Head of Technology – Inertial Systems (INS / AHRS / IMU)

Technology Strategy & Roadmap

• Define and own the multi-year technology and product roadmap for INS, AHRS, and IMU product families across aerospace, defence, marine, land, and industrial applications

• Establish a common, scalable platform architecture (sensor, electronics, firmware, and navigation-algorithm building blocks) that can be tailored to different performance grades, form factors, and use cases

• Drive technology selection and make-vs-buy decisions for inertial sensors (MEMS, FOG, RLG, and others), GNSS receivers, processors, and FPGAs

• Track emerging technologies such as new gyroscope and accelerometer technologies, GNSS-denied and alternative-aiding navigation, and AI/ML-assisted error modeling, and assess their applicability to the product portfolio

Product Architecture & Systems Engineering

• Lead system-level architecture and design of inertial systems from concept, design, integration, and qualification through certification and production readiness

• Apply systems engineering processes across the product lifecycle including:

  • Requirements definition and management

  • Performance and error-budget allocation

  • Interface management (electrical, mechanical, data, and protocol)

  • Verification and validation

  • Configuration control

• Ensure requirements traceability from system-level requirements to hardware, firmware, and algorithm implementation

• Lead system-level design reviews such as:

  • SRR (System Requirements Review)

  • PDR (Preliminary Design Review)

  • CDR (Critical Design Review)

  • TRR (Test Readiness Review)

  • PRR (Production Readiness Review)

• Oversee integration of inertial systems with host platforms such as aircraft, UAVs, vessels, ground vehicles, and stabilized payloads

Sensor & Hardware Development

• Guide the design of inertial sensor assemblies including sensor selection, analog and digital front-ends, mixed-signal electronics, power, and mechanical/thermal packaging optimized for size, weight, power, and cost (SWaP-C)

• Lead sensor characterization, error modeling, and calibration (bias, scale factor, misalignment, temperature, and g-sensitivity effects), including noise analysis such as Allan variance

• Define production calibration and test strategy, including automated test equipment, rate tables, and thermal chambers

• Own hardware reliability targets, including MTBF and environmental performance

Navigation Algorithms, Sensor Fusion & DSP

• Lead development of strapdown navigation algorithms including attitude, velocity, and position computation, initial alignment (static and in-motion), and coning/sculling compensation

• Guide the design of Kalman-filter-based sensor fusion (EKF / UKF / error-state) for GNSS/INS integration (loosely and tightly coupled) and aiding sensors such as magnetometers, air data, barometers, odometers, Doppler velocity logs, and vision/optical-flow sensors

• Oversee DSP design including digital filtering, sampling and timing, anti-aliasing, decimation, vibration rejection, and multi-sensor time synchronization

• Define integrity monitoring, fault detection, isolation and recovery (FDIR), and built-in test (BIT) strategies

• Ensure algorithms are validated through simulation, Monte Carlo analysis, hardware-in-the-loop testing, and field/flight testing, and remain robust under GNSS outage, jamming, and spoofing conditions

Embedded Systems & Software

• Oversee real-time embedded architecture across microcontrollers, DSPs, FPGAs, and SoCs, including RTOS or bare-metal design, deterministic timing, and low-latency processing

• Define software architecture, coding standards, and development processes aligned with airborne software certification requirements

• Ensure robust data interfaces and protocols such as ARINC 429, CAN / CAN Aerospace, RS-422 / RS-485, and Ethernet

• Drive modern engineering practices including model-based development, continuous integration, and automated regression testing

• Define firmware update, configuration management, and data-logging capabilities for fielded units

Certification & Airworthiness Compliance

• Manage certification and qualification activities for avionics inertial sensors and systems

• Coordinate with certification authorities and designated representatives (such as FAA, EASA, DGCA, and CEMILAC, as applicable)

• Ensure compliance with applicable aviation and safety standards such as:

  • DO-178C (Airborne Software)

  • DO-254 (Airborne Electronic Hardware)

  • ARP4754A (Development of Civil Aircraft and Systems)

  • ARP4761 (Safety Assessment)

  • DO-160 (Environmental Qualification)

  • AS9100D (Quality Management)

• Support qualification of defence and industrial variants to standards such as MIL-STD-810 and MIL-STD-461, as applicable

• Support preparation of certification documentation including compliance matrices, test plans, and certification artifacts

Team Building & Organizational Leadership

• Build, mentor, and lead a multi-disciplinary team across sensors, hardware, firmware, algorithms/DSP, systems engineering, and test

• Set engineering standards, design practices, and a strong design- and code-review culture

• Recruit, develop, and retain key technical talent, and define technical career paths

• Foster a culture of technical rigor, safety, and quality

Customer, Partner & Supplier Engagement

• Serve as the senior technical interface with customers, aircraft OEMs, integrators, defence primes, and research institutions

• Translate use-case requirements (accuracy, SWaP-C, environment, and certification needs) into product variants and configurations

• Manage strategic relationships with inertial sensor, component, and GNSS suppliers, and evaluate supplier technical risk

• Support customer acceptance, qualification testing, and field issue resolution

Program, Risk & Resource Management

• Provide technical oversight of multiple concurrent development programs, ensuring delivery within scope, timeline, and budget

• Identify and manage technical, schedule, certification, and integration risks, and maintain risk registers and mitigation plans

• Own the R&D budget, cost-of-goods targets, and engineering resource planning across disciplines

• Protect and grow intellectual property through patents, trade secrets, and technical publications

Integration, Verification & Production Transition

• Oversee system integration, verification, validation, and qualification testing

• Ensure readiness for environmental and reliability testing including:

  • Vibration and shock

  • Thermal cycling

  • EMI/EMC

  • Environmental qualification

• Coordinate transition from development to production, including:

  • Design transfer

  • Manufacturing readiness

  • Calibration and production test readiness

  • Configuration baseline release

  • Drive continuous improvement, obsolescence management, and field-performance feedback across the product lifecycle

Required Skills

Technical Skills – Inertial Systems & Navigation

• Strong understanding of inertial navigation including strapdown mechanization, coordinate frames, error propagation, and gyroscope/accelerometer error models

• Working knowledge of inertial sensor technologies (MEMS, FOG, RLG) and their performance grades and trade-offs

• Experience with Kalman filtering and multi-sensor fusion (GNSS, magnetometer, air data, and other aiding sources)

• Understanding of GNSS fundamentals and navigation in degraded or GNSS-denied environments

Sensor, Hardware & Embedded Systems Skills

• Proven experience developing sensor systems, including characterization, calibration, compensation, and noise analysis

• Solid grounding in mixed-signal hardware design: low-noise analog, high-speed digital, power, EMI, thermal, and PCB design

• Strong embedded systems experience: C / C++, RTOS or bare-metal firmware, and MCU / DSP / FPGA / SoC platforms

• Familiarity with avionics communication protocols such as:

  • ARINC 429

  • CAN / CAN Aerospace

  • RS-422 / RS-485

  • Ethernet

Algorithms & DSP Skills

• Digital signal processing: filter design, multirate processing, spectral analysis, and timing/synchronization

• Estimation and control theory, modeling, and simulation (MATLAB / Simulink, Python)

• Test and validation methodology including Monte Carlo analysis, hardware-in-the-loop testing, and motion-table / flight-test data analysis

Avionics, Systems Engineering & Certification Skills

• Hands-on experience developing avionics sensors for aerospace applications

• Knowledge of safety-critical and flight-critical system development

• Working knowledge of DO-178C, DO-254, ARP4754A / ARP4761, and DO-160 (Optional)

• Requirements management and traceability

• Functional and physical architecture development

• Interface control document (ICD) management

• Understanding of environmental qualification and reliability testing for avionics

• Experience with requirements, project, and configuration management tools. Examples:

  • DOORS / Polarion / Jama

  • Jira / MS Project

  • Git / SVN / configuration control systems

Leadership & Communication

• Technical leadership of multi-disciplinary engineering teams

• Strategic thinking and ownership of technology roadmaps, balancing R&D with delivery

• Decision-making under technical, schedule, and cost constraints

• Communication with customers, executives, and other stakeholders

• Structured problem-solving and escalation management

Experience and Qualifications

Education

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree (PhD an advantage) in:

• Electronics Engineering / Electrical Engineering

• Aerospace Engineering / Avionics Engineering

• Control / Instrumentation Engineering

Experience

• Typically 15–20+ years of experience in inertial systems, avionics sensors, or safety-critical electronics development, including at least 5 years in senior technical leadership

• Demonstrated experience developing INS, AHRS, IMU, or comparable sensor systems from concept through production

• Proven track record developing avionics sensors for aerospace applications through qualification and certification

• Demonstrated experience leading multi-disciplinary teams across hardware, firmware, algorithms/DSP, and test

Preferred Experience

• Experience delivering inertial products for multiple use cases (for example manned aircraft, UAVs, defence, marine, and land vehicles)

• Experience with tactical- or navigation-grade systems using FOG, RLG, or high-performance MEMS sensors

• Experience with GNSS/INS integration and GNSS-denied navigation

• Experience with hardware and software certification programs (DO-254 / DO-178C)

• Experience working with aircraft OEMs, avionics integrators, or defence primes

• Experience transitioning products from development to production, including calibration and test automation

• Patents or publications in inertial navigation, sensor fusion, or related fields

Certifications (Optional)

• PMP

• INCOSE Systems Engineering certification

• Experience working under AS9100D quality systems