Staff Systems Engineer, Integration

Merlinlabs; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health

Dental

Life

Unlimited vacation

401k with match

Job summary

Merlin Labs in Boston, MA, is seeking an experienced lead Systems Engineer to guide system integration, requirements management, and safety-focused certification for civil or military avionics programs.

You will coordinate across hardware, software, electrical, and test teams, run design reviews, and ensure traceability from requirements to demonstration for Merlin product integrations. This role emphasizes safety while accelerating development in a startup environment.

Qualifications

• BS in Electrical/Aerospace/Systems Engineering or a related subject.
• MS preferred.

Responsibilities

• Guide system development and traceability from system requirements capture to final demonstration for systems on aircraft.
• Facilitate the development of concepts of operation, system architecture, requirements, and certification planning and execution for Merlin product integrations.
• Work across safety, hardware, simulation, and software teams to capture, document, and communicate requirements and interfaces.
• Host design reviews of architectures for senior leadership and review artifacts as the primary technical stakeholder across supporting disciplines.
• Manage systems engineering tasking and align disciplines to support timely completion.
• Participate in development of systems engineering development plans and processes.
• Participate in reviews of artifacts with customers, suppliers, and regulatory authorities as required.

Skills

Systems engineering lead

Requirements management

Cross-disciplinary coordination

Avionics integration

Regulatory knowledge

Education

BS in EE/AE/Systems Eng

MS preferred

Tools

Simulink

Cameo

IADS

Jama

JIRA

Job description

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 very experienced systems engineer involved in systems integration, requirements management, system design, and testing in civil-certified or military safety-critical avionics and mission systems. You have a passion for new development and have a proven record of navigating the challenges in new product integration. You’ve worked in an experimental R&D flight test environment with general civil certified or commercial derivative aircraft and know how to keep safety at the forefront while still moving quickly. You also have experience in interfacing with a wide array of engineering domains, customers, suppliers, and partners.

Responsibilities

• Guide system development and traceability from system requirements capture, through design decision making, to final demonstration for systems being implemented on various aircraft.
• Facilitate the development of concepts of operation, system architecture (including functional and physical architectures), system requirements, measures of performance, certification planning and execution from requirements through to demonstration for Merlin product integrations.
• Work across the safety, hardware, simulation, and software teams to capture, document, and communicate requirements and interfaces
• Host design reviews of architectures for senior leadership and review artifacts as the primary technical stakeholder across all supporting functional disciplines.
• Managing systems engineering tasking and aligning disciplines to support their successful and timely completion.
• Participate in the development of systems engineering development plans and processes as needed.
• Participate in reviews of artifacts with customers, suppliers, and regulatory authorities as required.

Qualifications

• BS in Electrical/Aerospace/Systems Engineering or a related subject, MS preferred.
• 10+ years of experience conducting systems engineering in FAA/EASA/Military certification programs (8+ years with MS degree).
• Demonstrated ability to lead as a Systems Engineer in solving complex architectural and systems engineering-related problems across aircraft integration and software.
• Demonstrated experience facilitating design across multi-disciplined functional groups: hardware, software, electrical, mechanical, and test engineering.
• Experience with requirements management tools and processes
• Hands‑on experience in integrating avionics and/or avionics integrated mission equipment using civil and/or military standards for flight safety, equipment qualification, and airworthiness
• Demonstrated ability to develop system-level requirements, architecture, and interfaces, and perform requirements validation and verification.
• Demonstrated familiarity with general aviation aircraft and integration.

Nice to Have

• Specific experience with general aviation aircraft integration, including Cessna Caravan
• Specific experience in the area of Automatic Flight Controls, Flight Management, or Display Systems.
• Specific experience in developing software requirements and performing software verification.
• Working knowledge of FAA/EASA/Military regulations and standards is a plus.
• Familiarity with Simulink, Cameo, IADS, Jama, JIRA

Location: Boston, MA (hybrid) strongly preferred - can be remote for the right candidate

$180,000 - $240,000 a year

The compensation range provided is a good‑faith estimate based on a wide range of factors, inclusive of base salary only. The actual offer will be determined by a variety of factors including the candidate's qualifications, skills, experience, education, and training. Highly competitive equity grants are considered part of Merlin's total compensation package. Additionally, Merlin offers top‑tier benefits for full‑time employees.

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.

• health
• dental
• life
• unlimited vacation
• 401k with match

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.