Brian Dow ’ 93
TAKING ACTION TO MAKE IT HAPPEN
Brian ' s first day at Tesla Headquarters .
FEATURE
For Brian Dow ’ 93 it all started in a computer programming class with Miss Yeaton in the attic of the Main Building his senior year . On an Apple IIe he completed the entire semester ’ s work in a matter of weeks and took on additional special projects just for fun . “ In high school I did ok , but I didn ’ t really stand out in anything ,” Brian admits . “ I remember Miss Yeaton saying ‘ wow , you are really good at this ,’ and it felt great to be good at something that can be so useful .”
From there Brian started researching programs at a variety of colleges and universities to pursue a secondary education in computer engineering . He decided on Norwich University and enrolled in their electrical engineering program , which at the time housed their computer engineering courses .
After graduating from Norwich in 1997 , Brian has worked in numerous engineering capacities for companies ranging from start-ups , like Solectria Renewable , to household names , like Raytheon and Tesla . His focus has been varied and includes work on power electronics , missile testing , embedded systems safety and code writing , circuit board design , and the development of next generation battery systems .
During his time with Solectria , Brian was a lead product designer and helped grow their engineering team from two engineers to 50 . While there , he learned how to make solar inverters and led projects that provide power to the Indianapolis Airport , Boston Water Department , and schools across the US and Canada . Based on the inverter
designs Brian helped to create , Solectria won the contract to put solar inverters on Walmarts across the country , gaining the company attention and notability .
Tesla noticed the work that Brian was doing at Solectria , and in 2016 they recruited him out of the blue . He moved to California and went to work at Tesla Headquarters , where his first projects included the Powerwall , a home battery system , and the Powerpack , a large industrial battery which set multiple world records for largest Lithium-Ion battery system install size . One of the most famous was the South Australian Hornsdale battery , which Elon Musk bet the founder of Atlassian that they could deliver in less than 100 days or it would be free . Brian and the Tesla team delivered , and the project has showcased the potential of energy storage to increase grid resiliency and renewable energy usage . Brian was also one of the design leaders of the Supercharger Generation 3 , which has numerous upgrades over previous generations including the fastest electric vehicle charge times in the world .
Due to previous experience in manufacturing test and battery design , Brian was then recruited to work in the Tesla factory to solve production issues and was asked personally by Elon Musk to lead the Model 3 battery pack line during the well known “ production hell ” time of Tesla ’ s vehicle ramp . At the time the battery pack line was the biggest constraint on overall vehicle production , threatening Tesla ’ s viability if not solved . Brian and a team of manufacturing engineers overhauled the entire production line in 5 days , and within 14 days had doubled
4 Story by Haley Thompson · Photos courtesy of Brian Dow .