Staff Simulation Platform Engineer

Merlin Labs•Boston, MA

4d•Onsite

About The Position

Merlin is seeking a Staff Simulation Platform Engineer to design and build the next-generation simulation infrastructure that supports aircraft modeling, autonomy development, and hardware-in-the-loop validation across multiple aircraft platforms. This is a hands-on senior technical role focused on building scalable virtual environments, stabilizing integration infrastructure, and enabling scenario-based autonomy validation without linear growth in engineering effort per platform. This position reports to the Virtual Test Environments Lead and will play a central role in evolving our simulation ecosystem into a robust, scalable internal platform.

Requirements

7+ years of experience building or scaling complex simulation or autonomy validation environments
Experience contributing to or architecting large-scale simulation frameworks (e.g., AFSIM, Unreal/Unity-based simulation environments, CARLA, custom autonomy simulation platforms, or equivalent)
Strong software architecture experience in multi-component, distributed systems
Experience defining interface contracts, configuration schemas, or API boundaries in complex systems
Experience integrating simulation environments with real-time or hardware-in-the-loop systems
Hands-on proficiency in Python and/or C++
Demonstrated ability to modernize or scale legacy engineering toolchains

Nice To Haves

Experience developing simulation or virtual validation environments for autonomy systems (automotive, aerospace, robotics)
Experience designing scenario-based validation systems
Familiarity with SIL/HIL integration
Experience implementing CI/CD in engineering-heavy environments
Background in safety-critical systems

Responsibilities

Define and implement structured topology and configuration definitions across aircraft platforms
Improve stability of routing layers, hardware/software interfaces, and runtime integration components
Introduce versioning and compatibility discipline across simulation artifacts
Build validation tooling to prevent integration breakage from reaching lab benches
Expand scenario-based simulation capabilities supporting autonomy development
Enable structured Monte Carlo and multi-scenario validation workflows
Develop infrastructure to simulate sensor inputs and autonomy behaviors in realistic operational contexts
Improve determinism and traceability of simulation runs
Implement CI/CD workflows for simulation artifacts
Improve reproducibility of simulation environments
Implement schema-driven validation mechanisms for interfaces
Build foundational platform components hands-on during early phases
Mentor and elevate engineers working on simulation tools and routing infrastructure
Establish extensibility and architectural standards within the simulation stack
Influence cross-functional stakeholders (Autonomy, Compute Platform, Systems, Lab Integration)