Aiming to Make Space and Earth Comfortable to Live. A New Challenge of BizDev as a Bridge Between Engineering.

In this 12th member interview, Mr. Yamashita from BizDev will appear. We asked about the viewpoint of the background experience of both engineers and BizDev, what the team is aiming for, and moving to Tsukuba.

History as a multi-carrier who has been involved in the industry from various perspectives

-It’s been about two and a half months since you joined at the time of this interview. What is your responsibility?

First of all, I started by following the part that GM Azuma-san is in charge of BizDev functions. Recently, I have a wide range of responsibilities such as, proposals and management for public offering projects and provision of legal regulations.

-I heard you had some experience before you joined WARPSPACE.

Right, after graduating from the Faculty of Engineering at Kyoto University, initially, I was working on the design side of jigs used in aircraft and automobile factories in Nagoya. Since 3D CAD was still in the process of becoming popular, I often expanded paper drawings such as scrolls and rewrote them many times. It was very difficult compared to the current one because if there was any modification, I had to write the blueprint from the very beginning again.

-At first, you were working as an engineer.

Yes, I was like that. I was involved in the machine used in the factory that makes the wings of what we call the Boeing 787, which we called “7E7” at the time of charge.

Since then, I have experienced many jobs not only in engineering functions but also in BizDev. For example, I worked together with a small company, worked in a Project Management Office of senior engineers at a manufacturing factory, and also helped with setting up some startups.

-Your work was very diverse!

I felt that I had to do everything I could in terms of R&D and business. Also, when it came to space, I researched the global trends in satellites and their operators and the space-related policy committees of each country.

-It seems that Mr. Seki was the catalyst for learning about WARPSPACE. You met while experiencing various environments.

About four years ago, I was sure that I had a space-related study session and met him there. I think it was the beginning.

-What brought you to the new challenge in WARPSPACE?

Tsukuba is actually the city of space, and I was interested in doing a space startup in a rural area instead of Tokyo, which was very interesting.

Also, I have never been involved in the communication domain that WARPSPACE is working on. That’s why I had the expectation that we could collaborate in a different way.

Aiming to be a team that integrates generations and cultures

－What kind of company does WARPSPACE look like from you?

I feel it is a very interesting team. Because there are many talented members and what’s unique is that team members are sometimes easygoing just like startups even though they come from tightly organized space-related organizations. It’s very interesting and fun that casualty and strictness are mixed and well-integrated.

As for the jobs to work on, I feel that even if it is rough, I am being asked for something that seems to be a startup and proposals that exceed the specifications. Because there are some parts that are not interesting just to match the specifications.

Probably when we design and produce hardware products as actual flight models in the future, we need to be quite careful because it requires accurate and precise design. In order to realize our goals, we do them in different ways, and I think such new methods and approaches are something that makes us unique and resilient.

-Do you have any ambitions you’d like to achieve in WARPSPACE?

Initially, I would be happy if I could contribute to achieving the big goals that WARPSPACE has set as one axis.

-The team must grow steadily in order to contribute to that.

Now, WARPSPACE is in the midst of expanding the team towards big goals.

Then, after all, I often talk with Azuma-san and other colleagues that there are some parts that need to be improved.

We will look at the same goal among various generations and specialties. For that purpose, I would like to be a bridge so that young people can think about how to operate and manage our team while incorporating the technology and know-how of experienced people.

Furthermore, I would like to do my best to achieve something new together with every-related member both internally and externally who has different experiences.

Make space and the earth a comfortable place to live

Also, I moved to the neighborhood of our current office, so there is a lot to be gained from it. Since the office is closed to my home, one of the benefits is that there is no hard commuting. Tsukuba has a lot of fun that you can understand if you live in Tsukuba. When I started to live in Tsukuba, I realized that it was an interesting model, such as the structure of the city and the characteristics of the inhabitants (there are many researchers and immigrants).

And when I look at outer space, while thinking about the habitability, as the future of human beings living in space such as the moon is being drawn from now on, people in various fields will set the stage in space, instead of considering only about technical matters and environmental conditions. Once they think about what a completely zero-based and livable city is, I think something interesting will happen.

-The moon and Mars are frontiers as a living environment for humans.

Ibaraki Prefecture is a great location from necessities of life perspective. If I could realize this livability on Mars, I think it would be a dream. In opposite, if the ideas of research and development on Mars and the Moon are implemented on Earth, WARPSPACE will grow and become a bridge in the process of being realized, for example, Tsukuba Research and Experiment City. I am wondering if I can do something more fun.

-It feels very exciting! And what do you think is the most important thing in “Compass of Behavior”?

After all, the company name includes “warp”, so I am conscious of doing that stands out first. So if I choose, it’s “01. Leap”. Of course, other items are also important, and of course “Respect crew” and “Love your family” are important. However, I think it’s Leap. If I work is the space business, I would like to aim for a place where it is likely to be asked if it can really be done, not an existing one.