Hill was born in Tacoma,Washington, U.S. and raised in the Pacific Northwest, where she attended Stadium High School.

After receiving her Ph.D. in 2004 she was given a University of California President's Postdoctoral Fellowship at UC Davis for two years, before joining its faculty of the Earth and Planetary Sciences department.

Hill and colleagues have shown that acidic waters have an adverse impact on growth characteristics of the protozoan zooplankton foraminifera,[7] oysters,[8] and mussels.

[13] Hill has utilized records of climate to understand how temperature, productivity, and oxygen changes in the past have influenced ocean ecosystems.

Hill and colleague Eric Simons have written a book that provides a comprehensive review of the impact of climate change on the health of the global ocean and the efforts of a broad spectrum of people to address it.

Tessa Hill's research has been featured in print and radio media on topics concerning climate science, deep sea corals, and ocean acidification.

[32] Hill published an Op Ed in the Santa Rosa, CA Press Democrat on the role of federal science funding in supporting innovation in the United States.