Merlin · 5 months ago
Vice President of Autonomy
Boston, MA
Full-time
Hybrid
Director/Executive
10+ years expMerlin is a venture-backed aerospace startup building a non-human pilot to enable both reduced crew and uncrewed flight. As the Vice President of Autonomy, you will lead the team responsible for developing core autonomy software critical to enabling safe and intelligent autonomous flight across various aircraft.
Air TransportationInformation TechnologySoftwareTransportation
No H1B
U.S. Citizen Only
Responsibilities
Lead the Autonomy Software team developing flight, mission, and campaign autonomy capabilities for the Merlin Pilot
Define and evolve software architecture in partnership with the Chief Product Officer, CTO, Chief Architect and Systems Engineering team
Ensure on-time delivery of modular, testable, and airworthy autonomy software that meets system-level performance and safety requirements
Oversee software development, integration, and test across all layers of autonomy—perception, planning, guidance/navigation/control (GNC), decision-making, and behavior modeling
Drive use of modern software practices, including modern version control and release techniques, automated builds, simulation-in-the-loop testing, and traceable requirements
Collaborate closely with Simulation, Compute Integration, and Systems teams to enable effective development and validation workflows
Foster a strong technical culture focused on clarity, ownership, safety, and continuous improvement
Mentor and grow engineers and technical leads within the team
Partner with the VP of Merlin Pilot Engineering to align staffing, schedule, and priorities to the product roadmap
Support regulatory and customer engagements, including technical documentation and test plans for certification/accreditation where required
Qualification
Required
BS/MS in Computer Science, Robotics, Aerospace Engineering, or a related field
10+ years of experience in autonomy software development, with 5+ years in engineering leadership roles
Deep expertise in one or more autonomy domains: GNC, path planning, multi-agent coordination, behavior trees/state machines, etc
Strong track record delivering real-world autonomy systems in aviation, defense, robotics, or space
Familiarity with safety-critical software development and relevant standards (DO-178C, MISRA, etc.)
Experience managing complex software teams, including agile workflows and large codebases
Skilled in C, C++, Python, and real-time systems development
Excellent cross-functional collaboration and communication skills
Preferred
Pilot experience
Experience developing autonomy software for airworthy aircraft (Part 23/25 or military equivalents)
Familiarity with AI/ML integration and assurance for autonomy systems
Experience with simulation frameworks (e.g., Gazebo, FlightGear, custom SIL/HIL setups)
Understanding of embedded systems, partitioned OS environments (ARINC 653), and software abstraction layers
Benefits
Health
Dental
Life
Unlimited vacation
401k with match
Company
Merlin
Merlin is the leading U.S.-based developer of cost-effective, takeoff-to-touchdown autonomy for both legacy and next-generation airborne systems.
51-200 employees
Funding
Current Stage
Growth StageTotal Funding
$133.5MKey Investors
First Round Capital
2025-08-14Acquired
2022-07-13Series B· $105M
2021-05-26Series A· $25M
Leadership Team
Matthew George
CEO
Ryan Carrithers
Chief Financial Officer
Recent News
2025-11-26
Company data provided by crunchbase