Principal Engineer - Navigation Systems (SME)

ABOUT EDGE

At EDGE bold ideas are engineered into technologies that protect, improve and save lives.

Headquartered in the United Arab Emirates, EDGE is a leading advanced technology group working at the forefront of defence and emerging technologies. Spanning more than 35 specialised companies and multiple centres of excellence, we are purpose-built to move fast. Free from heavy legacy processes, we give our people the autonomy, accountability, and agility to bring breakthrough technologies from concept to reality.

Based in Abu Dhabi, a globally connected hub at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, EDGE is home to a truly multicultural community where bold ideas thrive, and the future is shaped.

Together, we are shaping the future.

ABOUT THE ROLE

The Principal Navigation Engineer will provide technical leadership for the development, integration, analysis, and verification of advanced aerospace navigation systems. The role will own navigation requirements, architectures, algorithms, sensor fusion, performance analysis, and verification activities across the development lifecycle, including nominal, degraded, and GNSS-denied operating conditions.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Develop, integrate, tune, and verify navigation algorithms and sensor-fusion solutions.
• Define navigation requirements, architectures, error budgets, and verification criteria.
• Develop inertial mechanization, alignment, calibration, estimation, aiding, and fault-management functions.
• Analyze navigation accuracy, integrity, continuity, availability, latency, initialization, and drift.
• Perform Monte Carlo, covariance, observability, sensitivity, uncertainty, and robustness analyses.
• Support MIL, SIL, PIL, HIL, laboratory, ground, and flight-test activities.
• Analyze test data and investigate navigation anomalies, sensor disagreement, timing errors, and estimator divergence.
• Develop fault-detection, isolation, exclusion, reconfiguration, and recovery logic.
• Produce technical documentation, analysis reports, verification evidence, and lifecycle review inputs.
• Coordinate with GNC, Avionics, Software, RF, Simulation, Systems Engineering, Safety, Integration, and Flight Test teams.
• Mentor engineers and provide technical leadership and peer review.

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace, Electrical/Electronic, Control, Mechanical, Mechatronics, Robotics, Computer Engineering, Applied Mathematics, or a closely related discipline.
• 10+ years of relevant experience in aerospace, defense, robotics, autonomous systems, or safety-critical engineering, including substantial navigation experience.
• Hands-on experience with inertial, GNSS, aided, alternative, or resilient navigation systems.
• Strong knowledge of navigation algorithms, estimation filters, sensor-error modelling, calibration, alignment, integrity monitoring, and fault detection.
• Proficiency in MATLAB and Simulink.
• Experience with navigation simulation, data analysis, and performance verification.
• Experience with MIL, SIL, PIL, HIL, laboratory, ground-test, and/or flight-test activities.
• Demonstrated ability to lead navigation functions, algorithms, subsystems, or technical work packages.
• Professional proficiency in written and spoken English.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Master’s degree or PhD in Navigation, Guidance and Control, Estimation, Sensor Fusion, Autonomous Systems, Signal Processing, or a related field.
• Experience with GNSS-denied, jammed, spoofed, or resilient navigation.
• Advanced knowledge of Kalman filters, error-state EKF, UKF, observers, covariance management, innovation monitoring, and observability analysis.
• Experience with alternative aiding such as air data, radar/laser altimeters, Doppler velocity, terrain-referenced, vision-based, celestial, or cooperative navigation
• Experience with Monte Carlo, covariance, sensitivity, uncertainty, robustness, and fault-injection analysis.
• Experience with six-degree-of-freedom simulation and recorded-data replay.
• Experience with navigation integrity, fault isolation, reconfiguration, and recovery.
• Experience supporting major aerospace lifecycle, qualification, and flight-readiness reviews.

WHY CHOOSE EDGE

Launched in November 2019, the UAE's EDGE is one of the world's leading advanced technology groups, established to develop agile, bold and disruptive solutions for defence and beyond, and to be a catalyst for change and transformation. It is dedicated to bringing breakthrough innovations, products, and services to market with greater speed and efficiency, to position the UAE as a leading global hub for future industries, and to creating clear paths within the sector for the next generation of highly skilled talent to thrive.

At EDGE, the real investment goes beyond compensation. Through our dedicated learning academy and digital learning platforms, employees have access to extensive opportunities to develop new skills, deepen their expertise, and advance their careers. Combined with the freedom to innovate, strong career support, and the opportunity to collaborate with world-class talent from across the globe, EDGE is a place where you can continue to grow, keep learning, and turn ambitious ideas into meaningful outcomes.

Working at EDGE also comes with a package that genuinely reflects how much we value our people. Salaries are highly competitive and tax-free and, depending on your role and seniority, benefits can include family visas, annual flight tickets, medical insurance for you and your dependents, and education allowances for your children.

CANDIDATE PRIVACY & EQUAL OPPORTUNITY STATEMENT

If you feel your skills, experience and potential are a strong match for a role, we encourage you to apply even if you don’t meet every requirement. We are genuinely interested in what you can bring to EDGE.

Any information you share as part of your EDGE candidate profile or job application will be handled in accordance with applicable data protection and privacy regulations.

EDGE is an equal opportunity employer committed to building a diverse, inclusive, and high-performing workforce. We believe every individual deserves to be treated with fairness, respect and dignity, and our employment decisions reflect that. We do not discriminate based on race, colour, nationality, ethnicity, religion, gender, marital status, age, disability, pregnancy or parental status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

As a global organisation, effective collaboration across international teams is central to how we work, so English proficiency is required for all roles unless otherwise stated in the job posting.

Please note that EDGE does not accept unsolicited resumes from recruitment agencies. Any resumes in the absence of a formally executed agreement in place will be deemed the property of EDGE, and no placement fees or compensation will be payable in respect of such submissions.