VP, Data Management and Platform Operations

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 worlds leading investors, Merlin is scaling alongside our customers to begin leveraging autonomy today to solve some of aviations biggest challenges.
Were building the brains of the airplane. As the Vice President of Autonomy, youll lead the team responsible for developing Merlins core autonomy softwarespanning flight control, navigation, perception, decision-making, and higher-level mission behaviors. This role sits at the heart of the Merlin Pilot product and is critical to our mission of enabling safe, airworthy, and intelligent autonomous flight across a diverse fleet of aircraft. You will manage a high-performing software team focused on building and integrating autonomy layers that operate in real time on safety-critical airborne platforms. You'll partner closely with the Systems Engineering, Compute Platform, and Simulation teams to ensure delivery of robust, testable, and airworthy software aligned to the broader product roadmap. This is a hands-on leadership roleequal parts technical strategy/innovation, people leadership, and delivery accountability.
You get excited when your software flies.
Lead the Autonomy Software team developing flight, mission, and campaign autonomy capabilities for the Merlin Pilot
Define and evolve software architecture in partnership with the Chief Product Officer, CTO, Chief Architect and Systems Engineering team
Ensure on-time delivery of modular, testable, and airworthy autonomy software that meets system-level performance and safety requirements
Oversee software development, integration, and test across all layers of autonomyperception, planning, guidance/navigation/control (GNC), decision-making, and behavior modeling
Drive use of modern software practices, including modern version control and release techniques, automated builds, simulation-in-the-loop testing, and traceable requirements
Partner with the VP of Merlin Pilot Engineering to align staffing, schedule, and priorities to the product roadmap
Support regulatory and customer engagements, including technical documentation and test plans for certification/accreditation where required
BS/MS in Computer Science, Robotics, Aerospace Engineering, or a related field
~10+ years of experience in autonomy software development, with 5+ years in engineering leadership roles
~ GNC, path planning, multi-agent coordination, behavior trees/state machines, etc
~ Familiarity with safety-critical software development and relevant standards (DO-178C, MISRA, etc.)
~ Experience managing complex software teams, including agile workflows and large codebases
~ Skilled in C, C++, Python, and real-time systems development
~ Experience developing autonomy software for airworthy aircraft (Part 23/25 or military equivalents)
Understanding of embedded systems, partitioned OS environments (ARINC 653), and software abstraction layers
This position is based on-site at Merlin HQ in Boston, MA. We offer flexible hybrid in office schedules.
We understand that relocating for a new role is a significant decision, and were here to support you every step of the way. Thats why we offer comprehensive relocation assistance to help make your transition as seamless as possible. From covering moving expenses to providing guidance on finding housing, we aim to ensure your relocation experience is stress-free.
Additionally, once youre here, youll enjoy a variety of on-site perks designed to make your workday enjoyable and convenient. These include catered lunches featuring a rotating menu of delicious options, an assortment of snacks to keep you fueled throughout the day, and a selection of beverages, including coffee, tea, and other drinks, to keep you refreshed.
We also offer a top-notch benefits package (health, dental, life, unlimited vacation, and 401k with match) and work/life integration. 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
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.Employment type Full-time

Industries Software Development
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