Program Management Intern – Vehicle Firmware Programs

Job Description

Integration Platforms Program Manager, Vehicle Firmware Internship | Tesla

The Tone:
This is a full-time internship at Tesla, located on-site. Tesla designs and manufactures electric vehicles, battery energy storage, solar panels, and related products, aiming to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy. This Program Management intern role is integral to the development and launch of new vehicle programs, from early prototype builds through start of production and ramp. By coordinating critical vehicle firmware releases and supporting the engineering fleet, this position directly contributes to hitting aggressive development milestones and ensuring the success of Tesla’s next-generation vehicles.

The TL;DR
• Role: Internship
• Type: Full-time
• Location: On-site
• Pay: $36.06–$56.13 hourly
• Team: Integration Platforms Program Manager intern supporting new vehicle programs.
• Mission: Streamline vehicle firmware releases and manage engineering fleet operations to accelerate new vehicle development and validation.
• Tech Stack: Jira, SharePoint, Confluence

What You’ll Actually Do
• Testing Improvement: Collaborate with cross-functional teams to implement fleet testing and validation improvements for faster engineering design cycle iterations, including supporting the definition of test metrics and tracking progress toward those metrics.
• Software Deployment: Coordinate the over-the-air (OTA) software rollout to Tesla’s worldwide engineering fleet of prototype vehicles, ensuring timely and effective updates across global operations.
• Fleet Logistics & Management: Facilitate engineering vehicle allocation, comprehensive tracking, optimal use, and intricate logistics across all engineering teams globally. This involves designing, developing, and maintaining robust processes for managing engineering vehicle lifecycles worldwide, and supporting quarterly global engineering fleet audits.
• Hardware Coordination: Coordinate prototype hardware retrofit campaigns, partnering closely with prototype shops to ensure seamless execution, along with thorough part readiness and firmware compatibility.

The Must-Haves
• Background: Candidates must currently be pursuing a degree in Engineering, Management, or a closely related field of study. This internship is designed for students with a graduation date between December 2026 and December 2027, indicating a student-level position.
• Experience: Demonstrated experience working on multiple projects within a research and development (R&D) environment. A basic understanding of engineering fundamentals and the product development lifecycle is also essential for this role.
• Skills: The ability to be resourceful and autonomously drive solutions within ambiguous problem spaces is critical. Excellent interpersonal, communication, and collaboration abilities are required for effective cross-functional teamwork. Practical experience with tools such as Jira, SharePoint, and Confluence is also expected.