Zak Harris

Zak Harris is a Senior Perception and Robotics Staff Engineer at Draper since August 2020, specializing in algorithms for state estimation and navigation of autonomous systems. Key contributions include the design of visual-inertial odometry and vision-aided navigation algorithms for environments lacking GPS. Previously, as a Senior Navigation Algorithms Staff Engineer, significant work was carried out for NASA's Orion Artemis program involving linear covariance and Monte Carlo analysis for navigation. Concurrently, Zak serves as a Visiting Scientist and Postdoctoral Fellow at The Johns Hopkins University, where research includes published work on acoustic navigation for underwater vehicles. Zak holds a Ph.D. and a Master’s in Mechanical Engineering with a focus on Robotics from The Johns Hopkins University, and a Bachelor's degree in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering from Webb Institute. Prior experience includes systems engineering roles at Leidos and SAIC, as well as an internship at the Naval Undersea Warfare Center.