Mathew (MJ) Fuller

Engineering lead · husband · new father · orbital systems builder

/about

Hey, I'm MJ. I build spacecraft power systems at Terran Orbital. Before that, I worked across SpaceX, Rivian, JPL, and other corners of engineering that taught me how systems come together when the stakes are real.

Outside of work, I am raising a son, trying to stay intentional about family life, and making room for reading, lifting, running, music production, writing, and useful software.

/eras

The short version: aerospace, high-stakes hardware, family, and now a more deliberate focus on fewer systems done better. Waypoint is where that goal-tracking layer is moving next.

Early years: San Diego / Folsom era

Grew up around San Diego, moved to Folsom, and learned that I am happiest when something gets my brain thinking or my body moving.

College: Aerospace era

Studied aerospace engineering at Cal Poly SLO and got hooked on systems too complex for one person to fully hold in their head.

Early career: High-stakes hardware era

Worked around JPL, SpaceX, Rivian, and Terran Orbital, collecting lessons in propulsion, batteries, spacecraft power, and execution.

Now: Dad / builder era

Raising a son, building useful software, writing more seriously, and trying to design a life that rewards attention instead of noise.

Next: Focus systems era

Fewer priorities, clearer goals, better feedback loops, and a visible map of what I am choosing to improve.

/projects

Current work includes Waypoint, a personal operating system for goals and daily progress, and Music Production Atlas, a structured resource library for production knowledge. The projects index collects the broader set of apps, data tools, and resource systems.

/writing

Questions worth modeling. Assumptions worth showing.

Essays and visual analysis about systems, markets, engineering, data, and the assumptions doing the work.

Open the publication

/notes

Notes collect quotes, principles, reminders, ideas, and reference material from selected Apple Notes folders. Search or hover a category to narrow the list.

All

22 matching

Quote
“The greatest wasted resource in the world is good intentions that you don’t articulate”
SourceCyndi GallopThe Prof G Pod
Tags
resilience
Quote
“All of life is a series of daring explorations from a secure base”
SourceDavid Brooks quoting John BowlbyThe Prof G Pod
Quote
“The hard thing to do, and the right thing to do, are almost always the same thing”
SourceOn Purpose with Jay Shetty
Tags
discipline
Quote
“The best measure of your goals is self concordance - how aligned are your goals to yourself interests and motivations?”
SourceOn Purpose with Jay Shetty
Tags
goals
Quote
“Discipline is not the art of saying yes to hard things it’s the art of saying no to easy things. More specifically it’s the art of learning to disappoint the things that don’t matter so you can show up more for the things that do.”
SourceShetty podcast episode 10 wish I knew in my
Tags
discipline
Quote
“Your life isn’t something to “figure out”. Your life is something to build experience upon experience. Treat yourself as an uncarved block and let your curiosity and experiences carve into the block as you live. Don’t prematurely carve your block into a fixed shape based on what you think your life should be or who you think you should be at a given time because you will change and who you are when you’re 3035 4045 is not who you were prior and is shaped by your experiences along the way. Be present and realize that you are an ever evolving being in person that can change and grow based on your curiosities and experiences along the way.”
SourceOn Purpose with Jay Shetty
Tags
parentingmindset
Quote
“Communication advice: What is said isn’t always what is heard”
SourceJefferson FisherOn Purpose
Tags
communicationparenting
Quote
“A strong measure of emotional intelligence is how quick a person gets to asking for a reset”
SourceJefferson FisherOn Purpose
Tags
parentingemotional intelligence