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Who I Am

I'm a Robotics and UAS Engineer with 8+ years of hands-on experience across the full drone development cycle. My work spans the complete stack — from low-level PX4 firmware and EKF2 sensor fusion, to high-level ROS 2 autonomy and cloud telemetry pipelines. I've designed, built, and deployed 11+ UAS platforms across a range of applications: heavy-lift multirotors, VTOL aircraft, fixed-wing mapping platforms, FPV systems, and industrial drones — taking each from concept and hardware R&D through flight validation and production deployment.

At LucidBots, I owned PX4 firmware for the Sherpa industrial drone, designed the VertiClean autonomous facade-cleaning flight mode (C++, Auterion SDK), and built cloud infrastructure streaming real-time telemetry to AWS with zero message drops.

As a PhD researcher at BME (Budapest University of Technology and Economics), advancing UAS navigation in complex and GPS-degraded environments — research grounded directly in real-world flight incident analysis.

I hold a patent on IoT-based vehicle speed control and have a background spanning hardware design, AI/ML, and flight operations going back to 2015.

📍
Location
Budapest, Hungary
🎓
Current Role
PhD Researcher — BME (UAS Navigation)
✉️
Email
saifalbuhayder@gmail.com
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LinkedIn
linkedin.com/in/saif-albuhayder
📄
Patent
IoT-based vehicle speed control

Where I've Worked

Robotics Software Engineer Jul 2024 — Apr 2026
LucidBots (Lucid Drone Technologies)
Charlotte, North Carolina, United States · Remote
  • Owned PX4 firmware for the Sherpa industrial drone — bug fixes, features, code reviews, and releases from v3.7.25-5.0.0 through v4.1.28-5.3.0.
  • Designed and developed VertiClean, an autonomous facade-cleaning flight mode using Auterion SDK (C++), enabling single-button operation replacing full manual piloting.
  • Built and deployed the Vehicle Data Streamer — ROS 2/Docker app streaming real-time telemetry to AWS (Kinesis, IoT Core, S3) at ~115 msg/sec with zero message drops.
  • Developed an FPV video recording & S3 upload app deployable fleet-wide across all Sherpa 1.0/1.5 units for automated cloud storage of flight footage.
  • Fixed critical EKF2 GNSS yaw test failures in PX4 and modified GPS heading fusion logic to improve reliability near magnetically-interfered environments.
  • Conducted regular flight incident analysis, reconstructing failure timelines from ULog data to identify root causes and prevent recurrence.
  • Architected the next-gen platform onboard communication stack — MAVLink → SIYI UniRC (QGC) and uXRCE-DDS → ROS 2 on Raspberry Pi 5, over a shared Ethernet network.
  • Created 26+ technical guides: PX4 builds, ROS 2 setup, SITL/SIH simulation, OTA via Mender, field troubleshooting.
PX4C++ROS 2 Auterion SDKEKF2uXRCE-DDS AWSDockerSITL/SIH
Drone Engineer & R&D Hardware Lead Apr 2023 — Jul 2024
Avianna
Lisle, Illinois, United States · Remote
  • Designed and built custom UAS platforms from concept through production — including airframe design, electronics integration, and system testing.
  • Led end-to-end UAS R&D: prototyping, assembly engineering, and flight validation for multi-rotor and fixed-wing platforms.
  • Integrated PX4-based flight controllers using SIH simulation and hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) emulators for pre-deployment verification.
  • Coordinated closely with US engineering headquarters on platform requirements, hardware specifications, and delivery milestones.
  • Conducted systematic flight experiments and performance analysis to optimize drone capabilities for target missions.
UAS HardwarePX4SIH / HIL Airframe DesignFlight TestingR&D
Founder & Entrepreneur Oct 2020 — Feb 2024
Dron-iq
Baghdad, Iraq
  • Founded and operated a drone technology venture delivering end-to-end UAS design, build, and operational services to clients across Iraq.
  • Provided drone repair, diagnostics, and technical consultation for both commercial and institutional customers.
  • Imported and resold drone components and complete systems, building a supply chain for the local UAS market.
  • Built custom FPV platforms and multi-rotor configurations to client specifications — from racing quads to aerial photography rigs.
UAS DesignFPVDrone Repair Hardware IntegrationBusiness Operations
Drone Engineer — R&D Department Aug 2018 — Sep 2021
Imam Ali Holy Shrine
Najaf, Iraq
  • Managed the institution's drone unit operations — overseeing platform maintenance, mission planning, and operator coordination.
  • Designed, developed, and deployed multiple UAS types for inspection and aerial documentation of the shrine complex and surrounding facilities.
  • Pioneered inspection applications using drone-mounted cameras and sensors, replacing manual access in difficult or high-risk areas.
  • Troubleshot and improved autonomous systems in the field, iterating on flight parameters and mission logic to meet operational requirements.
  • Drove continuous improvement in mission reliability through systematic post-flight review and cross-team collaboration within the R&D department.
UAS DevelopmentInspectionAutonomous Systems R&DMission Planning

Technical Stack

Flight Software
PX4ArduPilot Auterion SDKEKF2 UAVCAN / DroneCANMAVLink
Robotics & Middleware
ROS 2uXRCE-DDS SLAMVIO
Languages
C++PythonBash
Cloud & Infrastructure
AWS KinesisAWS IoT Core Amazon S3MQTT DockerMender OTA
Simulation & Testing
SITLSIH GazeboHITL ULog Analysis
AI / ML
YOLOIsaac ROS Isaac SimNVIDIA Jetson
Hardware & Interfaces
I2C / SPI / UARTCAN Bus GPS / RTKIMU LiDARDepth Camera
Tools & Platforms
GitLinux Raspberry PiJetson Orin NX QGroundControlAMC

Academic Background

2025
→
2029
Doctor of Philosophy
Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BME)
Advancing UAS Navigation in Complex Environments · Sep 2025 – Aug 2029
2021
→
2024
MSc — Autonomous Vehicle Control Engineering
Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BME)
Aug 2021 – Jan 2024
2016
→
2020
BTech — Electrical, Electronics & Communications Engineering
Al-Furat Al-Awsat Technical University
Oct 2016 – Oct 2020
2013
→
2015
Associate's Degree — Communication, General
Najaf Technical Institute
Oct 2013 – Jun 2015


Certifications & Awards

✦
Working Professionally with Your Drone
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ADAS/ADF Testing and Validation Engineer
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EU Competence Certificate A1 / A3
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Budapest AI Safety Community Conference
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Asiacell Internship Program


Volunteering

🌐
Translate eCalc.ch to Arabic
Drone design calculator — ecalc.ch