Energy Storage Systems
Design three open-source tools to help researchers build better batteries
2021 - present
Overview
Despite growing investment in battery storage systems, researchers lacked accessible, usable tools to model performance, evaluate ROI, or select modeling software.
I led the UX and product design of three 0–1 tools to make testing, evaluating, and decision-making around energy storage more approachable, accurate, and actionable.
Role
Lead Product Designer
Team
Product owners, ML engineers, developers, researchers and interns
Outcome
Three 0-1 open-source brand new solutions for energy storage systems
Public social impacts
Referenced in U.S. Department of Energy publications
Presented at national energy conferences
First-of-their-kind tools in the battery domain
Open-source, free and accessible, used by researchers and utilities
ES-Control: Energy Storage Control
Simulates how different control strategies impact battery system performance.
Interactions for flexible, ML-driven energy use cases
Worked across backend model logic and frontend dev teams
Led interviews, heuristic evaluations, and testing
ESET: Energy Storage Evaluation Tool
Calculates cost-effectiveness and financial return of a storage system.
Turned financial models into guided uniformed UI
Designed layout and progressive input flows
Worked with front-end developers closely to identify feasibility
MSP: Model Selection Platform
Helps users choose the right modeling tool among dozens from national labs.
Filter and compare modeling tools
Visualized model coverage and input needs
Collaborated with multiple lab teams
My Role
Transformed complex scientific algorithms and battery engineering concepts into intuitive interaction designs, facilitating user-friendly experiences.
Designed the information architecture, user interfaces, and user flows for three platforms from inception, ensuring cohesive and effective user journeys.
Navigated the balance between optimal user experience and stringent engineering and research limitations, delivering practical yet innovative solutions.
Mentored interns and guided stakeholders in design thinking methodologies, fostering a user-centric culture within the team.
Educated product owners on the comprehensive value of user experience (UX) beyond mere user interface (UI) design, emphasizing its strategic importance in product development.
Design insights
The challenge was to dream big, then scale down to what could be delivered within timeline and budget constraints—while still architecting for future growth.
ESC and ESET began as engineering-led prototypes—I redesigned them through user-first principles, transforming dense, technical logic into intuitive tools.
For MSP, I led efforts to align terminology and mental models across multiple national labs, translating complex scientific language into accessible, actionable UX.
Each algorithm came with nuance and trade-offs—I designed a content management page on Confluence that clarified a collaboration workflow for the product owner and researchers even after I wasn't part of the project.
Beyond the tools
I see tools like ESC, ESET, and MSP as more than calculators—they’re bridges between researchers, policy, and real-world deployment. Design helped make energy systems understandable, scalable, and publicly accessible.