Name: Phil Lampe
Area of expertise: ViaSat-2 ground system development
What are your words to live by? Life is simple, we are the ones who complicate it. -Confucious
What do you do at Viasat?
A little bit of everything, which is what makes it fun for me. My job is mostly to help put the right people in the right roles and then help remove any roadblocks they run into. In doing that, I get to work on technical, business and inter-personal challenges. Every day is something new.
What’s the most exciting thing you’ve working on in the past year?
This past year I got to witness the launch of the ViaSat-2 satellite as well as the launch of the ViaSat-2 service! I’m not sure which one was more exciting, but so far they have both proven successful.
What do you love about working at Viasat?
I love the focus on engineering and innovation and the willingness to provide as much flexibility is possible to the employees in how we achieve success.
What challenges have you been able to overcome at Viasat?
After 21 years, there are too many to list!
What’s around the corner for you and your team at Viasat?
We have been building our DevOps capabilities for a couple of years, and now that ViaSat-2 is in service we’ll get to see how well it works for us. I expect plenty of challenges but am also confident that we will adapt and ultimately be really glad we made the leap.
What do you like to do when you not working?
When my two sons headed off to college a couple of years ago, my wife and I bought a small sailboat that we keep in San Diego Bay. Thankfully, I enjoy working on the boat almost as much as I do sailing it. By the way, the name of the boat is “Offline,” so I have no desire to have a satellite terminal on board. ☺
Star Trek or Star Wars? Why?
Monty Python is more my speed.
What is one unusual fact about you that might surprise people?
The first time I flew in an airplane was when I was 18 years old and in college. I jumped out with a parachute on my back. I could honestly say that I had taken off in a plane, but never landed in one.