Merlin Labs

Senior Program Manager, Autonomy

Boston · Senior · Contract

No sponsorshipDetected 356 days ago

Product StrategySupply ChainHRISControlsLeadershipCommunicationMentoring

About the role

As a Senior Program Manager at Merlin, you'll play a pivotal role in leading and scaling a portfolio of high-impact autonomy programs-from early-stage through successful deployment and fielding.
You bring a rare blend of technical fluency, stakeholder confidence, and operational rigor.
You thrive in dynamic environments where ambiguity is the norm and execution velocity is critical.

Own and lead a portfolio of programs, spanning autonomy, integration, flight test, certification, and operational fielding.
Drive program strategy and execution across multiple internal and external teams-including engineering, product, test, supply chain, and business development.
Serve as the senior point of contact for customer engagements, program reviews, and critical milestones. Build trust and deliver with high accountability.
Develop and manage integrated master schedules, financial plans, and program baselines across multiple workstreams.
Build and institutionalize execution processes and artifacts that scale as our portfolio grows (e.g., WBS frameworks, program rhythms, status reporting).

You are a strategic operator with deep program leadership experience and a passion for delivering mission-critical outcomes.
You have the ability to listen deeply, translate customer needs into technical and programmatic priorities, and guide teams toward impactful delivery.
8 + years of experience in program or project leadership roles, ideally with aviation or automotive autonomy experience.
Proven success leading complex programs involving cross-functional teams and technical integration with focus on software development and deliveries.
Ability to context switch between strategy, execution, and team dynamics across multiple efforts.
Ability to manage a portfolio of programs with resource and time constraints and understand the broader product strategy
Exceptional listening, communication, and stakeholder engagement skills, with the ability to build alignment between customers and internal teams.
Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Secret Security Clearance.

Prior experience in autonomy, mission systems, or flight control integration.
Active Security Clearance.
Merlin Labs is an equal opportunity employer and values diversity.
All job offers are contingent upon the candidate passing background and reference checks.
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.

Merlin is a venture backed aerospace startup building a non-human pilot to enable both reduced crew and uncrewed flight.
Backed by some of the world's leading investors, Merlin is scaling alongside our customers to begin leveraging autonomy today to solve some of aviation's biggest challenges.

At this time, we are unable to provide visa sponsorship or consider candidates who require visa transfers.

This listing is sourced directly from Merlin Labs's careers page and normalized into a canonical job model.