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Khalid Barkaoui is a leading figure in the search for habitable exoplanets, specializing in the detection of temperate terrestrial worlds orbiting ultracool dwarfs—the smallest and coolest stars in the galaxy. As a key member of the SPECULOOS project, Barkaoui has been instrumental in designing and deploying a global network of robotic 1-meter telescopes, including the SPECULOOS Southern Observatory at Cerro Paranal and the SPECULOOS Northern Observatory. His major contributions include establishing the observational infrastructure and survey strategies that enable the discovery of Earth-sized planets transiting nearby ultracool dwarfs, which are prime targets for atmospheric characterization with the James Webb Space Telescope. His most-cited work, the 2018 SPECULOOS overview paper, has garnered 76 citations, reflecting the project's foundational impact. Barkaoui also contributed to the assessment of the TRAPPIST-North telescope, demonstrating its capability for high-precision transit photometry. With over 160 cumulative citations, his research is pivotal in bridging the gap between ground-based transit surveys and space-based atmospheric studies, advancing the quest to find potentially habitable worlds beyond our solar system.