Senior Aviation Cyber Certification Engineer

Merlin Labs

. Establish the civil aviation cyber certification discipline, including processes, procedures, templates, and artifact structures.

Posted 10/6/2026full-timeBoston • Massachusetts • United StatesSenior💰 $165,000 - $220,000 per yearWebsite

Core Competencies

Role fit

Core Competencies

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

Demonstrates expertise in civil aviation cyber certification, including the development of certification processes, security risk assessments, and compliance documentation. Proven ability to collaborate with engineering teams and certification authorities to ensure airworthiness security requirements are met.

Highest-signal resume keywords

Civil Aviation Cyber CertificationDO-326A/ED-202A ApplicationSecurity Risk AssessmentFAA Interfacing ExperienceSystems Security Engineering Practices

ATS Keywords

Tailor your resume

Applicant Tracking System Keywords

Tip: use these terms in your resume and cover letter to boost ATS matches.

Hard Skills

Cybersecurity EngineeringSecurity Risk AssessmentCertification Documentation DevelopmentAirworthiness SecurityCompliance Data AnalysisThreat IdentificationSecurity Plan DevelopmentConfiguration ControlVulnerability AssessmentRMF

Soft Skills

Independent WorkCross-Functional CoordinationMentoring Engineers

Industry Keywords

ARP4754BDO-356A/ED-203AEASADER/ODADoD Cyber AuthorizationIATTATO ProcessesAerospaceAvionicsSafety-Critical Engineering

Tech Stack

Tools & technologies

Cyber Security

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Establish the civil aviation cyber certification discipline, including processes, procedures, templates, and artifact structures.
Lead airworthiness security activities aligned to DO-326A/ED-202A and ARP4754B.
Identify threats and security risks and develop the PSecAC, Supporting Security Development Plan, and PSecAC Summary.
Perform aircraft-, system-, and item-level security risk assessments per DO-356A/ED-203A.
Develop certification evidence, including security risk assessments, verification results, and compliance data.
Serve as technical point of contact with the FAA and other applicable certification authorities or designated representatives.
Partner with systems, software, and safety engineering teams to embed airworthiness security requirements into design and development.
Coordinate security certification activities with the broader certification schedule.
Own security certification documentation, including security plans, risk assessments, compliance matrices, and means-of-compliance packages.
Maintain configuration control through certification milestones.
Validate and build on aviation cyber certification work performed by the Lead Engineer, Information Systems Security.
Serve as Merlin's subject-matter expert for aviation cyber certification across military and civil programs.

Requirements

What you’ll need

Bachelor's degree with 6-9 years of cybersecurity or systems security engineering experience, including direct experience on civil aviation airworthiness security or certification programs.
Direct experience applying DO-326A/ED-202A, ARP4754B, and DO-356A/ED-203A on an aircraft or system certification program.
Experience interfacing with the FAA, EASA, or other certification authorities, directly or through a DER/ODA Unit Member, on the security aspects of a type certification or supplemental type certification program.
Demonstrated ability to build certification processes, procedures, and documentation from the ground up in the absence of existing infrastructure.
Proven ability to work independently with minimal supervision while coordinating across systems, software, safety, and program management teams.
Working knowledge of systems security engineering practices, such as RMF, vulnerability assessment, and DISA STIGs.
Background in aerospace, avionics, autonomous systems, or another safety-critical engineering domain where security requirements intersect with airworthiness and safety certification.
U.S. citizenship and eligibility to obtain a security clearance.
Experience mentoring engineers on security requirements or building a security engineering function/team as a program or company scales.
Familiarity with DoD cyber authorization efforts, including IATT and ATO processes.

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