Two years on, he's Head of Capability & Skills, working with customers around the world and colleagues across SSTL to help people develop their knowledge, confidence and expertise.
For customers, that often means learning alongside the very people who design, build and operate satellites. Matt brings together SSTL specialists and external partners to help customer teams build the experience and confidence to do more for themselves.
Back at SSTL, his focus is on helping colleagues develop throughout their careers. That might mean giving apprentices a good start, helping people take on new challenges, or finding ways for experienced specialists to share what they know.
There's an enormous amount of knowledge across SSTL. Making sure it continues to grow, and gets passed on, is an important part of Matt's job.
But what he enjoys most is seeing the difference it makes to people.
"There's something pretty special about seeing someone grow in confidence and do something they couldn't do before. There's so much knowledge and experience across SSTL. I get to bring people together, help them learn from each other and see what they can achieve. That's the part I really enjoy."
And although space wasn't originally part of the plan, Matt admits there's still something rather satisfying about telling people he works for a company that sends things into space.
He came to SSTL looking for a new direction. Helping other people find theirs has turned out to be a particularly rewarding part of it.