merlinlabs - Director, Air Vehicle Integration
Requirements
• 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. • 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.
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.
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