Director of Features System Engineering
Merlin is a Boston-based aerospace and defense technology company developing AI-powered, aircraft-agnostic autonomy software for fixed-wing aircraft.
About Merlin
Merlin’s Merlin Pilot combines hardware and software intended to perform takeoff-to-touchdown flight functions for military and civil aircraft, supporting reduced-crew and autonomous operations. The operating business began as Apollo Flight Research in 2018, became Merlin Labs in 2020, and is now operated under public parent Merlin, Inc.
Skills
Candidate Availability
Required and preferred rules are kept separate and reflect the wording in the original posting.
About the Role
You will lead systems engineering strategy, roadmaps, processes, and standards as programs progress toward certification. You will define system architecture, requirements, interfaces, autonomous behaviors, and verification approaches; align engineering disciplines; lead safety, security, and human-factors work; represent engineering artifacts to external stakeholders; and build and mentor the systems engineering organization.
Requirements
- BS in Electrical, Aerospace, Systems Engineering, or a related field; MS or PhD preferred.
- 15+ years of systems engineering experience, including at least 4 years managing systems engineering managers.
- Experience in mission autonomy and vehicle autonomy development, including AI in autonomy systems engineering.
- Ability to define system-level requirements, architecture, and interfaces and drive validation and verification.
- Experience solving complex systems engineering and architectural problems in new product development.
- Experience with safety-critical systems or subsystems in an early-stage R&D environment.
- Experience with requirements management tools, processes, and best practices.
- Hands-on avionics certification experience using ARP4754A, RTCA DO-178B/C, and DO-254.
- Experience collaborating across engineering domains, customers, suppliers, and partners.
- Experience hiring, developing, and retaining systems engineering talent.
- Experience developing and deploying systems engineering processes.
- Experience with AI-based tools and frameworks for automating systems engineering deliverables and processes.
- Experience managing Agile system-level releases using tools such as Jira.
- Authorization to work in the United States without current or future visa sponsorship.
Responsibilities
- Own the feature systems engineering roadmap, strategy, processes, and standards.
- Lead systems engineering work across hardware, software, safety, and flight controls disciplines.
- Set technical direction for concepts of operation, system architecture, and interfaces.
- Define subsystem features, functions, and autonomous behaviors and trace them to system requirements and the safety case.
- Lead Safety, Security, and Human Factors teams in architecture and requirements decisions.
- Partner with Core Architecture and Chief Engineer organizations on engineering strategy and execution.
- Represent requirements, architecture, and interface definitions to customers, suppliers, and regulatory authorities.
- Build, hire, and develop the systems engineering team.
- Communicate technical risks, status, and tradeoffs to executive leadership and program leads.
- Own system and subsystem requirements, validation, traceability, and quality.
- Lead test-method definition, testing strategy, verification, and validation through simulation, ground testing, and flight testing.
Benefits
- Competitive equity grants
- Health insurance
- Dental insurance
- Life insurance
- Flexible paid time off
- 401(k) matching
- Work/life integration
