Jochen Wilden

Senior Staff Mechanical Design Engineer at Tesla

Aachen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

About

Senior Staff Mechanical Design Engineer with more than 12 years of experience developing high-volume automotive and electronics products at Tesla. My work spans mechanical design, system integration, product architecture, manufacturing readiness and cross-functional engineering leadership, with a particular focus on Autopilot and vehicle electronics. Throughout my career I have contributed to products deployed at global scale, led complex engineering initiatives and co-invented patented technologies. Prior to Tesla, I was a founding team member of Maschboard.de and pursued international academic research supported by multiple merit-based scholarships. Interests: Product Development | Vehicle Electronics | Mechanical Design | Engineering Leadership | Innovation

Experience

  • Tesla (12 yrs 2 mos)
    • Senior Staff Mechanical Design Engineer - Autopilot and Electronics Product Design
      Oct 2021 - Present · 4 yrs 9 mos

    • Staff Mechanical Design Engineer - Autopilot and Electronics Product Design
      May 2018 - Sep 2021 · 3 yrs 5 mos

      Continued owning and reviewing dozens of parts across the vehicle fleet of MS, MX, M3, MY, Semi, Cyber Truck, Dojo, etc. Mainly focused on ECU‘s, Li-Ion LV Battery,etc. designing the hardware part of the product. Driving designs from first concepts & sketches, integration, new inventions up to final production and quality assurance. FEA, GD&T, DFMEA, 2D and 3D CAD creation, right material selection and combination... are typical day-to-day duties. Pulling in the right stakeholders to the table to drive and push the design moving forward while always making sure it's the right for the customer, company, and the product without sacrificing quality and safety. Mentored and guided young professionals/interns with resulting into transition to full time positions. Key member in establishing a team for Giga Berlin to support production and design while going through many interviews and initial screening.

    • Senior Mechanical Design Engineer - Autopilot and Electronics Product Design
      Oct 2017 - Apr 2018 · 7 mos

      • Responsible for mechanical part design (2D Drawings and 3D CAD design), integration, and assemblies for low voltage related components in various Tesla vehicles. (Plastic injection molding, Aluminum die casting, sheet metal stamping and forming, CNC machining, prototyping,...) • Reviewing and supporting designs (Controller, Sensor, Autopilot, Harness, and High Voltage related hardware) throughout the Team for cost, lead time, weight, and automation optimization. • Moved back to Germany due to family reasons but kept working for the same team I helped growing and lead from zero. Since 2017 working 100% remotely

  • Master Thesis Project at MAHLE Behr
    Aug 2013 - Feb 2014 · 7 mos

    Designed parametric model of Li-Ion Battery cooling plate made out of a non-metallic material in the advanced technology department with focus on coolant flow optimization with StarCCM+

  • Intern - at Tesla Motors
    Oct 2012 - Feb 2013 · 5 mos

    • Proven track record of innovation in cost savings; delivered $200 per vehicle in savings for Model S after SOP through introduction of new harness connection configuration and hardware component implementation within the 12V wire harness.

  • Student Assistant at Institute for Automotive Engineering (ika)
    Jan 2011 - Aug 2011 · 8 mos

    • Designing of parts and package optimization for automotive projects (e.g. ePerformance Audi R8 electric ) with CATIA V5 • Fuel consumption tests on a chassis dynamometer

  • Student Assistant at Institute for Combustion Engines (VKA)
    Apr 2010 - Jan 2011 · 10 mos

    • Specific measurements (street and chassis dynamometer) on gasoline engines and data evaluation with alternative fuels