---
title: 'Senior Program Manager, Autonomy at Merlin Labs'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/senior-program-manager-autonomy-merlin-labs-boston-gw4x1zkcs4x0'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-07'
---

# Senior Program Manager, Autonomy at Merlin Labs

- **Company:** Merlin Labs
- **Location:** Boston, MA
- **Compensation:** $165k–$220k
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** hybrid
- **Posted:** 2025-07-31
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-07
- **Apply:** https://jobs.lever.co/merlinlabs/ca97eed3-ee37-41fb-9b92-0bf4c388a7fc

## Job description

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 deep program leadership experience and strong product instincts. As a Senior Program Manager at Merlin, you'll lead a portfolio of high-impact autonomy programs — from early-stage through deployment and fielding — while shaping what we build, not just when it ships. You bring a rare blend of technical fluency, product judgment, and operational rigor. You know how to listen deeply to operators and customers, translate mission needs into product priorities and a deliverable roadmap, and make hard capability-versus-schedule trades with imperfect information. You thrive in dynamic environments where ambiguity is the norm and execution velocity is critical. You're not just a program manager — you're a builder, an integrator, and a force multiplier. If you're excited by the opportunity to shape the future of aviation while growing enduring customer relationships, we'd love to meet you.

Responsibilities:

- Own and lead a portfolio of programs spanning autonomy development, integration, flight test, certification, and operational fielding.
- Own the capability roadmap for your assigned programs — defining what capabilities deliver in which release, and keeping program commitments aligned with the broader Merlin Pilot product strategy.
- Partner with Product and autonomy engineering leadership on release content, scope trades, and prioritization decisions — balancing customer commitments, technical risk, and resource constraints.
- Translate operator feedback, mission needs, and customer requirements into clear, actionable product priorities and deliverables for engineering and test teams — including defining capability acceptance criteria with customers.
- Serve as the senior point of contact for customer engagements, program reviews, and critical milestones — using those engagements to sharpen product direction, not just report status.
- Drive program strategy and execution across multiple internal and external teams — including engineering, product, test, supply chain, and business development.
- Oversee integrated master schedules, financial plans, and program baselines across multiple workstreams, ensuring execution stays tied to product intent.
- Identify and mitigate cross-program risks, resource constraints, and bottlenecks before they impact delivery
- Build and institutionalize execution processes and artifacts that scale as our portfolio grows (e.g., roadmap frameworks, program rhythms, status reporting).
- Provide mentorship and leadership across the broader program management organization.

Qualifications:

- 8+ years of experience in program or product leadership roles, ideally with aviation or automotive autonomy experience.
- Proven success leading complex programs involving cross-functional teams and technical integration, with a focus on software development and delivery.
- Experience shaping product roadmaps or capability definitions in a technical domain — comfortable making prioritization calls with imperfect information and defending the trade-offs.
- Ability to manage a portfolio of programs under resource and time constraints while keeping each aligned to the broader product strategy.
- Exceptional listening, communication, and stakeholder engagement skills, with the ability to build alignment between customers, product, and internal teams.
- Ability to context switch between strategy, execution, and team dynamics across multiple efforts.
- Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Secret Security Clearance.

Nice to Have:

- Product management experience or hybrid program/product roles in autonomy, robotics, or aerospace software.
- Experience scaling program teams or building new operating models in high-growth environments.
- Prior experience in autonomy, mission systems, or flight control integration.
- Active Security Clearance.

## 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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