary tools and more.

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Job requirements

The job requires ADAS test drivers to have a clean driving record, “safe driving habits,” “good navigation skills” as well as “excellent computer software skills” specifically noting Microsoft Office tools including Word, Outlook and Excel. Other tech requirements include familiarity with MacOS, Linux, Windows and being “comfortable navigating between files systems” and overseeing data transfers. The posting listed Command Line experience as a requirement as well as being familiar with the ADAS/autopilot systems, its sensor suite, a “basic knowledge of vehicle systems” and more. 

Full Self-Driving and beta program

A number of companies are working to deliver semi-autonomous and fully autonomous vehicles. On Oct. 20, 2020, Musk announced that the beta of Tesla’s “full self-driving” (FSD) rollout would begin that night, noting that this would be “extremely slow & cautious, as it should.” On April 9, Musk tweeted: “Almost ready with FSD Beta V9.0. Step change improvement is massive, especially for weird corner cases & bad weather. Pure vision, no radar.”

A few days later, Musk updated this timeline, stating that the “button timing of May is aspirational” adding that this “depends on how well limited beta of V9.0 goes, but I would be surprised if wide beta (aka button) is later than June.” In the same tweet, Musk said the “FSD subscription next month is a sure thing.”

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