RS

Rahul Sethuram

CTO @ Connext Inc. | Ethereum Interoperability Protocol

United States

Education

Work Experience

  • CTO

    2017

    Connext is a payments API for Ethereum applications. We help developers of decentralized applications take payment for their app tokens directly using credit card. Our goal is to facilitate the adoption of b2c blockchain apps by lowering the barrier to entry for the mainstream consumer market. Learn more at http://connext.network

  • Partner

    2016

    My TipdOff co-founders and I started an angel syndicate which sources deals to a select group of investors. We leverage our professional network and our deep entrepreneurial experience to benefit our portfolio companies. We know how to raise capital, assemble and lead strong teams, and build products from the ground up and take them to market successfully. All that aside, we know what it takes to win in the rough terrain of the startup wilderness. Portfolio Highlights: -Captiv8 (www.captiv8.io) -Tatari (www.tatari.tv) -Burrow (www.burrow.com) -Tropic Biosciences -RoboSig (www.robosig.com) -Rinse (www.rinse.com) -Pranalytica (www.pranalytica.com) -Semler Scientific ($SMLR) (www.semlerscientific.com) www.lonewolf.io

2015 - 2017

  • Member of Technical Staff

    2015 - 2017

    Lead member of core engineering team. Helped grow the team from 3 engineers to over 20. Architected and developed features for beta and V1 cloud security product. Contributed as full-stack engineer.

2014 - 2015

  • Co-Founder

    2014 - 2015

    Co-Founder at Tip'd Off, Inc. Duties revolve around bridging gap between technical and business specialists. Technical development with a focus on customer interaction such as social media APIs, brokerage APIs, front-end and back-end dev and integration. Focused on defining vision for Tip'd Off and heavily contributing to the product definition. Creates pitch material for investors and participates in pitch sessions, networking sessions, and general public education about product.

2010 - 2014

  • Senior Test Engineer

    2010 - 2014

    Lead member of Embedded Firmware Test group. Architected high-level test automation infrastructure to run automated tests after software builds and record and report results to developers and management. Infrastructure used combination of Git, Jenkins, Python, and various National Instrument tools to be a end-to-end solution. Designed and built design validation tester for Model S network gateway and built environment to simulate CAN and Ethernet networks on a bench setup. Developed test plan to find bugs and validate critical advanced functionality of Model S. Designed, built, and maintained system for functional and design validation testing of Model S and RAV4 thermal system control boards. Developed test program to simulate environments and run behavioral regression tests as well as corner cases. Improved and added to common code "framework" to interface with hardware and CAN network.

  • System Test Engineer

    2010 - 2012

    Designed and built system-level electrical test bed for Tesla Motors flagship Model S. Interfaced with Vehicle and Powertrain Engineering departments to integrate components onto test bed and test system interactions. Used CAN network topology and system schematics to debug complex system interactions. Built end-of-line software tools for manufacturing team optimized for efficiency in production setting.

Element Energy

2010 - 2010

  • Engineering Manager

    2010 - 2010

    Prototype design, troubleshoot, test of battery management hardware/software solution. Refined battery management concepts in applications such as electric vehicles, solar/wind farms, and grid-tied storage. Coordinated small engineering team to achieve key technical milestones while under tight budget. Business-side involvement with funding strategy, company direction.

  • Research Assistant

    2009 - 2009

    Researcher in newly established Nanostructured Energy Conversion Technologies and Research (NECTAR) group in NASA's Advanced Studies Laboratory (ASL). Designed and prototyped device to measure thermoelectric efficiency (ZT) of semiconductor nanowires. Studied nanostructure growth techniques including Metal-Oxide Chemical Vapor Deposition (MOCVD) and Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD). Successfully grew InSb nanowires on Si substrate using the Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) process in a quartz tube furnace. Gave multiple presentations to NASA employees.

3Prong Power Inc.

2008 - 2008

  • Electrical Engineering Intern

    2008 - 2008

    Worked in a cutting-edge start up company converting Priuses into plug-in hybrids. Participated in all aspects of the company including interviews, meetings, and technical work. Helped design microcontroller based battery management system to control charging and discharging voltages and currents. Used software to layout a printed circuit board for fabrication. Converted my family’s Prius into a plug-in hybrid, in the process learning the whole operation from start to finish.

  • Applications Engineer Intern

    2007 - 2007

    Configured and set up 9 HP and Dell servers running Linux to run qualification tests on IDT's AMB, (Advanced Memory Buffer) a serial interface to the memory controller in a Fully Buffered DIMM (FBDIMM). Gained extensive knowledge of the Unix platform and various Linux versions. Gained a good understanding of the AMB and ran various hardware and software tests on the AMBs and FBDIMMs. Updated a database of HP Qualification Test products.

2004 - 2004

  • Electrical Engineering Intern

    2004 - 2004

    Built product prototypes using guidelines from schematics. Tested and debugged weight sensors to meet customer shipment deadlines. Performed statistical analysis on the drift measurement and helped solve the drift problem on Loadstar sensors. Wrote a report on the reliability and robustness of the sensors. Developed an in-depth understanding of the electronics of Loadstar's capacitive weight sensors.