Senior Program Manager

Merlin Labs • Boston, MA

67d

About The Position

Merlin is a venture backed aerospace startup building a non-human pilot to enable both reduced crew and uncrewed flight. Backed by some of the world's leading investors, Merlin is scaling alongside our customers to begin leveraging autonomy today to solve some of aviation's biggest challenges. As a Senior Program Manager at Merlin, you'll play a pivotal role in leading and scaling a portfolio of high-impact customer-facing defense and autonomy programs-from early-stage capture through successful deployment and fielding.

Requirements

• 8 + years of experience in program or project leadership roles, ideally within aerospace, defense, or high-stakes dual-use technologies.
• Proven success leading complex programs involving cross-functional teams and technical integration.
• Demonstrated ability to work closely with military customers and operational users, with a deep understanding of their constraints, language, and expectations.
• Strong understanding of program lifecycle from capture to delivery, including contract structuring, CDRLs, SOWs, and earned value metrics.
• Strong systems thinking and technical curiosity-you don't need to be the engineer, but you know how to talk to one.
• Exceptional listening, communication, and stakeholder engagement skills, with the ability to build alignment between customers and internal teams.
• Ability to context switch between strategy, execution, and team dynamics across multiple efforts.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Secret Security Clearance.

Nice To Haves

• Experience scaling program teams or building new operating models in high-growth environments.
• Prior experience in autonomy, mission systems, or flight control integration.
• Familiarity with government acquisition and test processes (DoD 5000 series, AFWERX, DIU, etc.).
• Active Security Clearance.

Responsibilities

• Own and lead a portfolio of government and defense programs, spanning autonomy integration, flight test, certification, and operational fielding.
• Drive program strategy and execution across multiple internal and external teams-including engineering, product, test, supply chain, and business development.
• Serve as the senior point of contact for customer engagements, program reviews, and critical milestones. Build trust and deliver with high accountability.
• Understand and interpret military customer needs and operator use cases, shaping internal roadmaps and priorities to align with mission success.
• Translate operator feedback and requirements into clear, actionable deliverables for engineering and test teams.
• Develop and manage integrated master schedules, financial plans, and program baselines across multiple workstreams.
• Identify and mitigate cross-program risks, resource constraints, and bottlenecks before they impact delivery.
• Contribute to and help lead capture activities, proposals, and new opportunity shaping alongside technical and business teams.
• Build and institutionalize execution processes and artifacts that scale as our portfolio grows (e.g., WBS frameworks, program rhythms, status reporting).
• Provide mentorship and leadership across the broader program management organization.

Benefits

• Comprehensive relocation assistance to help make your transition as seamless as possible.
• Catered lunches featuring a rotating menu of delicious options.
• An assortment of snacks to keep you fueled throughout the day.
• A selection of beverages, including coffee, tea, and other drinks.
• Top-notch benefits package (health, dental, life, unlimited vacation, and 401k with match).
• Work/life integration.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Industry: Publishing Industries
• Number of Employees: 11-50 employees