Dr. Haraldsdottir holds a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan, and has over 30 years of experience in industry and academia in the areas of air traffic management operational concepts and systems analysis, dynamic systems modeling, simulation and control theory. Her current interest is in air traffic management system operational concepts, technical performance modeling, and system architectures for high-density airspace, with a particular focus on arrival management and terminal area operations.

She is part of the Boeing Commercial Airplanes Air Traffic Management team, which has a primary focus on near- and mid-term improvements in air traffic operations, through air-ground automation integration and applications of high-performance communication, navigation and surveillance. She serves as the Chief Scientist for the Boeing SE-2020 Team, which is composed of 15 major ATM industry organizations supporting the FAA's NextGen research and development mission. She has authored over 80 technical publications, and is frequently a speaker at air traffic management conferences and workshops. In 2009 she received the Society of Women Engineers Achievement Award, and in 2010 she became an Honorary Member of the Icelandic Engineering Association.