Director, Features System Engineering

Merlin Labs

. Own Merlin’s feature systems engineering development roadmap, strategy, processes, and standards, and evolve them as the program moves from early development toward certification.

Posted 10/14/2026full-timeUnited StatesLead💰 $220,000 - $290,000 per yearWebsite

Core Competencies

Role fit

Core Competencies

Use this summary to align your resume positioning with the role.

Demonstrates extensive experience in systems engineering, particularly in Mission Autonomy and Vehicle Autonomy development, with a strong focus on defining system-level requirements, architecture, and interfaces. Proven ability to lead teams in safety-critical systems development while ensuring compliance with FAA, EASA, and DoD regulations.

Highest-signal resume keywords

Systems Engineering ManagementMission Autonomy DevelopmentRequirements Validation and VerificationSafety-Critical Systems ExperienceAgile Framework Implementation

ATS Keywords

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Applicant Tracking System Keywords

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Hard Skills

Systems EngineeringRequirements ManagementArchitecture DefinitionVerification and ValidationSafety-Critical Systems CertificationSoftware Requirements DevelopmentModel-Based Systems EngineeringAI in Autonomy SystemsAutomatic Flight ControlsAgile Methodologies

Soft Skills

LeadershipCollaborationMentoringCommunicationProblem Solving

Tools & Technologies

JiraSimulinkCameoIADSJama

Certifications & Qualifications

ARP4754ARTCA DO-178B/CDO-254MIL-STD-882EARP4761A

Industry Keywords

FAA RegulationsEASA RegulationsDoD CertificationSafety CaseR&D in Aerospace

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Own Merlin’s feature systems engineering development roadmap, strategy, processes, and standards, and evolve them as the program moves from early development toward certification.
Lead and manage systems engineering tasking across the organization, aligning hardware, software, safety, and flight controls disciplines to deliver on a shared technical plan and schedule.
Set the technical direction for concepts of operation, functional and physical system architecture, and system interfaces across Merlin products, and personally own the most critical architecture decisions.
Define the features, functions, and autonomous behaviors that each sub-system must execute, and ensure they trace cleanly to system-level requirements and the safety case.
Lead the Safety, Security and Human factors teams to keep them at the forefront of architecture and requirements decisions without slowing the pace of development.
Partner closely with Core Architecture and Chief engineer organizations to drive engineering strategy and execution.
Represent Merlin’s systems engineering artifacts, including requirements, architecture, and interface definitions, in reviews with customers, suppliers, and regulatory authorities.
Build, hire, and develop the systems engineering team, setting clear expectations, mentoring technical leads, and growing the bench as the company scales.
Collaborate with executive leadership, program leads, and engineering functions to prioritize systems engineering work and communicate technical risk, status, and tradeoffs clearly.
Own system and sub-system-level requirements, including their development, validation, and traceability, and hold the quality bar on requirements across every discipline.
Lead the tech strategy on definition of test methods and testing strategies at the sub-system and system level, and lead verification and validation activities from simulation and ground test through flight test.

Requirements

What you’ll need

BS in Electrical, Aerospace, Systems Engineering, or a related field; MS or PhD preferred.
15+ years of systems engineering experience (10+ with an MS, 8+ with a PhD), including at least 4 years being a manager of System engineering managers
Specific experience in Mission Autonomy and Vehicle Autonomy development, including aspects of AI in autonomy system engineering
Demonstrated ability to define system-level requirements, architecture, and interfaces, and to drive the teams on requirements validation and verification through to system-level confidence.
Proven record of solving complex architectural and systems engineering problems on new product development programs.
Experience working in an early stage R&D department on safety-critical systems or sub-systems, with sound judgment about when to move fast and when to hold the line.
Experience with requirements management tools and processes best practices and with establishing them for a growing team.
Hands-on experience certifying avionics equipment using ARP4754A and RTCA DO-178B/C and DO-254 for safety-critical systems.
Track record of collaborating across engineering domains, customers, suppliers, and partners, and of earning credibility with technical teams and senior stakeholders.
Experienced in hiring, developing, and retaining strong systems engineerIng talent and leadership coaching.
Demonstration of development and deployment of writing SE processes for the business and teams
Comfortable working with the leading AI based tools and frameworks and implementing best practices to automate System engineering deliverables and processes.
Experience in developing, executing and monitoring Agile framework based System level releases using tools like Jira.
Working knowledge of ARP4761A and MIL-STD-882E
Experience leading systems engineering in FAA, EASA, DoD airworthiness experience (e.g., MIL-HDBK-516), DoD certification programs, including direct interaction with certification authorities.
Specific experience in automatic flight controls, flight management, or display systems.
Experience developing software requirements and overseeing software verification.
Working knowledge of FAA, EASA, and DoD regulations and standards.
Working knowledge of model-based systems engineering (MBSE), and experience introducing it to a team.
Familiarity with Simulink, Cameo, IADS, and Jama.
Experience building a systems engineering function at an early-stage or high-growth company.

Benefits

Comp & perks

Health insurance
Dental insurance
Life insurance
Flexible paid time off
401(k) with match
Work/life integration
Professional development support
Highly competitive equity grants
Top-tier benefits for full-time employees