Space Systems & Emerging Tech Leader

MESHAC K NDIRITU Space Systems and Emerging Tech

Hyattsville, ZIP 20782, MD, USA. PR-No Sponsorship Required Email: **************@*****.*** Phone: +1-719-***-**** CAREER SUMMARY

Leader and adept scientist/engineer with 10+ years of experience spanning programme management, communication, engineering, AI/ML systems, distributed infrastructure, space systems, etc. Deep experience bridging research and production, leading cross-disciplinary teams, and operating in high-reliability, security-sensitive contexts. Proven track record designing continental-scale programmes and leading from the front in technical execution.

EXPERTISE

Space Policy and Strategy Space Sustainability Space Traffic Management AI and Machine Learning IoT Research Space Systems Systems Engineering Lifecycle Analysis Writing CMS management Automation Project management TECHNICAL SKILLS

Leadership Design thinking Science communication information mining and analysis International relations Automation AI and ML skills RAG pipelines Model evaluation (RAGAS) Prompt engineering Distributed Systems & Cloud-native architectures Data analysis Dashboarding e.g. Grafana and ThingSpeak Python and embedded C/C++ scripting Electronics Design e.g. PCB, SDR RF & microwave systems Data & Infra e.g. InfluxDB, MongoDB Networking & Security MBSE end-to-end lifecycle design Optimization PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

ADVISOR ON FORESIGHT TECH Saudi Space Agency Riyadh, SA Sept 2025 – present As foresight technology advisor to the Saudi Space Agency, I serve on a high-level working group shaping space technology roadmap to 2035. I advise on emerging space technologies across propulsion, communications, PNT, ground systems, data platforms, and advanced manufacturing, evaluating technical maturity, scalability, market readiness, and investment risk. I provide systems-level guidance informing national R&D and industrial development strategies for next-generation space infrastructure supporting the space economy. SENIOR NON-RESIDENT FELLOW The Atlantic Council Washington DC Sept 2025 – Present Providing technical leadership and advisory expertise on AI systems, secure infrastructure, space systems, and emerging technologies. Delivering system-level analysis on scalable AI deployment, infrastructure resilience, and governance in regulated environments. Advise global stakeholders including G20 initiatives on AI, cybersecurity, and next-generation digital infrastructure. AI ENGINEER Handshake AI San Francisco, CA Sept 2025 – present Engineered and optimized production Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) pipelines, improving retrieval precision and reducing hallucinations through semantic prompting and external grounding. Designed evaluation benchmarks for LLM systems using context relevance, answer precision, and hallucination metrics. Developed adversarial and reward-shaping prompts for RLHF workflows, improving model robustness under edge-case reasoning. Collaborated directly with AI researchers to align experimental model behavior with production reliability and safety constraints.

AI & EMBEDDED SYSTEMS ENGINEER Morgan State University Baltimore, MD Jan 2025 – Sept 2025 Designed and deployed autonomous AI agents and analytics pipelines using open-source LLMs for climate, energy, and space applications. Architected distributed IoT and cloud data platforms across five continents, integrating real-time ingestion, streaming, and visualization. Led RF and PNT system development, delivering resilient navigation solutions in degraded signal environments. SPACE SYSTEMS ENGINEERING LEAD African Space Agency Cairo, Egypt Jan 2024 – Dec 2025 Led technical design and operationalization of the African Space Agency. Coordinated continental-scale systems across EO, SatCom, and PNT. Directed systems integration of national space infrastructures and led audits of satellite and ground-segment capabilities. Secured and managed ~$300M in funding for space infrastructure, services and capacity-building programs. Drove international technical cooperation with major institutions like ESA, NASA, etc. and introduced MBSE and concurrent engineering frameworks to catalyze sustainable, industry-linked space capabilities. Co-developed the G20 Strategy on Open Innovation and contributed to the Space Economy Leaders’ Summit dialogues. HEAD, CAPACITY BUILDING, SPACE & EMERGING TECH African Union Addis Ababa, ET Sept 2014 – Dec 2023 I designed and led pan-African research and training ecosystems embracing fusion of technologies like Earth Observation, AI/ML applications, cloud computing, etc. to deliver services in areas like natural resource management, Blue Economy, etc. I co-led federated research clouds connecting national space agencies and 100+ universities and delivered 8 large-scale data fusion hackathons training 200+ scientists across 50+ institutions. I built and operated digital learning platforms that deployed 80+ technical courses and led to training 10,000+ scientists and non-scientists in satellite data processing, high-performance/cloud computing, science communications, etc. I established partnerships with international organizations like ESA, EUMETSAT, EU JRC, etc. I spearheaded Copernicus data hubs and the EU–AU EO data-sharing framework, enabling secure, scalable access to satellite data continent-wide. Provided technical leadership in platforms like G20, including co- development of the AI Strategy for Africa and foundational continental space and innovation policies. EDUCATION

DOCTOR OF ENGINEERING Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning George Washington University 2026 – 2027 MASTER’S DEGREE Space Systems Engineering Florida Institute of Technology 2019 – 2020 BACHELOR’S DEGREE Astronomy & Astrophysics University of Nairobi 2009 – 2012 AFFIL IATION S

International Academy of Astronautics (IAA)

American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) ASCEND Lindau Nobel Laureate Programme