Technical Program Manager, Autonomy

Merlinlabs; Boston (MA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health, dental, life insurance

Unlimited vacation

401(k) with company match

Job summary

Merlin Labs is seeking a Technical Program Manager to lead complex aerospace and autonomy programs from development to certification. Based on-site in Boston, you will coordinate engineers, suppliers, and government customers to deliver the Merlin Pilot into operational service while maintaining program momentum and clear communication across stakeholders.

You will drive rigorous planning, risk management, and schedules, while navigating DoD and FAA certification processes, and supporting

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, CS, or related technical field.
• 5+ years of experience managing complex technical programs in aerospace/defense/autonomy.
• Proven ability to deliver integrated hardware-software systems with accountability.
• Experience navigating DoD/FAA certification elements and security-clearance processes.
• Ability to engage deeply with engineers and diverse stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Own delivery of cross-functional aerospace and defense programs, including autonomy development, flight test, integration, and certification.
• Drive execution rhythms across engineering, systems integration, certification, flight test, and stakeholders.
• Coordinate internal teams, subcontractors, and government customers with transparency and trust.
• Define detailed program plans: scope, milestones, dependencies, risk mitigation.
• Identify blockers early and drive resolution through structured problem solving.

Skills

Technical PM

Cross-functional leadership

Communication

Clearance knowledge

Stakeholder mgmt

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering or Computer Science

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 mission-driven builder who thrives at the intersection of technology, execution, and impact. As a Technical Program Manager at Merlin Labs, you’ll play a central role in bringing our autonomy technology to life—delivering the Merlin Pilot into operational service on military aircraft and driving execution across some of the most ambitious programs in aerospace.

Embedded within our fast-moving autonomy and flight systems teams, you’ll work side‑by‑side with engineers, business stakeholders, and customer teams to ensure technical momentum and cross‑functional alignment. You bring technical fluency, structured thinking, and the ability to bring clarity to complexity. You’re energized by hard problems, unafraid of ambiguity, and relentless about delivering results.

This role sits at the heart of Merlin’s mission and next stage of growth. You’ll support a dynamic portfolio that spans internally funded R&D and customer programs. Above all, you believe in the mission: to accelerate autonomy, support the warfighter, and redefine what’s possible in aviation.

We’re building the future of flight—and you’ll help us make it real, one milestone at a time.

Responsibilities

• Own delivery of complex, cross‑functional aerospace and defense programs—spanning autonomy development, flight test, integration, and certification.
• Drive technical execution rhythms across engineering, systems integration, certification, flight test, and business stakeholders.
• Serve as the central point of coordination for internal teams, subcontractors, and government customers—ensuring alignment, transparency, and trust.
• Define and maintain detailed program plans, including scope, milestones, dependencies, and risk mitigation strategies.
• Identify blockers early and drive resolution through structured problem‑solving and escalation.
• Shape and manage program scopes and deliverables in alignment with contractual, technical, and business objectives.
• Support capture and proposal efforts by developing cost estimates, technical inputs, and schedules.
• Lead stakeholder communications—from internal reviews to formal customer engagements and milestone briefings.
• Build scalable processes and tools that improve execution velocity and visibility across projects.
• Travel up to 25% to support key integration events, flight test campaigns, and customer engagements.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Computer Science, or related technical field.
• 5+ years of experience managing complex technical programs—ideally within aerospace, defense, or autonomy.
• Demonstrated success delivering integrated hardware‑software systems under high accountability.
• Technical fluency—you can engage deeply with engineers and recognize risks and tradeoffs.
• Expert‑level project management skills—tools, methods, and the ability to bring order to chaos.
• Strong communicator—able to engage diverse technical and non‑technical audiences.
• Proven ability to work within dynamic environments and adapt to evolving priorities.
• Ability to obtain a U.S. Secret Security Clearance.
• Active U.S. Security Clearance.
• Experience leading defense programs with DoD and/or FAA certification elements.
• Background in autonomous systems, flight control, or avionics integration.
• Familiarity with U.S. DoD airworthiness, flight test planning, and acquisition processes.

Location

This position is based on‑site at Merlin HQ in Boston, MA.

Benefits

• Health, dental, life insurance
• Unlimited vacation
• 401(k) with company match

Equal Opportunity

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.