Hardware-in-the-Loop Software Integration Engineer

Merlin Labs, Inc.; Boston (MA); On-site; USD 130,000 - 175,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Catered lunches

Snacks provided

Beverages

Job summary

Merlin Labs in Boston, MA, is seeking a hands-on Software Engineer to join the Virtual Test Environments team. You will develop and maintain C++ and Python software that connects aircraft avionics, simulation models, and test hardware, while enabling data capture, display, and replay for flight testing.

On-site, you will work with Linux hosts and embedded targets, implement hardware interfaces, and contribute to telemetry ingestion, diagnostics, and web-based operator displays.

Qualifications

• Proficiency developing and debugging modern C++ and Python software.
• Strong working familiarity with Linux host systems, including command-line tools, software builds, dependencies, services, permissions, networking, and diagnostics.
• Experience integrating software with physical hardware, external systems, or vendor libraries and APIs.
• Understanding of resource management, multithreading, synchronization, and error handling in C++.
• Familiarity with UDP/TCP networking and binary data formats, including byte order, message framing, and input validation.
• Familiarity with timing-sensitive software concepts such as periodic execution, buffering, latency, and watchdogs.

Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain C++ and Python software connecting aircraft avionics, simulation models, test hardware, and engineering tools.
• Implement software components and hardware interfaces within the architecture established by the Staff Software Integration Engineer, contributing to design decisions and code reviews.
• Integrate UEI PowerDNA equipment through vendor SDKs, low-level I/O APIs, and hardware abstraction layers.
• Configure and validate ARINC 429, CAN, serial, analog, and discrete interfaces using aircraft interface control documents, including signal mapping, message encoding, update rates, and error handling.
• Support real-time execution of aircraft simulation models, including periodic processing, I/O exchange, watchdogs, and performance diagnostics.
• Develop and maintain telemetry interfaces and data‑processing components that collect, validate, record, and distribute data over UDP, TCP, and messaging systems.
• Contribute to asynchronous Rust services for telemetry ingestion, timestamp alignment, flight-test displays, and session recording, with technical guidance from senior engineers.
• Build operator displays and diagnostic tools using technologies such as GL Studio, React, HTML5, SQL, and web APIs.
• Build, deploy, and troubleshoot software on Linux hosts and embedded targets using established cross‑compilation, packaging, systemd, and Docker workflows.
• Write unit tests, Python‑based smoke tests, and hardware integration tests; help reproduce defects and add regression coverage.
• Collaborate with avionics, aircraft software, flight dynamics, and lab engineers to diagnose issues across software, networks, and connected hardware.
• Maintain code and configuration changes in Git, track work in Jira, and document interfaces, deployment steps, and troubleshooting procedures.

Skills

C++ development

Python development

Linux

Hardware integration

Git/Jira

Docker

Rust

Tools

UEI PowerDNA

ARINC 429

CAN

RS-232/RS-422

Docker

Job description

Merlin Labs in Boston, MA, is seeking a hands-on Software Engineer to join the Virtual Test Environments team. You will develop and maintain C++ and Python software that connects aircraft avionics, simulation models, and test hardware, while enabling data capture, display, and replay for flight testing.

On-site, you will work with Linux hosts and embedded targets, implement hardware interfaces, and contribute to telemetry ingestion, diagnostics, and web-based operator displays.