储能系统机械设计工程师 Energy Storage System Fire Safety Engineer

The Role Tesla’s Energy Storage team is seeking an expert Mechanical Engineer to lead the fire safety design

and validation of large-scale lithium battery energy storage systems (BESS).The primary focus is ensuring system safety and integrity under extreme thermal events through the rigorous design of advanced active and passive fire suppression architectures. You will be responsible for defining safety requirements, conducting hazard mitigation analysis, designing gaseous and water suppression systems, and executing test plans that simulate battery failure modes. Tesla provides a

rare opportunity to work for a company with promising challenges, great opportunity for broad responsibility, truly beneficial products, and engineering oriented culture.

Responsibilities

• Lead the mechanical design, engineering, and integration of fire safety and suppression systems specifically for lithium battery energy storage systems.
• Design gaseous fire suppression (clean agent) systems, including calculating distinguishing agent concentrations, pipe/hose routing, and precise nozzle selection and placement.
• Design water fire suppression systems, executing rigorous hydraulic calculations for distinguishing agent flow rates/volumes, pipe/hose sizing, and nozzle selection.
• Select and integrate critical fire safety sensors (e.g., combustible gas/LEL, smoke, and heat detectors) to ensure early warning, fault detection, and rapid system response.
• Perform ventilation system calculations and deflagration exhaust sizing to mitigate explosive gas accumulation and support thermal management during abuse events.
• Ensure all fire safety designs strictly comply with China national and local fire safety regulations specific to lithium battery energy storage systems (e.g., GB 51048, GB/T 42288).
• Conduct Hazard Mitigation Analysis (HMA) and thermal runaway propagation analysis to design redundancy mechanisms at the battery module, pack, and enclosure level.
• Collaborate with power electronics designers, thermal engineers, controls teams, and test engineers to take fire safety designs from prototypes into mass production.
• Working closely with global teams, external AHJs (Authorities Having Jurisdiction), and suppliers regarding engineering cooperation, component validation, and project timelines.

Requirements

• BS or higher degree in Mechanical Engineering, Fire Protection Engineering, or equivalent experience.
• Strong understanding of mechanical design, specifically regarding lithium-ion battery technology, high-voltage systems, and energy storage enclosures.
• Proven track record in designing both gaseous and water-based fire suppression systems from the ground

up, including hydraulic modeling and pipe network analysis.

• Deep understanding of China fire safety regulations and standards specific to BESS, alongside familiarity

with global equivalents (e.g., NFPA 855, UL 9540A).

• Hands-on experience with HVAC/ventilation calculations and sensor integration for enclosed energy storage systems.
• Proficiency with 3D CAD mechanical design tools (e.g., CATIA, SolidWorks) and fluid, fire, or hydraulic calculation software (e.g., PIPENET, FDS, or similar).
• Strong knowledge of battery failure modes, off-gas generation, thermal runaway, and deflagration mechanisms.
• Excellent communication skills, both in presentations and in writing, with the ability to justify design decisions to cross-functional teams and regulatory bodies.
• The ability to work in a dynamic, fast-paced and challenging environment.

Preferred Skills:

• Experience with designing and executing battery abuse tests and validation protocols (e.g., UL 9540A, GB/T

36276 thermal runaway testing).

• Registered Fire Protection Engineer certification (e.g., China's Certified Fire Engineer / 注册消防工程师) is preferred.
• Knowledge in basic control theory, including the importance of sensor bandwidths, signal routing, and integration with system-level PLCs/controllers.
• Familiarity with high-voltage mechanical design and structural integrity analysis under explosive or high-pressure events.
• Fluent in English.