---
title: 'Senior Airworthiness & Certification Engineer at Merlin Labs'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/senior-airworthiness-certification-engineer-merlin-labs-boston-rwbh0n2bm43k'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-10-12'
---

# Senior Airworthiness & Certification Engineer at Merlin Labs

- **Company:** Merlin Labs
- **Location:** Boston, MA
- **Compensation:** $165k–$220k
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** hybrid
- **Posted:** 2026-10-06
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-10-12
- **Apply:** https://jobs.lever.co/merlinlabs/95fede77-52ff-4a7b-a4d8-43e3d0a09f26

## Job description

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; Smithfield, 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 hands-on airworthiness & certification engineer who owns certification work directly. You lead compliance activities for defined certification workstreams, resolve complex compliance challenges, interface confidently with regulatory authorities (military and civil), and mentor engineers. You communicate effectively with regulatory authorities on assigned technical topics.

Merlin builds autonomous aviation systems for civil and defense customers. The Airworthiness & Certification organization needs an experienced certification engineer who can lead complex technical areas through the military airworthiness and civil certification process. You will lead certification documentation and compliance activities for a defined technical area, interface directly with regulatory authorities, and mentor junior and mid-level certification engineers within the Airworthiness & Certification and Engineering organizations. If you want ownership over meaningful technical certification work with room to broaden across both military and civil domains, this is the role for you.

Responsibilities:

- Execute the certification strategy and technical approach for a major program or product line.
- Contribute to planning, developing, and coordinating important engineering projects.
- Lead certification documentation and compliance activities for complex technical areas (structures, systems, avionics, or flight controls).
- Develop and apply cross-functional competency in military and industry airworthiness standards — MIL-SPECs, MIL-STDs, DEF STANs, JSSG-2001, and MIL-HDBK-516 — and guide engineering teams in developing compliant designs.
- Author and manage Issue Papers (IPs), Certification Review Items (CRIs), and Military Certification Review Items (MCRIs), and drive them to closure.
- Interface directly with regulatory representatives, airworthiness authorities and sponsoring offices (e.g., USAF, U.S. Army Aviation, NAVAIR, FAA, EASA) on assigned certification topics.
- Drive certification program schedules, identifying compliance risks and implementing mitigation strategies to ensure timely approvals.
- Support civil certification programs and activities as needed, applying 14 CFR Part 21/23/25 and applicable advisory circulars alongside civil certification authorities.
- Manage regulatory audits, conformity inspections, and test witnessing activities.
- Contribute to standardizing and scaling Merlin's airworthiness and certification processes and provide technical assistance to certification engineers across departments.
- Manage Type Inspection Authorization (TIA) prerequisites, draft TIAs, and secure approvals across programs.
- Manage the designee program including appointment and oversight; maintain an internal registry of available designee resources.

Qualifications:

- Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related field.
- 6-9 years of aerospace certification experience, including direct interface with airworthiness or certification authorities.
- Proven ability to work both independently and embedded within cross-functional engineering teams.
- Direct, hands-on experience taking military airworthiness or civil certification programs from certification basis development through closure.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills and project management capability.
- Working knowledge of 14 CFR Part 21, 23, 25, and applicable advisory circulars, sufficient to support civil certification activities.
- Demonstrated ability to interface with military airworthiness authorities (e.g., USAF, U.S. Army Aviation, NAVAIR, MAA) and to conduct meetings with regulatory agencies.
- U.S. citizenship, and an active Secret clearance or a clear path to one (as required by program assignment).
- Working knowledge of military airworthiness standards (MIL-SPECs, MIL-STDs, DEF STANs) sufficient to lead an existing program independently.

Nice to Have:

- Deep civil certification/validation experience with FAA (Part 23/25) and/or EASA (CS-23/25) programs.
- Knowledge of systems engineering principles — requirements decomposition, V&V planning, and configuration management.
- Working familiarity in software and hardware assurance standards (DO-178C, DO-254, MIL-STD-882).
- Working knowledge of safety assessment methodologies: FHA, FMEA/FMECA, FTA, and common cause analysis.
- Working knowledge of emerging aerospace technologies such as electric propulsion, UAVs, or advanced air mobility is highly desirable.
- Working knowledge of FAA military certification processes and interaction with FAA Military Certification Branch (MCB, formerly Military Certification Office (MCO)).

Logistics:

- We welcome remote applicants for this role, with a preference for candidates based in or willing to relocate to Boston, MA for a hybrid work schedule at our HQ.

Merlin Labs offers an innovative, entrepreneurial, and team-focused startup environment. We also offer a top-notch benefits package (health, dental, life, flexible paid time off, 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.

Merlin Labs is an equal opportunity employer and values diversity. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, genetic information, sex (including pregnancy), gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, military service or obligation or disability status, or any other characteristic protected by law. All job offers are contingent upon the candidate passing background and reference checks.

At this time, we are unable to provide visa sponsorship or consider candidates who require visa transfers. Applicants must be authorized to work in the United States without the need for visa sponsorship now or in the future.

In compliance with federal law, all persons hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States and to complete the required employment eligibility verification form upon hire.

If you require reasonable accommodation in completing an application, interviewing, completing any pre-employment testing, or otherwise participating in the employee selection process, please direct your inquiries to: people@merlinlabs.com

Merlin Labs does not accept unsolicited resumes from any source other than directly from candidates.

## About Merlin Labs

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Merlin Labs is a U.S.-based developer of takeoff-to-touchdown autonomy software for military and civil aircraft, building the operating system of record for autonomous flight.
- **Entity Type**: Public (Nasdaq: MRLN) – went public via SPAC merger with Inflection Point Acquisition Corp IV in 2026.
- **Headquarters**: Boston, Massachusetts, United States
- **Founded**: 2019
- **Founders**: Matthew George (CEO)

## Core Business
- **Primary industries**: Aerospace & Defense, Autonomous Aviation, AI Software
- **Target customers**: Military (U.S. Special Operations Command, Air Force), civil aviation operators, aircraft OEMs
- **Mission**: To provide safe, reliable autonomy that extends the capabilities of existing fleets and unlocks next-generation missions, forging the next 100 years of American aviation.

## Products & Services
- **[Merlin Pilot](https://merlinlabs.com/)**: An aircraft-agnostic, AI-powered software platform for autonomous flight from takeoff to touchdown. Designed to adapt to any plane in operation today and in the future.
- **[Condor](https://merlinlabs.com/)**: A product family for large, multi-crew aircraft, announced in 2026, targeting high-capacity military and cargo platforms.
- **Prime Contract with USSOCOM**: Merlin is partnering with U.S. Special Operations Command to bring autonomy to the C-130J fleet, extending operational range for high-frequency routes.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation / Market Cap**: Not publicly disclosed as of the latest filings. Total cumulative funding (including IPO) is **$704.3M**.
- **Key Metric**: **Revenue** – $2.194M in Q2 FY2026 (quarter ended June 30, 2026) per SEC 10-Q filing. The company is still in high-growth, pre-profit stage (Net Income: -$58.4M in Q2). **Employees** – 145 as of mid-2026, growing 26.7% YoY.
- **Notable Investors / Partners**: First Round Capital (seed lead), Inflection Point Acquisition Corp IV (SPAC sponsor), U.S. Special Operations Command (customer/partner), Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand (regulatory partner).
- **Growth Signals**:
  - Over 100 hours of autonomous flight across test facilities in the U.S. and New Zealand.
  - Completed Critical Design Review for the C-130J program with USSOCOM.
  - Achieved Stage of Involvement 3 (SOI 3) from the New Zealand CAA for the Merlin Pilot’s Flight Control Computer and Automated Communication System.
  - First autonomous landing of a conventional fixed-wing aircraft at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh (July 2026).
  - Acquired EpiSys Science (EpiSci) in 2024 to bolster AI/autonomy capabilities.

## Competitive Advantages
- **Aircraft-agnostic platform**: The Merlin Pilot is designed to work with any aircraft, reducing integration complexity for customers.
- **Proven autonomy**: Hundreds of hours of autonomous flight, including military-grade operations, de-risking adoption.
- **Regulatory leadership**: Early approvals from the New Zealand CAA (Part 146 Design Organization certificate, SOI 3) pave the way for commercial certification.
- **Prime military contracts**: Direct relationship with USSOCOM for the C-130J program provides a strong revenue and credibility anchor.
- **Talent density**: Engineers from top aerospace firms (Collins Aerospace, Lockheed Martin, Sikorsky, Aurora Flight Sciences) and a strong culture of safety and innovation.

## Strategic Focus
- **Scale the C-130J program**: Move from CDR to production and deployment with USSOCOM.
- **Expand Condor product line**: Target large, multi-crew aircraft for both military and civil markets.
- **Achieve commercial certification**: Continue working with regulators (FAA, EASA, CAA) to certify the Merlin Pilot for commercial operations.
- **Grow government and defense contracts**: Leverage the public listing and existing relationships to win additional programs.
- **Hire aggressively**: Open roles in AI, autonomy software, systems engineering, program management, and business development (22 active openings as of Sept 2026).

## Why Work Here
- **Culture**: “Breaking new ground at 10,000 ft” – collaborative, respectful, and tangible work that is “in use and progressing rapidly.” High morale driven by real-world impact.
- **Work Models**: Hybrid and on-site roles available. Primary locations: Boston, MA (HQ); North Kingstown, RI; Kerikeri, New Zealand; and Washington, DC.
- **Notable Perks**: Work on one of aviation’s hardest problems with a team that includes alumni from top aerospace and defense companies. Employees have delegated authority from the regulator to approve certain aircraft design changes, empowering engineers. The company prioritizes safety and partners with best-in-class aerospace players.
- **Engineering Culture**: Strong emphasis on AI, autonomy, and software engineering. The engineering team is 39% of the workforce, with senior and specialist roles heavily represented. Open roles include Staff Software Engineer (AI Foundation Model), Autonomy Software Engineer, and Lead AI Dataloop Engineer.

## Sources
1. [Merlin Labs – Company Page](https://merlinlabs.com/company/)
2. [Merlin Labs – Homepage](https://merlinlabs.com/)
3. [Merlin Labs – Careers Page](https://merlinlabs.com/careers/)
4. [Merlin Labs – Open Roles on Lever](https://jobs.lever.co/merlinlabs)
5. [Merlin Labs – LinkedIn Page](https://www.linkedin.com/company/merlinlabs)
6. [SEC Filing – FY2026 Q2 10-Q](https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0002028707) (via Apollo data reference)

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