About the Role:
As Senior Program Manager, Air Vehicle Integration (AVI), you are the program owner for getting Merlin Pilot onto airframes — across every phase from desktop and SITL through bench and aircraft, and from first integration through flight test, certification, and operational fielding.
You'll own a portfolio of platform-integration programs spanning Merlin's fleet future platforms — for both U.S. government end users and prime-contractor partners. Your job is to run it with rigor, scale it as the portfolio grows, and make integration predictable.
This role sits in the Programs organization and partners daily with the the AVI, autonomy, safety, flight test, supply chain, and business development teams. You will work hand-in-glove with two embedded Technical Program Managers who drive day-to-day technical execution
About You:
You are a program owner - you own your work and do not pass the baton - your programs are your responsibility for success. You're a strategic operator with deep program leadership in aerospace, autonomy, or safety-critical systems, and you're equally comfortable in an STC review, a hardware integration bench, and a customer program review.
You bring technical fluency (you don't need to be the engineer, but you talk to one credibly), certification literacy, and the operational rigor to keep a multi-aircraft integration portfolio on baseline. You thrive amid ambiguity and high execution velocity, and you build trust with operators, primes, and certification authorities alike.
Responsibilities:
- Own integration program execution for assigned airframes end to end — desktop, SITL, bench, and on-aircraft — translating mission and platform requirements into clear deployment and execution plans.
- Lead the functional team, setting program strategy, milestones, and priorities while the TPMs own day-to-day technical delivery; hold engineering, hardware, and functional managers accountable to schedule and scope.
- Own the airworthiness and certification path in partnership with the Certification Program Management team.
- Drive Stages of Involvement (SOIs), DO-160 environmental qualification, and system-safety artifacts (ARP4761A / MIL-STD-882E), keeping the certification IMS credible and on track.
- Manage hardware and subcontractor integration so that long-lead hardware availability is planned, not discovered. Treat supply/demand as a primary schedule driver.
- Own schedule and financial baselines - build and maintain integrated master schedules, WBS, financial plans, and program baselines across workstreams; feed the master supply-and-program model and program dashboards.
- Serve as the senior program point of contact for government customers, partners, and certification authorities — running program reviews, milestone gates, and status reporting with high accountability.
- Plan and shepherd flight test in coordination with the Flight Test lead connecting test outcomes back to certification and fielding milestones.
- Identify and mitigate cross-program risk before they hit delivery.
- Contribute to capture and new opportunity shaping alongside Business Development and technical leads, informing proposals with realistic integration, cost, and schedule inputs.
- Scale the operating model: tighten and extend the existing program rhythms, WBS frameworks, and reporting artifacts as the portfolio and team grow, and mentor across the program management organization.
Requirements:
- 10+ years in program or project leadership, ideally in aerospace, autonomy, defense, or safety-critical dual-use systems.
- Proven success leading complex programs that combine physical aircraft integration with software/autonomy across cross-functional teams.
- Direct experience with aircraft airworthiness and certification
- Experience managing hardware integration and subcontractors/suppliers as schedule drivers, not just software workstreams.
- Strong command of the full program lifecycle from capture to fielding, including contract structures, CDRLs, SOWs, IMS/WBS, and earned-value metrics.
- Proven ability to lead a cross functional team and ability to context-switch across strategy, execution, and team dynamics over multiple efforts.
- Fluency with program tooling: Jira, requirements management (e.g., Jama), and IMS/scheduling tools.
- Strong systems thinking and technical curiosity; exceptional listening, communication, and stakeholder-alignment skills.
- Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Secret security clearance.
- Willingness to travel and work onsite at integration, flight-test, and partner locations as programs require.
Nice to Haves:
- Active U.S. Secret (or higher) clearance.
- Experience integrating autonomy, mission systems, or flight-control systems onto crewed or uncrewed aircraft.
- Familiarity with government acquisition and test pathways (DoD 5000 series, AFWERX, DIU, SOF/SOCOM).
- Experience scaling program teams or standing up new operating models in high-growth environments.
Skills Required
- 10+ years in program or project leadership, ideally in aerospace, autonomy, defense, or safety-critical systems.
- Proven success leading complex programs combining physical aircraft integration with software/autonomy across cross-functional teams.
- Direct experience with aircraft airworthiness and certification.
- Experience managing hardware integration and subcontractors/suppliers as schedule drivers.
- Strong command of full program lifecycle including capture, CDRLs, SOWs, IMS/WBS, and earned-value metrics.
- Proven ability to lead cross-functional teams and manage strategy, execution, and team dynamics across multiple efforts.
- Fluency with program tooling: Jira, requirements management (e.g., Jama), and IMS/scheduling tools.
- Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Secret security clearance.
- Willingness to travel and work onsite at integration, flight-test, and partner locations as programs require.
- Active U.S. Secret (or higher) clearance.
- Experience integrating autonomy, mission systems, or flight-control systems onto crewed or uncrewed aircraft.
- Familiarity with government acquisition and test pathways (DoD 5000 series, AFWERX, DIU, SOF/SOCOM).
- Experience scaling program teams or standing up new operating models in high-growth environments.
What We Do
All of the sky, none of the limits. Merlin Labs is building the autonomous infrastructure for the sky above us, enabling goods, and eventually people, to fly without pilots. The Merlin Labs team is building the definitive autonomy system for all things that fly. We’re creating sophisticated software and hardware that fulfill the functions of a human pilot.
