Director, Mission Autonomy

Merlin Labs•Boston, MA

11d•$220,000 - $290,000•Onsite

About The Position

Merlin is hiring an engineering leader to lead the organization responsible for delivering the Mission Management Computer (MMC), the embedded software system that hosts Merlin's artificial airmanship capabilities. The role will work closely with Feature Systems Engineering, Core AI, Core Compute, Vehicle Autonomy, and Flight Test to turn autonomy technologies and mission requirements into integrated, production-quality airborne systems. The Director will own the technical strategy, architecture, development, integration, verification, and delivery of mission autonomy software and integrated MMC releases. This includes establishing disciplined engineering processes, rigorous software testing and configuration control, dependable AI integration, and predictable program execution. The role will build and scale a multidisciplinary engineering organization, develop engineering managers, and represent Mission Autonomy in technical, customer, and executive discussions. This is an on-site position at Merlin headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts. The listed base salary range is $220,000–$290,000 per year. Merlin also offers equity grants and a benefits package that includes health, dental, life, flexible paid time off, and a 401(k) with company match.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Computer Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
15 or more years of experience developing complex software systems, including substantial experience delivering embedded, real-time, autonomous, or safety-critical products.
At least 7 years of engineering leadership experience, including management of multiple engineering teams or engineering managers.
Demonstrated success leading software development from architecture through verification, integration, release, and operational deployment.
Experience integrating AI-powered autonomous stacks into operational products.
Deep understanding of modern software engineering practices, including CI/CD, automated testing, configuration management, version control, static analysis, defect management, and controlled releases.
Strong experience in software architecture, embedded software integration, distributed systems, middleware, and hardware/software interfaces.
Proven ability to recruit, develop, and lead high-performing engineering teams while meeting technical, schedule, and quality objectives.
Knowledge of software verification methodologies, including unit, integration, system, and regression testing and hardware-in-the-loop testing.
Experience implementing and maintaining rigorous software configuration management, reproducible builds, and release processes.
Working knowledge of C++ and Python, with sufficient technical depth to challenge architectural decisions and guide engineering teams.
Familiarity with aviation systems, airborne software, flight operations, or comparable safety-critical operating environments.

Nice To Haves

Advanced degree in a relevant technical discipline.
Experience delivering airborne mission systems, mission computers, avionics software, or autonomous aircraft capabilities.
Experience with DO-178C, DO-330, ARP4754A/B, or related aviation development and assurance processes.
Experience with real-time operating systems, embedded Linux, GPU or AI accelerators, and constrained computing environments.
Experience integrating AI models and managing their lifecycle within deployed embedded systems.
Experience with robotics and distributed-system frameworks such as ROS 2, DDS, or Zenoh.
Experience with aircraft simulation, software-in-the-loop, hardware-in-the-loop, and flight-test integration.
Familiarity with military mission systems, ISR operations, or commercial aviation operational requirements.
Experience with government open architectures such as OMS, FACE, or A-GRA.
Pilot qualifications or direct aviation operational experience.

Responsibilities

Lead the design, development, integration, verification, and delivery of Merlin's Mission Management Computer software and integrated system.
Develop a technical roadmap for evolving Mission Autonomy capabilities into a stronger mid- to long-term competitive advantage.
Own the architecture and implementation of mission autonomy application software, including mission management, planning, decision-making, behavior execution, situational awareness, and AI-enabled functionality.
Establish and maintain disciplined software development practices, including requirements traceability, design reviews, coding standards, peer review, automated testing, continuous integration, defect management, and configuration control.
Own software verification strategies and testing, including unit, integration, regression, performance, robustness, and hardware-in-the-loop testing, and ensure appropriate verification evidence is available before release.
Establish rigorous control of software baselines, dependencies, AI model versions, build environments, release artifacts, and deployed configurations.
Partner with Core Compute to integrate mission autonomy applications with embedded hardware, operating systems, drivers, middleware, and platform services.
Work with Core AI to integrate trained and optimized models, addressing performance, interfaces, monitoring, failure handling, and verification.
Partner with Feature Systems Engineering to implement allocated requirements and integrate mission autonomy capabilities into the Merlin Pilot architecture.
Collaborate with Vehicle Autonomy, Safety, Airworthiness, Virtual Test Environment, and Flight Test on system integration and validation.
Lead, develop, and scale a multidisciplinary software engineering organization, establishing clear ownership, technical leadership, measurable performance, accountability, and continuous improvement.
Own engineering planning, staffing, execution, technical risk management, and delivery commitments for mission autonomy software and integrated MMC releases.
Represent Mission Autonomy in architecture reviews, technical decisions, customer engagements, and executive-level program discussions.