Phil began his professional career as an integrated circuit (IC) designer, working on a variety of technologies ranging from the Spitfire server at SUN Microsystems, and the first commercial 3G cellular handset at Maxim. He was CTO of nSerial, a company focused on 10Gb/s (gigabit-per-second) Ethernet physical layer products. nSerial was acquired by Intel in 2001. At Intel he moved into marketing and general management roles within the Server Product Group. He spent 4 years in Germany running Telefunken Semiconductors GmbH, and the Industrial division of MIcronas SA.

Since 2013 Phil is proud to call Pittsburgh home. He is currently an Entrepreneur in Residence (EIR) at the University of Pittsburgh where he works with the Swanson School of Engineering (SSoE) and School of Computing and Information. He earned Electrical Engineering degrees from the University of Notre Dame and Santa Clara University, as well as a Masters of Business Administration from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.