In this episode we speak with Tony Rios, VP of Navigation Engineering at ANELLO Photonics, about a career spent building inertial navigation systems across space, consumer electronics, and aviation. Tony explains how he started on space shuttle navigation at Rockwell International, moved into satellite controls at The Aerospace Corporation, then joined Crossbow Technology as an early employee to help bring MEMS inertial systems into real products.

He shares what it took to embed algorithms on constrained hardware, calibrate low performance MEMS sensors, and deliver one of the first FAA certified MEMS Attitude Heading and Reference Systems for general aviation.

The conversation covers leadership paths, why Tony prefers small, technical teams, and how his work later expanded into Apple products including Vision Pro, and advanced air mobility at Archer Aviation. They close with a real example of handling a critical certification issue, owning mistakes, and solving complex problems in partnership with customers.

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