Autonomy Software Engineer

About Merlin 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. About You You are a versatile software engineer with a passion for aviation, robotics, and autonomous systems. You are comfortable working across technical domains, from perception and understanding to decision making and human‑machine teaming. You take pride in delivering high‑quality, maintainable code, collaborate well with other engineers and teams, and like to independently dig into new problems. You’re excited to see your code fly in the real world. Responsibilities Develop software across the stack of an aircraft autonomy system, contributing to lower level embedded systems and higher level autonomy function areas as needed Implement and integrate algorithms for perception, reasoning, decision making, planning, and execution in support of autonomous airborne operations Collaborate with domain leads to understand architecture, requirements, and design intent for specific capabilities Contribute to simulation, integration, and flight test activities to validate autonomy software in relevant environments Write, test, document and review code according to Merlin’s development standards Collaborate across Merlin to develop novel, certifiable systems to solve the toughest problems in aviation and autonomy Requirements Degree in computer science, aerospace engineering, robotics, or a related field BS and 1+ or MS and 2+ years of experience developing software for robotic or autonomous systems Experience with Linux and open‑source development tools Experience with overall product development cycle, including design, testing, and troubleshooting at the system level as well as at the software component level Experience with both Python and C++ Experience with ROS, DDS or similar robotics middleware Strong problem‑solving skills and the ability to learn and contribute across different technical domains Nice to Haves Experience developing autonomy software for aircraft, drones, or other safety‑critical systems Proficiency with state machines, behavior trees, and task planning algorithms Expertise in route, path, and trajectory planning Knowledge of perception systems, sensor fusion, and world modeling Experience with multi‑agent collaboration and human‑machine interfaces Background in system integration, simulation, and flight testing of autonomous platforms Strong skills in hardware/software integration and debugging Pilot license and flight experience is a plus Merlin Labs offers an innovative, entrepreneurial, and team‑focused startup environment. We also offer a top‑notch benefits package (health, dental, life, unlimited vacation, and 401k with match) and work/life integration. Being part of the Merlin team allows you to become part of a small team that supports professional development while working together to achieve our mission. Merlin Labs is an equal opportunity employer and values diversity. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status or disability status. All job offers are contingent upon the candidate passing background and reference checks. At this time, we are unable to provide visa sponsorship or consider candidates who require visa transfers. Applicants must be authorized to work in the United States without the need for visa sponsorship now or in the future. If you require reasonable accommodation in completing an application, interviewing, completing any pre‑employment testing, or otherwise participating in the employee selection process, please direct your inquiries to people@merlinlabs.com. Merlin Labs does not accept unsolicited resumes from any source other than directly from candidates. #J-18808-Ljbffr