Earlier this week, Tesla “Technoking” Elon Musk tweeted that the company is getting closer to releasing its in-car integration of Valve’s Steam gaming service to take its in-car gaming platform to the next level.
The gaming function built into the latest version of the Tesla OS has generated lots of controversy in recent months, and the ability to allegedly play distracting video games while the car is in motion has gotten a lot of heat from the NHTSA, causing such prestigious institutions as the New York Times to spend buckets of ink covering the matter.
Despite that, the gaming functions – especially for the rear passengers – are very much appreciated by parents of young children. When the refreshed Model S first bowed with its new interior, our own Zachary Shahan wrote, “One of the biggest factors for me is the touchscreen, which I’m very happy to see matching the Model 3 and Model Y touchscreen now. And the extra screen in the back for kids is, well, let’s be honest, a huge help at certain times. I much prefer that over handheld tablets, and it makes it easier while driving to say, ‘okay, time for a break,’ and turn it off.”
Enough people seem to feel the same way that Tesla is developing not just a Steam integration to allow Model S owners to play other people’s games – but developing an in-house gaming division of its very own. That’s right: Tesla is making video games, and the proof is job listings like this one, for “Video Games Engineer, Infotainment Software.”
In case it disappears, the job description reads:
What to ExpectTesla strives to make its cars the most fun possible; bringing video game experiences to the car helps increase that fun. In this incredibly rare opportunity to help build a video games platform, we are looking for a highly motivated software engineer to enable the best video game content to be available in-car. Come put that industry experience to great use and help us build this platform. You will need strong software engineering skills, excellent interpersonal communication, and experience accepting and giving meaningful feedback on technical designs. You will be expected to contribute to many different areas to make projects succeed, that may range anywhere from making kernel level code changes, creating vehicle UI, crafting in-game behavior all the way through to helping developers work with our platform. You will be responsible for bringing fun game experiences to Tesla Vehicles and will need to collaborate with our top-notch design team and back-end developers to help create this platform. Our goal is to set the bar for what video games in a car can be; much of this is uncharted territory having never been done before. We want to work with people who are excited by this goal and have the talent to deliver on it.
What You’ll Do
Design, architect, implement and debug game platform interfaces and systems
Rapid prototyping and ownership of fun in-car customer experiences
Work with a cross-functional team of Software Engineers, QA, Designs, Hardware engineers and Game Developers
Communicate with game development and publishing partners
What You’ll Bring
Proficient in C++
Excellent grasp of fundamental computer science concepts
Experience writing and shipping customer-facing code
Willingness & curiosity to learn new technologies in any area of the stack: UI, Rendering, Core, Protocol, Server
Experience building state of the art products in the video game industry
High standards for code quality, maintainability, and performance
Tesla is an Equal Opportunity / Affirmative Action employer committed to diversity in the workplace. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, gender identity or any other factor protected by applicable federal, state or local laws.
Tesla is also committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities. Please let your recruiter know if you need an accommodation at any point during the interview process.
For quick access to screen reading technology compatible with this site click here to download a free compatible screen reader (free step by step tutorial can be found here). Please contact accommodationrequest@tesla.com for additional information or to request accommodations.
Privacy is a top priority for Tesla. We build it into our products and view it as an essential part of our business. To understand more about the data we collect and process as part of your application, please view our Tesla Talent Privacy Notice.
Appreciate CleanTechnica’s originality and cleantech news coverage? Consider becoming a CleanTechnica Member, Supporter, Technician, or Ambassador — or a patron on Patreon.
[embedded content]
Have a tip for CleanTechnica, want to advertise, or want to suggest a guest for our CleanTech Talk podcast? Contact us here.
Advertisement