Coworking with Paul Tomko

Coworking is a weekly segment where we spotlight Emerging Tech Brew readers who work with emerging technologies. Click here if you’d like a chance to be featured.

How would you describe your job to someone who doesn’t work in tech?

I help build, launch, and operate small satellites that give us benefits here on Earth similar to the really big satellites, but at a fraction of the price.

What’s your favorite emerging tech project you’ve worked on?

I really enjoy the creative process involved in building cost-effective, highly capable satellites. When you are planning to launch a constellation of small satellites, you have strict requirements and cost constraints, but that then allows the design and build engineers to get creative.

Sometimes that means modifying off-the-shelf components (for example, radiation hardening), other times it means creating components or subsystems that have never been built before. It’s all about managing risk, and it’s super fun working with an ambitious team in a startup just trying to make things happen faster and cheaper than traditional aerospace companies thought was possible.

What’s the best piece of tech-related media you’ve read/watched/listened to?

I enjoy listening to YouTube discussions of emerging tech companies as investment opportunities. It forces me to learn and understand technologies outside my own realm of expertise, and it reminds me to focus on the business viability side of things. This morning I was listening to Good Soil Investment Management, and I got to hear more about the metaverse, robotics, and EV adoption. Emmet and Matt are great.

One thing we can’t guess from your LinkedIn profile?

I used to compete as a professional natural bodybuilder during and just after college.