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Tesla Residential Energy
2021: Building internal tooling for Tesla's successful hardware product installations.
This is an overview. If you’d like to learn more or view the case study, please reach out.
Context
As one of two designers on Tesla's Residential Energy Products team, I spent a year embedded in Powerwalls, Solar Roofs, and Wall Connectors and the software that made these product installations possible.
The Commissioning Wizard is the internal tool Tesla installers use to set up and validate energy products in the field. I redesigned and shipped over ten features across the Wizard during my time there.
Installer app: Home screen redesign
Powerwall installers needed to orient quickly and understand what parts of the system were set up, where errors lived, and what to do next. The previous home screen didn't give them that. I redesigned it around the installer's mental model: a clear view of the setup process, sequenced in the order they'd actually work through.
Real-time error and feedback system
Previously, installation errors resulted in failed setups and return visits due to a silent UI — no signal that something was wrong until it was too late.
I introduced a feedback layer that responded to installer actions in real time. The screen became a live collaborator by validating physical steps as they happened and flagging issues. Errors would guide installers toward resolution, rather than leaving them to diagnose failures on their own.
The power of good tooling
This was my first time designing for internal tooling, and it reframed how I think about product work. Consumer-facing design gets the attention, but the software that lets skilled people do their jobs well is where a lot of real value lives.