The 55-year-old replaces Paulo Bento after the Portuguese coach was removed following last month’s matches in the AFC Asian Qualifiers – Road to 26.
Romanian Olaroiu takes over with the UAE in third in Group A, four points behind second-placed Uzbekistan with two matches remaining in the current phase of the preliminaries for the Finals in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
The first two finishers in the group will qualify automatically for the 2026 FIFA World Cup with Iran having already secured one of the berths.
The UAE will take on Uzbekistan in Abu Dhabi on June 5 in Olaroiu’s first game in charge before facing Kyrgyzstan five days later.
He has previously coached Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal, Al Sadd from Qatar and the Emirati side Al Ain while he also led the Saudi Arabia national team at the 2015 AFC Asian Cup in Australia.