Khalid Al Naqbi
VP – Product & Engineering, Space42
- Space
- Satellite Tech
- National Infrastructure
Editorial bio
Khalid Al Naqbi runs product and engineering at Space42 – the UAE SpaceTech company formed in 2024 from the Bayanat–Yahsat merger – which means he is one of the people deciding, in practical terms, what sovereign space infrastructure looks like for the Gulf. His remit covers the full satellite tech portfolio: secure communications, ground systems, mission-critical networks for government and commercial customers, and the next-generation capability that gets quietly built behind every announcement.
In April 2026 he was named a Fellow of the UAE National Experts Program (NEP 4.0), one of five across the cohort, chosen to keep contributing to national policy and strategy beyond the formal programme. His path to Space42 ran through Yahsat (secure comms for military land, maritime and airborne platforms) and started in ground systems – the unglamorous end of the stack where you learn why satellites fail. He also sits on the Board of Advisors for RIT Dubai's College of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and is pursuing a Doctorate in Engineering Management at the University of Sharjah.
Worth following if you want to understand how a national space programme actually gets built – and who is building it.
Key facts
- based in
- United Arab Emirates
- current
- VP – Product & Engineering, Space42
- prior
- Senior roles at Yahsat (satellite communications for defence applications across land, maritime and airborne platforms); started in ground systems engineering
- advisor
- UAE Ministry of Defence (secure satellite comms and defence space systems); Board of Advisors, College of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, RIT Dubai
- fellowship
- UAE National Experts Program (NEP) 4.0 Fellow, 2026
- education
- Doctorate in Engineering Management (in progress), University of Sharjah; MSc Electrical Engineering, RIT Dubai; BSc Electrical Engineering, American University of Sharjah
- focus
- satellite communications · secure government and commercial space systems · national space infrastructure · talent development
Featured work
Leading Space42's full product and engineering function
satellite communications and next-generation space tech for government and commercial missions
Prior leadership at Yahsat managing satellite communications infrastructure for military land, maritime and airborne platforms
Strategic and technical advisory to the UAE Ministry of Defence on secure satellite comms and defence space systems