Jobs at Merlin Labs

Lead and improve development assurance processes for autonomous aviation systems under ARP4754B, ARP4761, DO-178C, and DO-254. Build assurance, audit, and process control plans; develop certifiable requirements with Systems Engineering; conduct independent audits; support Part 25 and military airworthiness certification; and train engineering teams. Lead cross-functional solutions, standardize problem reporting, improve requirements management, and maintain compliance processes across autonomy, air vehicle integration, and flight test programs.

Provides legal oversight for government contract proposals, procurement, negotiations, contract structuring, and FAR/DFARS compliance. Drafts and negotiates commercial agreements including teaming agreements, technology licenses, NDAs, vendor contracts, and supply-chain agreements. Builds contracting templates, playbooks, and processes while supporting broader legal matters such as international government contracting, partnerships, aviation regulation, lobbying compliance, employment issues, and litigation. Serves as the primary legal contact for business requests in a fast-paced, regulated aerospace and defense environment.

Develops and integrates reusable aircraft models for simulation across multiple aircraft platforms. Responsibilities include modeling aerodynamics and aircraft systems, supporting flight-test planning and instrumentation, analyzing test data, writing simulation software, collaborating with virtual test environment users, and expanding simulation capabilities for autonomy development, integration, and validation.

Lead the data strategy and own end-to-end data pipelines for AI training, simulation, and deployment in safety-critical autonomous systems. Build data flywheels, integrate with large-scale GPU/TPU training infrastructure, ensure simulator fidelity, partner with safety and certification teams, mentor engineers, and track KPIs for pipeline health and model readiness.

Lead and manage government and defense programs focusing on autonomy integration, ensuring strategy execution across various teams, and maintaining customer relationships.

Lead accounting, financial reporting, and compliance for a public government contractor. Oversee SEC reporting, SOX, FAR/DFARS/CAS compliance, government audits, monthly close, revenue recognition, equity accounting, payroll, and a team of accountants while partnering cross-functionally and supporting audits, M&A, and strategic initiatives.

Lead strategic finance functions including revenue forecasting, quote-to-cash and procure-to-pay process design, controls and workflows, operating expense forecasting and accruals, financial systems implementation support, monthly/quarterly cadence and variance analysis, and ultimately P&L ownership for an assigned product line.

The Staff Simulation Platform Engineer will design and build simulation infrastructure, enhance scenario-based validation for autonomy systems, and modernize toolchains, while providing technical leadership to the team.

Define, standardize, and improve configuration management processes across civil and military programs. Partner with engineering and program teams to establish CI identification, baselining, change control, retention, and tooling. Administer and roadmap PLM/configuration tooling, train teams, and support flight test vehicle integration and regulatory compliance.

Lead technical strategy and execution for Merlin's AI Core platform across perception, sensor fusion, planning, and control. Build and manage a multidisciplinary engineering organization, own architecture from data pipelines to real-time onboard inference, enforce aviation-grade safety and quality, partner with certification and systems teams, recruit senior talent, and translate research into product opportunities.

Lead the technical direction for mission autonomy, developing decision-making capabilities for airborne systems, while overseeing teams and driving R&D projects.

Lead the development of autonomy and robotics software for aviation. Design, integrate, and optimize systems for uncrewed vehicles, focusing on reducing pilot workload and enhancing decision-making.

Lead SEC periodic reporting and EDGAR filings, develop and test SOX internal controls, coordinate audits, research complex technical accounting (ASC 606/718/805), support investor relations and Audit Committee, and partner cross-functionally on disclosures and special transactions.

Lead a small systems engineering team to develop system/sub-system architecture, requirements, and V&V for flight autonomy. Own development plans, manage cross-functional tasking, run reviews with customers/suppliers/regulators, and coordinate safety, hardware, and software integration.

Lead systems engineering for flight autonomy: define subsystem features, requirements, architectures, and test strategies. Manage cross-functional execution, perform V&V, review artifacts with customers and regulators, and collaborate with safety, hardware, and software teams to integrate requirements and interfaces for safety-critical autonomous flight systems.

Lead corporate strategy and initiatives for a venture-backed aerospace startup, support executive discussions, and drive market strategies in regulated environments.

Lead systems integration for avionics and mission systems from requirements through demonstration on civil-certified and commercial-derivative aircraft. Define CONOPS and architectures, manage requirements and interfaces across hardware/software/safety teams, host design reviews, coordinate suppliers/customers/regulators, and support certification planning, verification, and test in experimental R&D flight test environments.

Lead development of test plans, procedures, and cases for integration and verification of the Mission Autonomy sub-system. Ensure traceability between requirements and tests, assess test facility capability, produce test and problem reports, support flight autonomy integration on the air vehicle, and collaborate cross-functionally to develop requirements, architectures, and verification artifacts.

Design and implement flight control systems for fixed-wing aircraft using MATLAB/Simulink and Python. Decompose system requirements into control-level requirements, develop simulation and model-based tools, perform flight testing for system identification and verification, and deliver end-to-end flight control products to customers while collaborating on certifiable autonomous systems.