Director, Air Vehicle Integration

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 systems engineer who has spent your career making complex, interdisciplinary programs hold together under pressure. You understand that systems integration is not a coordination function — it is an engineering function. You know how to own the interfaces between teams, find the failure modes nobody else is looking for, and drive resolution when disciplines disagree. You have done this on programs where the margin for error was small and the schedule was unforgiving, and you have the instincts that come from being accountable for outcomes rather than just process.

You are as comfortable in a design review as you are in a flight test debrief. You can read a controls requirements document, challenge a software architecture, and push back on an avionics interface definition — not because you are trying to own everything, but because integration problems surface when no single engineer is looking across all of it. You are the person who is always looking across all of it. You operate well in ambiguity.

You can build and lead a team that defines structures and architectures that do not exist yet: the integration plans, the interface control documents, the test strategies that connect subsystem verification to system-level confidence. You acquire and lead the talent that does not wait to be asked. You foster the talent that identifies what is missing and closes the gap.

Responsibilities:

• Own systems integration end-to-end: define and maintain the integration architecture, interface control documents, and system-level verification strategy across Merlin’s flight vehicle, avionics, controls, and software programs.
• Lead integration planning and execution across the full development lifecycle — from requirements decomposition through subsystem verification, system test, and aircraft-level validation.
• Identify and manage interface risk across all technical disciplines, driving resolution of conflicts before they become program problems and maintaining a clear picture of open items, owners, and closure criteria.
• Define and own the system-level test and integration planning, including ground integration testing, hardware-in-the-loop validation, and the transition to aircraft-level testing.
• Partner with Flight Ops, Flight Controls, Avionics, Software, and Product Systems Engineering to establish and hold interface agreements, ensuring every team understands what it owes and what it is owed.
• Lead major integration reviews including, bid and proposal reviews, system integration reviews, test readiness reviews, and configuration audits, and prepare the program for certification milestone events.
• Build and lead the systems integration team: define roles, hire technical leads, and develop engineers who can own integration problems independently.
• Drive root cause analysis and corrective action when system-level issues surface in test or flight, and ensure lessons are systematically captured and closed.
• Serve as a key technical interface to certification authorities on system-level integration, verification, and validation evidence.
• Establish integration processes and tooling that scale with the program — from a development program to a certified, deployed product.

Qualifications:

• BS or MS in Aerospace, Mechanical, Electrical, or Systems Engineering.
• 12+ years of experience in systems engineering or systems integration roles on complex aerospace programs, with at least 4 years in a technical leadership capacity.
• Deep expertise in interface definition and control: ICD development, requirements traceability, configuration management, and system-level verification and validation.
• Experience leading integrations on programs that included both hardware and software, with direct accountability for system-level test outcomes.
• Experience with DO-178C, DO-254, ARP4754A, or equivalent civil or defense certification frameworks, with an understanding of how integration evidence flows into certification.
• Proven ability to lead across organizational boundaries — driving alignment between engineering teams without direct authority over them.
• Track record of hiring, developing, and retaining strong systems engineers in a high-stakes technical environment.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills: able to write precise technical documents and represent the program clearly in reviews, audits, and stakeholder briefings.

Nice to Have:

• Experience with autonomous or highly automated systems integration, including integration of perception, planning, and control software stacks.
• Background in avionics integration, including ARINC 429/664/825 data bus architecture and avionics system-level verification.
• Experience with flight control system integration and familiarity with flight control law architectures and control surface actuation.
• Flight test integration experience: test card development, instrumentation, real-time monitoring, and post-test data review.
• Familiarity with DO-326A / ED-202A airworthiness security and its interaction with systems integration verification.
• Experience standing up integration processes at an early-stage company or on a new-start program where the playbook did not yet exist.
• Prior work with the FAA, EASA, or other civil and military aviation authorities in a technical integration or certification role.
• Pilot certificate or meaningful operational flight experience

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, genetic information, sex (including pregnancy), gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, military service or obligation or disability status, or any other characteristic protected by law. 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.

In compliance with federal law, all persons hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States and to complete the required employment eligibility verification form upon hire.

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: View email address on click.appcast.io

Merlin Labs does not accept unsolicited resumes from any source other than directly from candidates.