Reinforcement Learning Engineer, Optimus

Tesla Motors, Inc.
140,000 - 420,000 USD
paid holidays, flex time, 401(k)
United States, California, Palo Alto
Oct 22, 2025
What to Expect Tesla is on a path to build humanoid robots at scale to automate repetitive and boring tasks. The goal of our reinforcement learning team is to build and demonstrate a general robot learning system that can leverage AI to perform complex physical tasks, ranging from full body locomotion, precise manipulation, and more. Our reinforcement and imitation learning engineers are responsible for end-to-end robotic learning and own this stack from inception to deployment. Most importantly, you will see your work repeatedly shipped to and utilized by thousands of humanoid robots in real world applications. What You'll Do Develop end-to-end robotic learning with either reinforcement or imitation learning Reinforcing correct set of actions, rewarding correct behavior and negating incorrect behavior (with real-time action/reward feedback loops) Perform a large number of instructions and generalize new tasks with different objects and environments Learn to perform dexterous tasks using high degree of freedom hands Learn different robot policies to solve language-conditioned tasks from vision Ship production quality, safety-critical software What You'll Bring Experience in end-to-end robotic learning, with either imitation or reinforcement learning Experience writing production-level Python (including Numpy and Pytorch) Experience with distributed deep learning systems Exposure to robot learning through tactile and/or vision-based sensors is a plus Proven track record of training and deploying real world neural networks 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) 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 $140,000 - $420,000/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.