263- Rocketships and Red Tape: Justin Mealer on Leading IT at a Space Startup

Justin Mealer

Justin Mealer is IT Manager at Impulse Space, a startup focused on space logistics and transportation. His journey began hacking his school’s network at age 12, before becoming one of the youngest IT managers in his region. Justin’s passion for learning has fueled his rapid rise, along with his knack for crafting compelling sci-fi stories. Justin is helping transform space transportation by building IT systems for rocket ships and embodies creative thinking and tenacity to chart his own path to success.

Rocketships and Red Tape: Justin Mealer on Leading IT at a Space Startup

In this engaging discussion, we delve into the evolution of IT infrastructure and the expanding role of the IT professional. Our guest Justin brings insightful perspective, drawing from his space startup experience to discuss maximizing first call resolution and owning the user experience. Justin offers practical tips for starting with frameworks like ITIL but customizing processes for your environment. He sees constantly learning and seeking knowledge as vital for emerging leaders. Looking ahead, he provides thoughtful forecasts on how exciting technologies like AI may shape space IT roles in the years ahead. Tune in for practical, forward-thinking insights from Justin’s diverse IT journey so far.

When building new systems and processes, start with frameworks like ITIL but customize for your environment.

3 Key Takeaways

Listen To The Full Episode Below

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263- Rocketships and Red Tape: Justin Mealer on Leading IT at a Space Startup

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Episode Show Notes

Hilarious Tech Meeting Mishaps [00:01:30]

Challenges of Leading a Help Desk Team [00:04:31]

The Role of Help Desk in Reducing Friction for Users [00:06:37]

Motivating Different Teams: Systems Administration vs. Help Desk [00:08:32]

The Importance of User Satisfaction in IT Help Desk [00:11:18]

Help Desk Ownership and User Experience [00:13:17]

Building a Mini Data Center in the Desert [00:22:20]

Fun Questions: First Computer and Technology Experience [00:24:41]

Discovering Backtrack: My Start in Hacking [00:26:30]

Early experiences as a network administrator and arch nemesis [00:28:25]

Leadership and the Perspective of a Younger Leader [00:37:12]

Wrapping up a Blast of a Podcast Episode [00:39:56]

Justin Mealer

Rocketships and Red Tape: Justin Mealer on Leading IT at a Space Startup

3 Key Takeaways

Listen To The Full Episode Below

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