Eduardo Tapias | GNSS & Satellite Navigation

01 · Professional profile

Engineering experience with a mission to develop talent

I am an aerospace engineer from Madrid and the founder of GNSS Academy. Since starting in GNSS engineering in 2000, I have contributed to the algorithms, performance and integrity of EGNOS and Galileo, working with industrial teams across Europe and the United States. My experience spans system design, qualification, technical leadership and safety-critical navigation applications.

In 2019 I founded GNSS Academy to turn that industrial experience into practical education, technical consulting and career opportunities for engineers. Our programmes and mentorship have reached more than 1,000 engineers from 40+ countries across the globe.

My focus today: helping engineers develop the skills, confidence and industry connections to contribute to real satellite navigation programmes.

02 · Career

Professional experience

Founder & CEO · GNSS Academy

2019–present

Toulouse, France · International reach

Founded an education and consulting business dedicated to GNSS, satellite navigation and the space sector.
Developed online and in-person technical programmes, mentoring, bootcamps, seminars and career support.
Advised companies and international organisations on navigation systems, engineering and professional training.
Built an international learning community of 1,000+ engineers from 40+ countries across the globe.

Integrity & Safety Lead · Swift Navigation

2020

San Francisco, United States

Led integrity and safety work for autonomous vehicle navigation using PPP/RTK and carrier-phase measurements in urban environments.
Worked on stringent integrity-risk targets and sub-metre protection-level performance for safety-critical positioning.

Technical Director & Partner · ABBIA GNSS Technologies

2014–2019

Toulouse, France

Co-defined the technical roadmap, led R&D and innovation, supported business development and coordinated engineering teams.
Directed or contributed to numerous EGNOS V2/V3 projects covering performance qualification, ionospheric and scintillation scenarios, simulation and assessment tools.
Trained colleagues in GNSS and represented technical work to customers and partners.

GNSS Systems, Algorithms & Performance Engineer · GMV

2002–2014

Madrid and Toulouse · Approximately 10 years working on site with Thales Alenia Space

Worked across both European navigation programmes, EGNOS and Galileo, from early deployment and operational readiness to subsequent system evolutions.
Contributed to Galileo ground mission segment algorithms, precise orbit and clock products, interfaces, integration and validation.
Worked on EGNOS central processing, SIS performance, integrity, LPV200, ionospheric scenarios, system reviews and qualification.
Contributed to studies involving Airbus and multimode receiver SBAS performance for A380 flight-test activities.

Early engineering and teaching

2000–2004

GMV internship · CPI Engineering School, Madrid

Began GNSS engineering through EGNOS algorithm prototyping and central processing work.
Taught mechanical vibrations to aerospace engineering students preparing for their fourth year at UPM.

GNSS Academy community gathered at an engineering event — Developing expertise. Connecting engineers. Opening pathways to space.

03 · GNSS Academy

From expertise to opportunity

Discover GNSS Academy ↗

Education

Industry-grounded training

Advanced online programmes and in-person bootcamps spanning satellite navigation fundamentals, GNSS engineering and practical application.

Flagship programme

Master JSNP

A six-month industrial training programme combining GNSS/PNT theory, live teaching, expert talks and mentoring with an end-to-end Python project, from requirements and architecture to implementation, verification and acceptance.

Consulting

Technical support

Engineering advice and specialised training for space companies, institutions and GNSS teams.

Careers

Engineer–industry connection

Mentorship and pathways that help engineers translate knowledge into space-sector opportunities.

04 · Education & teaching

Learning and sharing knowledge

Aerospace Engineering · UPM

Five-year Aerospace Engineering degree, School of Aeronautical Engineering, Technical University of Madrid (UPM) · 2002.

MBA · 2026

MBA in Business Administration and Management · IEAD.

SUPAERO · Toulouse

Final-year Erasmus research project on pyrotechnic mechanisms for nanosatellite propulsion and attitude control.

GNSS Summer School · ESA & EC

Part of the ESA and European Commission training team for the annual two-week GNSS Summer School, sharing practical knowledge with emerging professionals.

Eduardo Tapias presenting GNSS fundamentals at the ESA–JRC International Summer School on GNSS, 2024 — Teaching GNSS fundamentals · ESA–JRC Summer School 2024

Participants attending Eduardo Tapias’s lecture at the ESA–JRC GNSS Summer School, Novo Mesto, Slovenia, July 2024 — Sharing knowledge with an international classroom · Novo Mesto, Slovenia

05 · Community & outreach

Bringing the space sector closer to engineers

Annual Space Week

GNSS Academy organizes a live online event featuring conferences, workshops and interviews. With thousands of participants worldwide and sessions in English, French and Spanish, it raises awareness of opportunities in the space sector for engineers.

Bootcamps, webinars and mentorship

Technical sessions and practical learning experiences connect engineering theory with current industrial challenges and career paths.

Illustration of Galileo satellites and European ground infrastructure — From satellite signals to trusted positioning and time.

Speaking & perspective

Engineering ideas.
Inspiring the next step.

I bring industrial experience, entrepreneurship and education into conversations about engineering careers, professional growth and the space sector.

Airbus Defence and Space · Madrid

The Power of Taking Risks

A personal perspective on career decisions, confidence and moving forward through uncertainty, informed by my journey in engineering and entrepreneurship.

Explore the talk ↗

Expert speaker profile

Space Speakers

Discover my expert speaker profile for conferences, industry events and conversations about satellite navigation, space engineering and talent development.

View my speaker profile ↗

06 · Selected engineering work

Programmes and contributions

EGNOS

Central processing algorithms, SIS monitoring, performance budgets, operational readiness, ionospheric scenarios, scintillation, LPV200 and V3 performance qualification.

Galileo

Mission ground segment algorithms, orbit and clock estimation, processing facility interfaces, ranging performance and closed-loop integration and validation.

Safety-critical navigation

Integrity and positioning for aviation and autonomous vehicle applications, including SBAS and high-accuracy PPP/RTK.

Leadership

Technical roadmaps, engineering team coordination, R&D, customer-facing delivery, business development and training.

Career organisations include GMV, Thales Alenia Space, ABBIA GNSS Technologies and Swift Navigation. Experience also includes Airbus-related engineering studies.

07 · Publications & recognition

Selected conference contributions

“Assessment of EGNOS performance in worst ionosphere conditions (October and November 2003 Storm),” European Navigation Conference, 2005 · co-author.
“Challenging EGNOS on the LPV 200 Vertical Accuracy Tail Requirements,” ION 2014 · co-author; best presentation award.

Technical tools and methods: Linux, Python, C/C++, MATLAB, GNSS performance assessment and orbit-determination toolchains.

08 · Connect

Contact Eduardo

◎Instagram@eduardotapias.spaceFollow my space journey ↗inLinkedInEngineering, education and space careersView Eduardo’s profile ↗✆WhatsAppContact Eduardo through GNSS AcademyOpen WhatsApp ↗◎GNSS AcademyTraining · Consulting · CareersVisit gnssacademy.com ↗

eduardo.tapias@gnssacademy.com · Based in Toulouse, France · Working internationally in English, French and Spanish.