About You:
You are a finance leader with 12+ years of progressive senior FP&A or strategic finance experience, ideally with real exposure to program-based finance (Estimate At Completion, cost-type contracts, and rate structures). You've spent your career as a builder, not just a maintainer: you've personally designed cost-tracking frameworks, financial models, and process workflows.
You are equally comfortable in a spreadsheet and in a room full of engineers or program managers and are able to translate an ambiguous technical roadmap into a hiring plan, a budget, and a forecast leadership can act on and track against. You don't need a fully-formed process handed to you; you build it, test it, and iterate.
What should excite you about this role: it is a rare two-phase opportunity. Near-term, you build the financial infrastructure for Merlin's Programs and Engineering organizations from the ground up. Long-term, that build converts into full P&L ownership of a product line: a genuine path from builder to business owner.
Responsibilities:Design and implement FP&A processes for engineering headcount, program costs, R&D spend, and capital allocation
Build financial models that translate engineering roadmaps into resource plans, hiring forecasts, budget commitments, and strategic scenarios
Partner with Engineering and Program Management to enhance our program cost accounting framework: cost tracking and reporting, cost-to-complete reporting, etc.
Define chart-of-accounts conventions, cost center structures, and reporting hierarchies that support program-level visibility
Create the monthly/quarterly operating cadence: actuals reviews, variance analysis, and re-forecast processes for the Programs and Engineering organizations
Deliver reporting and analytics that give leadership real-time insight into burn, capacity, and program financial health
Support the implementation of financial planning tools and systems in partnership with Finance and IT
Support the build and delivery of the annual operating plan and budget
Assume full P&L ownership for an assigned product line, including revenue, gross margin, and operating expense (long-term)
Drive pricing strategy, make-vs.-buy decisions, and resource allocation in partnership with the product line GM (long-term)
Qualifications:12+ years of progressive finance experience in FP&A, Strategic Finance, or finance business partner roles
Fluent in program finance concepts: EAC, cost-type contracts, and rate structures
Track record of influencing technical leaders through clear financial storytelling
Hands-on builder: has designed and implemented processes and models from scratch
BA/BS in Accounting, Finance, or related field required
Nice to Haves:Background at a defense, aerospace, SaaS, or hardware-intensive technology company
Costpoint experience
MBA or CPA
This position is based on-site at Merlin HQ in Boston, MA.
About you:
You will be the primary interface between our internal data customers and various vendors (e.g., Marpin Labs, Epsilon3), ensuring the external products can be used by Merlin engineers by any combination of training Merlin employees or helping to develop external services to suit company needs. This mission-critical role combines engineering process leadership, systems-engineering, technical domain experience, understanding test data workflows, and configuration control and change management.
Responsibilities:Own Merlin's Test Data Platform StrategyOwn the strategy, roadmap, and lifecycle for Merlin's engineering test data platforms.Drive adoption of scalable data platforms supporting laboratory, simulation, ground test, and flight test activities.Establish platform standards, governance, and best practices across Engineering.Manage strategic vendor relationships, roadmap alignment, and platform performance.Evaluate emerging technologies and lead continuous platform improvement and deployment.Ensure vendor solutions meet Merlin's technical, operational, and long-term business requirements.Drive Engineering Data StrategyDefine the long-term vision for engineering test data management across Merlin.Standardize data workflows, governance, and engineering processes across programs.Lead the transition from legacy workflows to modern digital engineering platforms.Advise executive leadership on investments, capabilities, and future data strategy.Identify opportunities to improve engineering efficiency through automation and data-driven decision making.Partner Across EngineeringServe as the primary partner to Systems Engineering, Flight Test, Instrumentation, Software, and Program Management teams.Gather and prioritize platform requirements while balancing competing stakeholder needs.Drive integration between engineering platforms and enterprise systems.Ensure platform security, availability, access controls, and operational excellence.Establish Enterprise Data StandardsDefine enterprise standards for telemetry, instrumentation, metadata, data quality, retention, permissions, and knowledge management.Ensure traceability, consistency, and data integrity across all engineering and test programs.Enable cross-program data reuse and scalable collaboration.Advance Analytics & Digital EngineeringChampion analytics, reporting, AI/ML, and digital engineering capabilities across the organization.Develop common metrics, dashboards, and automated data processing pipelines.Enable reusable analysis workflows that accelerate engineering insight and decision making.Qualifications:Bachelor degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Data Science, Information Systems, or related technical discipline. Advanced degree preferred.
5+ years of experience in aerospace, aviation, defense, transportation, or other complex engineering environments.
Experience with engineering systems, test operations, telemetry systems, data platforms, or digital engineering initiatives.
Experience with FTI management, telemetry systems, aero integration and test operations.
Experience managing enterprise software implementations and deployments.
Experience working across multiple technical disciplines and organizational levels.
Technical Knowledge
Data acquisition systems typical of aircraft
Telemetry systems
Instrumentation systems
Engineering data management
Systems engineering
Configuration management
Data analytics platforms
Cloud-based engineering systems
Digital engineering frameworks
Nice to Haves:Authoritative voice on test engineering information systems and data management. Understand both the technical details of test operations and information systems, as well as the organizational challenges of enterprise transformation. Can discuss avionics and telemetry architecture with engineers, data platform strategy with executives, and operational / security details with IT administrators. Vision to establish (CloudTS and Epsilon3.io) test data platforms as strategic enterprise capability rather than a low-priority software application maintenance side-project.This position is based on-site at Merlin HQ in Boston, MA.You will be the primary interface between your assigned test article and those wanting access to it. You must be able to regularly coordinate competing demands for access while accommodating maintenance or modification capability, weather, and crewing. You should have at least basic knowledge of aircraft technical work and primarily enforce correct execution of company processes including inspections, quality assurance, and the appropriate airworthiness certificates.
Responsibilities: Ensure all work performed on the flight test article is authorized through the company work order processControl and document the test article configuration through installation and modification.Coordinate and schedule all aircraft work to maximize overall company efficiency towards executing tests.Maintain an openly available aircraft schedule via smartsheet or MS Project to track maintenance activity and mods.As a Flight Test Instrumentation Engineer, you'll develop and integrate the flight test instrumentation (FTI) systems that enable safe, efficient flight testing. You'll design data acquisition architectures, support aircraft integration, and ensure high-quality test data from installation through post-flight analysis.
Design, integrate, and validate flight test instrumentation and data acquisition systems.Develop instrumentation architectures, system requirements, and sensor layouts to support flight and ground testing.Partner with engineering teams to integrate instrumentation into aircraft and support system verification.Execute pre-flight instrumentation checks, calibration, and FTI software configuration to ensure reliable data collection.Support technicians and mechanics during instrumentation installation, checkout, and troubleshooting.Maintain instrumentation configuration control, calibration records, and engineering documentation.Create wiring diagrams, installation drawings, test procedures, and configuration records.Troubleshoot instrumentation issues and improve system performance and data quality.Ensure compliance with engineering, safety, and airworthiness standards throughout flight test operations.Qualifications:Experience with flight test instrumentation (FTI), data acquisition systems, and real-time telemetry.Hands-on experience with instrumentation sensors, including strain gauges, accelerometers, pressure transducers, thermocouples, and displacement sensors.Ability to read and develop electrical schematics, wiring diagrams, and system architecture drawings.Strong understanding of electrical and electronic fundamentals, including power distribution, signal conditioning, and circuit analysis.Experience using electronic test and diagnostic equipment, such as oscilloscopes, signal generators, spectrum analyzers, and data acquisition tools.Ability to work in laboratory, hangar, and flight line environments.Ability to access instrumentation installed on aircraft, including climbing ladders, platforms, and confined spaces.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.You have spent years working inside the DoD ecosystem and you know what program security actually looks like. You have sat in customer meetings where security requirements get argued over, built authorization packages that survived an assessor, and spent enough time with systems developers and government security reps to know that the best security engineers are the ones who show up before the design is finalized. You approach security as a systems problem and you bring the technical depth to back it up.
Merlin Labs builds autonomous aviation systems for demanding defense customers, and we are looking for a security engineer who wants to help us do that correctly. You will be working alongside engineers who care about getting this right, interfacing with government customers directly, and shaping how security engineering gets done at a company that is growing fast and taking on more complex programs. If that is the kind of ownership you are looking for, this is the role.
Responsibilities:Apply systems security engineering methods across the architecture, design, evaluation, and integration of Merlin's defense programs and products, working alongside engineering teams to embed security requirements early rather than retrofitting them once a system is built.
Support RMF accreditation and authorization activities for supported programs, including categorization, controls selection and implementation, security assessment, and body of evidence package development through all required RMF steps.
Engage with government customers and their security representatives to define, document, and implement security protection requirements with the technical rigor and fidelity that DoD authorization demands.
Apply and verify DISA SRGs and STIGs across program environments, and maintain the configuration management processes that keep systems compliant as they evolve through their operational lifecycle.
Conduct vulnerability assessments using tools such as Tenable NESSUS and ACAS, coordinate remediation with engineering teams, and manage the ongoing security posture of supported systems.
Evaluate and advise on the selection of COTS, GOTS, and open-source tools entering the program environment, following DoD-approved software approval processes and ensuring security implications are understood before adoption.
Support DevSecOps security integration by bringing defense-grade practices into our CI/CD pipeline, including static application security testing and security-gated build processes for government-facing deliverables.
Qualifications:Bachelor's degree with 5 years of cybersecurity experience on DoD or government programs.
Direct experience with RMF accreditation and authorization, including body of evidence package development and working with government ISSOs, SCAs, or authorizing official representatives through the authorization lifecycle.
Hands-on experience applying DISA SRGs and STIGs and conducting vulnerability assessments with tools such as Tenable NESSUS, ACAS, or SCC.
Active clearance. TS preferred.
Nice to Have:Experience with government and commercial security tooling and security integration in a DevSecOps environment, or equivalent tools used in a defense or government program context.
Familiarity with SIEM platforms and development of detection rulesets and dashboards in a defense program or enterprise security context.
Background in aerospace, aviation, autonomous systems, or another safety-critical engineering domain where security and reliability requirements intersect.
This position is based on-site at Merlin HQ in Boston, MA.Who you are:
You are an experienced systems engineer with experience in the development of system/sub-system architecture, system/sub-system requirements, and testing of systems to comply with its requirements. You have experience in collaborating with cross-functional teams of varying engineering domains, customers, suppliers, and partners. You have experience in the definition of Autonomous behaviors and functions of AI enabled control systems. You have a passion for new development and have a proven record of navigating the challenges in new product development. You’ve worked in an experimental R&D of safety critical systems/sub-systems and have the ability to keep safety at the forefront while still moving quickly.
Responsibilities:Lead a small team of System Engineers and be accountable for the execution of System Engineering tasks and delivery of work products which includes the following:
Lead the development of systems engineering development plans and processes as needed for technical execution.
Managing systems engineering tasking and aligning disciplines to support their successful and timely completion
Manage system-level verification and validation activities.
Lead reviews of artifacts with customers, suppliers, and regulatory authorities as required.
Review of concepts of operation, system architecture (including functional and physical architectures), system requirements, and system interfaces for Merlin products. On this small, agile team, you will own significant pieces of these activities yourself.
Work cross-functionally with the safety, hardware, and software teams to capture, document, and communicate requirements and interfaces.
Qualifications:BS in Electrical/Aerospace/Systems Engineering or a related subject, MS preferred.
6-9 years of experience conducting systems engineering (4-6 years with MS degree; 2-4 years with PhD).
Specific experience in Flight Control Systems with aspects of ML or Autonomy
Experience in Flight Control System Development
Demonstrated ability to lead small teams in solving complex architectural and systems engineering-related problems.
Experience with requirements management tools and processes
Demonstrated ability to develop system-level requirements, architecture, and interfaces, and perform requirements validation and verification
Highly Desired Experience:Experience conducting systems engineering in FAA/EASA/DOD certification programs
Hands-on experience in certifying avionics equipment using ARP4754A and RTCA DO-178B/C for safety-critical systems.
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/DOD regulations and standards is a plus.
Working knowledge of Model-based Systems Engineering (MBSE) is a plus but not required.
Familiarity with Simulink, Cameo, IADS, Jama
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.Who you are:
You are an experienced systems engineer with experience in the development of system/sub-system architecture, system/sub-system requirements, and testing of systems to comply with its requirements. You have experience in collaborating with cross-functional teams of varying engineering domains, customers, suppliers, and partners. You have experience in the definition of Autonomous behaviors and functions of AI enabled control systems. You have a passion for new development and have a proven record of navigating the challenges in new product development. You’ve worked in an experimental R&D of safety critical systems/sub-systems and have the ability to keep safety at the forefront while still moving quickly.
Responsibilities:Participate in the development of systems engineering development plans and processes as needed for technical execution.
Managing systems engineering tasking and aligning disciplines to support their successful and timely completion
Development of descriptions of Features and Functions to be executed by the Sub-System
Development of Sub-System Level Requirements
Development of Sub-System Level Test Methods and Testing Strategies
Demonstrated ability to work in cross-functional teams
Support/Execution of verification and validation activities.
Reviews of System Engineering artifacts such as requirements, with customers, suppliers, and regulatory authorities as required.
Review of concepts of operation, system architecture (including functional and physical architectures), system requirements, and system interfaces for Merlin products. On this small, agile team, you will own significant pieces of these activities yourself.
Collaborate cross-functionally with the safety, hardware, and software teams to capture, document, and communicate requirements and interfaces.
Qualifications:BS in Electrical/Aerospace/Systems Engineering or a related subject, MS preferred.
6-9 years of experience conducting systems engineering (4-6 years with MS degree; 2-4 years with PhD).
Specific experience in Flight Controls System Development with aspects of ML or Autonomy
Experience in Flight Control System development
Demonstrated ability in solving complex architectural and systems engineering-related problems
Experience with requirements management tools and processes
Demonstrated ability to develop system-level requirements, architecture, and interfaces, and perform requirements validation and verification
Highly Desired Experience:Experience conducting systems engineering in FAA/EASA/DOD certification programs
Hands-on experience in certifying avionics equipment using ARP4754A and RTCA DO-178B/C for safety-critical systems.
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/DOD regulations and standards is a plus.
Working knowledge of Model-based Systems Engineering (MBSE) is a plus but not required.
Familiarity with Simulink, Cameo, IADS, Jama
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.