Director, Strategy at Merlin Labs (Washington, DC)Director, Strategy

About Merlin: Merlin (NASDAQ: MRLN) is a publicly traded aerospace and defense company building a non-human pilot to deliver full-stack autonomy for any aircraft from takeoff to touchdown. The Merlin Pilot autonomy system powers a growing range of aircraft and mission profiles and has been proven through hundreds of autonomous flights from Merlin's global flight test facilities, including Kerikeri, New Zealand; Quonset Point, Rhode Island; and soon, Bedford, Massachusetts. Headquartered in Boston, Merlin is expanding its organization to accelerate the development and deployment of its autonomy platform, helping customers solve some of aviation's most pressing challenges, from pilot shortages to improving flight safety. Backed by some of the world's leading investors prior to its public listing, Merlin continues to advance the certification and commercialization of autonomous flight across commercial and defense aviation.

About You:

You are a strategic operator with a deep interest in aviation, autonomy, and complex, regulated environments. You are comfortable navigating ambiguity, connecting technical innovation to market opportunity, and driving initiatives from concept through execution.  You bring a structured approach to problem solving, strong business judgment, and the ability to influence across engineering, program, and commercial teams. You are equally comfortable in executive-level discussions and rolling up your sleeves to move critical initiatives forward.

Responsibilities:

- Partner with executive leadership to define and evolve Merlin’s business and corporate strategy

- Translate long-term vision into clear strategic priorities, roadmaps, and execution plans

- Identify and evaluate new markets, mission sets, and customer segments across commercial and government domains

- Develop go-to-market and growth strategies in regulated and government-contracted environments

- Lead high-priority, cross-functional strategic initiatives from concept through implementation

- Collaborate with Engineering, Programs, and Business Development to ensure alignment between technical development and business objectives

- Support strategy related to FAA certification pathways and defense procurement processes

- Build data-driven analyses, business cases, and executive-level materials to support decision-making and Board discussions

- Assess competitive landscape, partnerships, and ecosystem dynamics to inform strategic positioning

- Act as a force multiplier for leadership by increasing decision velocity and organizational alignment

Requirements:

- 7-10+ years of experience in strategy, operations, or program leadership

- Experience in aerospace, defense, autonomy, robotics, or other highly regulated industries

- Proven ability to operate at both strategic and execution levels

- Experience working with or alongside government customers or complex regulatory environments

- Strong analytical and structured problem-solving skills

- Demonstrated success leading cross-functional initiatives with measurable impact

- Excellent communication skills with the ability to influence at both executive and technical levels

Nice to Haves:

• Experience in autonomous systems, aviation, or AI-driven platforms
• Familiarity with FAA certification, DoD procurement, or mission-based program development
• Background in management consulting, corporate strategy, or high-growth startups
• Experience scaling strategy in a venture-backed or rapidly growing company
• Ability to navigate ambiguity and build structure in evolving environments
• Operator mindset with a track record of driving strategy through execution