Director, Features System Engineering

Merlin Labs•Boston, MA

1d•$220,000 - $290,000

About The Position

Merlin is hiring a systems engineering technology leader to set and run the strategic systems engineering function for its autonomous aviation products. The role leads the development roadmap, strategy, processes, and standards as programs advance from early development toward certification. It combines organizational leadership with hands-on ownership of critical system architecture, requirements, and interface decisions. The Director aligns hardware, software, safety, security, human factors, and flight controls around a shared technical plan. The role defines system and subsystem expectations, requirements, autonomous behaviors, architecture, and verification strategies, while ensuring traceability to the safety case. It leads verification and validation from simulation and ground testing through flight testing, and represents systems engineering artifacts in reviews with customers, suppliers, and regulatory authorities. The position builds and develops the systems engineering team, partners with executive and engineering leadership, and communicates technical status, risks, and tradeoffs. Candidates should bring substantial systems engineering leadership in safety-critical product development, particularly mission and vehicle autonomy, with experience in aviation certification and applicable standards. The position is based at Merlin Labs, headquartered in Boston; the posting does not specify the work location type.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Electrical, Aerospace, Systems Engineering, or a related field.
15 or more years of systems engineering experience; the posting specifies 10 or more years with an MS or 8 or more years with a PhD as alternatives.
At least 4 years managing systems engineering managers.
Specific experience developing mission autonomy and vehicle autonomy, including AI aspects of autonomy systems engineering.
Demonstrated ability to define system-level requirements, architecture, and interfaces, and drive requirements validation and verification to system-level confidence.
Proven record solving complex architecture and systems engineering problems on new product development programs.
Experience in an early-stage R&D department working on safety-critical systems or subsystems, with judgment about balancing speed and rigor.
Experience with requirements-management tools, processes, and best practices, including establishing them for a growing team.
Hands-on experience certifying avionics equipment using ARP4754A and RTCA DO-178B/C and DO-254 for safety-critical systems.
Track record collaborating across engineering domains with customers, suppliers, and partners, and earning credibility with technical teams and senior stakeholders.
Experience hiring, developing, and retaining systems engineering talent, and coaching leaders.
Demonstrated experience developing and deploying systems engineering processes for a business and its teams.
Comfort with leading AI-based tools and frameworks, including implementing best practices to automate systems engineering deliverables and processes.
Experience developing, executing, and monitoring Agile framework-based system-level releases using tools such as Jira.
Applicants must be authorized to work in the United States without visa sponsorship now or in the future; Merlin cannot provide visa sponsorship or consider candidates requiring visa transfers.
Employment offers are contingent on passing background and reference checks.

Nice To Haves

MS or PhD in Electrical, Aerospace, Systems Engineering, or a related field.
Working knowledge of ARP4761A and MIL-STD-882E.
Experience leading systems engineering in FAA, EASA, or DoD airworthiness and certification programs, including direct interaction with certification authorities and DoD airworthiness experience such as MIL-HDBK-516.
Specific experience in automatic flight controls, flight management, or display systems.
Experience developing software requirements and overseeing software verification.
Working knowledge of FAA, EASA, and DoD regulations and standards.
Working knowledge of model-based systems engineering (MBSE) and experience introducing it to a team.
Familiarity with Simulink, Cameo, IADS, and Jama.
Experience building a systems engineering function at an early-stage or high-growth company.

Responsibilities

Own the features systems engineering development roadmap, strategy, processes, and standards, evolving them as programs move toward certification.
Lead and manage systems engineering tasking across the organization, aligning hardware, software, safety, and flight controls on a shared technical plan and schedule.
Set technical direction for concepts of operation, functional and physical system architecture, and system interfaces across Merlin products; personally own critical architecture decisions.
Define the features, functions, and autonomous behaviors required of each subsystem and ensure traceability to system-level requirements and the safety case.
Lead the Safety, Security, and Human Factors teams, ensuring their perspectives inform architecture and requirements decisions.
Partner with Core Architecture and Chief Engineer organizations to drive engineering strategy and execution.
Represent requirements, architecture, and interface-definition artifacts in reviews with customers, suppliers, and regulatory authorities.
Build, hire, and develop the systems engineering team; set expectations, mentor technical leads, and grow the team as the company scales.
Collaborate with executive leadership, program leads, and engineering functions to prioritize work and communicate technical risk, status, and tradeoffs.
Own system- and subsystem-level requirements, including development, validation, traceability, and quality across disciplines.
Lead technical strategy for system- and subsystem-level test methods and strategies, and lead verification and validation from simulation and ground test through flight test.