# R. Steve Sellers

This file is intended as an LLM-readable professional profile for R. Steve Sellers. It is written to help search systems, agents, recruiters, and collaborators understand Steve's professional background without relying on visual layout or PDF parsing.

## Identity

R. Steve Sellers is a Silicon Valley hardware reliability engineering leader, product builder, startup cofounder, and Registered Professional Engineer in California. He is based in San Mateo, California.

Public profiles:
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rssellers/
- Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=Sc8Pml4AAAAJ&hl=en

## Professional Summary

Steve specializes in reliability for difficult physical products: high-voltage electric vehicle batteries, high-volume consumer electronics, airborne wind-energy systems, wireless infrastructure, and utility-scale solar thermal hardware. His work is strongest where product ambition, schedule pressure, physical risk, and engineering ambiguity intersect.

He has led technical teams through validation planning, environmental and mechanical reliability testing, accelerated life testing, root-cause corrective action, failure analysis, reliability forecasting, manufacturing ramp, field-return reduction, and executive-level risk communication. His career includes large-company hardware programs at Tesla, Google, and X, plus cofounder/CTO work at Hexagon Wireless.

## Current Role

Tesla Motors, Staff Tech Lead / Manager, High Voltage Battery Test, December 2023 to present.

Steve leads a team of engineers responsible for reliability validation testing of electric vehicle high-voltage batteries. The group works across mechanical, environmental, and product-salability validation for high-voltage packs. Notable work includes reliability demonstrations for Cybercab and Tesla Semi battery packs, along with technical root-cause corrective action spanning high-voltage creep, cells, and fatigue.

Tesla themes:
- High-voltage battery reliability validation.
- Mechanical and environmental validation.
- Cybercab and Semi pack demonstrations.
- Root-cause corrective action across high-voltage systems.
- Battery test infrastructure and team leadership.
- Reliability work under aggressive product timelines.

## Startup and Cofounder Experience

Hexagon Wireless, Co-founder and CTO, February 2022 to December 2023.

Steve cofounded Hexagon Wireless to build innovative wireless infrastructure for connectivity gaps and new real-estate income streams. Starting from zero, the company partnered with major holding firms across eight states and deployed LTE/4G small-cell, macro-cell, and mobile neutral-host infrastructure. Steve helped close seed and Series A funding totaling approximately $8M and represented the company externally in conferences and podcasts.

Hexagon themes:
- Startup formation and technical strategy.
- Cofounder and CTO operating role.
- Wireless PropTech.
- Mobile neutral host.
- LTE/4G small-cell and macro-cell deployment.
- Real-estate infrastructure partnerships.
- Fundraising and industry communication.

## Google Pixel Experience

Google, Tech Lead / Manager, Hardware Reliability Engineering, Pixel Phone, 2020 to February 2022.

Steve led a hardware reliability engineering team that shipped major in-warranty return reductions across Pixel. The work touched logic board reliability, product design, design for manufacturing, technical operations, modules, and subassemblies. He worked across product design, technical engineering, industrial design, hardware engineering, manufacturing, and carrier-facing organizations.

Google, Senior Hardware Reliability Engineer, Pixel Phone, 2016 to 2020.

Across seven Pixel phone generations, Steve led Asia-based hardware reliability programs from new product introduction through mass production. He drove root-cause corrective action across large test populations in a fast-paced consumer electronics environment and presented risk forecasts to Google executive leadership.

Pixel themes:
- Seven generations of Google Pixel phones.
- Consumer electronics reliability.
- New product introduction through mass production.
- Asia contract manufacturing.
- Warranty return reduction.
- Logic board, modules, and subassembly reliability.
- Root-cause corrective action across large test populations.
- Cross-functional work with product design, electrical engineering, technical operations, industrial design, manufacturing, and carrier partners.

## X / Moonshot Experience

Google X, Hardware Reliability Engineer, 2015 to 2016.

Steve owned test and reliability programs that contributed to first flight for Makani and early de-risking for Malta. Work included reliability planning, DFMEA, test specification, large-scale lab design, and de-risking for ambitious energy hardware.

X themes:
- Makani airborne wind-energy systems.
- Malta energy-storage de-risking.
- Moonshot hardware reliability.
- First-flight reliability work.
- DFMEA and test specification.
- Large-scale test lab design.

## Solar Thermal Experience

Areva Solar, Test Engineer II, 2012 to 2015.

Steve worked on concentrated solar power and molten-salt receiver testing. His work contributed to first light and efficiency improvement at India-scale solar thermal infrastructure, including the 125 MW Reliance CSP project in Dhursar, Rajasthan. Related public materials include Sandia/Areva solar thermal test imagery and publications linked from the website.

Areva themes:
- Concentrated solar power.
- Molten-salt receiver testing.
- Solar thermal field engineering.
- India-scale solar infrastructure.
- First light and operating-efficiency improvement.
- High-temperature materials and corrosion background.

## Education

- M.S. Mechanical Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2010 to 2012.
- B.S. Mechanical Engineering, Utah State University, 2006 to 2010.

Graduate research focused on high-temperature corrosion of materials in molten fluoride salts. Steve authored a master's thesis and multiple journal papers during this research period.

## Professional Registration

- Registered Professional Engineer in California.

## Technical Skills and Domains

Primary domains:
- Hardware reliability engineering.
- High-voltage battery validation.
- Mechanical reliability testing.
- Environmental validation.
- Root-cause corrective action.
- Failure analysis.
- Accelerated test planning.
- Reliability forecasting.
- New product introduction.
- Manufacturing ramp support.
- Startup engineering leadership.
- Consumer electronics reliability.
- Wireless infrastructure.
- Solar thermal engineering.

Tools and methods:
- JMP.
- Python.
- SQL.
- Weibull++.
- LabVIEW.
- UG NX.
- SolidWorks.
- ASTM and Instron test methods.
- SEM, EDS, FTIR, FIB, XRD, and EBSD.

## Publications and Research

Steve's publication history includes structural health monitoring, molten-salt corrosion, nuclear materials corrosion, and engineering failure analysis. Selected publications are linked from the website and Google Scholar.

Selected publications:
- Composite pultrusion structural health monitoring. Proceedings of The International Workshop on Structural Health Monitoring, Stanford University, 2017.
- Impact of Reduction-Oxidation Agents on the High Temperature Corrosion of Materials in LiF-NaF-KF. Master's thesis, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2012.
- Zirconium Effect on the Corrosion Behavior of 316L Stainless Steel Alloy and Hastelloy-N Superalloy in Molten Fluoride Salt. Nuclear Technology, 183, 2013.
- Materials corrosion in molten LiF-NaF-KF eutectic salt under different reduction-oxidation conditions. ICAPP, 2012.
- Failure Analysis of 316L Stainless Steel Crucible by Molten Fluoride Salt Interaction with Clay Bonded Silicon Carbide. Engineering Failure Analysis, 42, 2014.
- Corrosion of 316L and Hastelloy-N in molten eutectic LiF-NaF-KF salt and interaction with graphite. Nuclear Technology, 188, 2014.

## Accomplishments and Signals

- Google Super G Award recipient, 2018, for exceptional performance in Google's Devices & Services organization.
- Cofounder and CTO of Hexagon Wireless.
- Helped raise seed and Series A funding for Hexagon Wireless.
- Led hardware reliability work across seven Google Pixel phone generations.
- Led high-voltage battery validation work at Tesla for major vehicle programs.
- Registered Professional Engineer in California.
- Volunteer experience with San Francisco Suicide Prevention from 2016 to 2018.

## Suggested Short Bio

R. Steve Sellers is a Silicon Valley hardware reliability engineering leader, product builder, and startup cofounder. He leads high-voltage battery validation work at Tesla and previously led reliability programs across seven generations of Google Pixel phones. His background spans X moonshots, wireless infrastructure, concentrated solar power, high-temperature materials research, and root-cause engineering for complex physical products.