Senior Human-Machine Teaming Engineer

Merlin Labs is an aviation technology company developing autonomous flight systems for fixed-wing aircraft, aiming to enhance safety and efficiency in both commercial and defense aviation.

Merlin Labs

Employee count: 51-200

United States only

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About Merlin:

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.

About you

You are an experienced engineer with a background in autonomous systems, aviation, or robotics who is motivated to build software that enables effective human-machine and machine-machine teaming. You’re excited to enhance how humans interact with complex automated systems. You are comfortable with either leading technical projects or contributing independently to software development and experimentation. You take pride in writing high-quality, maintainable code, and are driven to improve interactive teaming behaviors through human subject testing and integration into real airborne systems.

Responsibilities

Contribute to the technical direction and implementation of capabilities supporting human-machine and machine-machine teaming for autonomous airborne systems.
Design, develop, and deploy novel teaming capabilities that measurably enhance the performance, safety, and resilience of human-machine teams.
Propose, design, and execute applied research and human subject experiments to evaluate human-machine teaming capabilities in realistic operations.
Contribute to simulation, integration, and flight test activities to validate autonomy software in relevant environments.
Write, test, document and review code according to Merlin’s development standards.
Collaborate across Merlin to develop novel systems to solve the toughest problems in aviation and autonomy.

Requirements

Degree in Computer Science, Aerospace Engineering, Robotics Engineering, or a related subject.
5+ years of professional experience (including graduate work) developing software for airborne autonomous systems.
Deep experience in one or more of the following:
- Human-machine interaction for crewed aircraft and/or UAS
- Single- and multi-vehicle autonomy, resource allocation, and decision making algorithms
- Software development for physiological signal monitoring
- Algorithmic modeling for human cognitive state analysis
- Experience in modern software development workflows and practices, including version control, pipelines, and unit testing, and peer review.
- Experience with overall product development cycle, including design, testing, and troubleshooting at the system level as well as at the software component level.
- Experience with Linux and open-source development tools.
- Proficiency writing code in Python.
- Experience with technical writing.
- Strong problem-solving skills and the ability to learn and contribute across different technical domains.

Nice to Have

Proficiency with C++ and ROS.
Experience designing focused research plans and experiments to evaluate human-machine and machine-machine teaming effectiveness.
Experience with perception systems, sensor fusion, world modeling concepts, or Bayesian probabilistic methods.
Experience with proposal writing and technical roadmap development.
Familiarity with simulation software, especially aircraft simulation.
Experience with hardware and software integration and debugging.
Experience with flight testing (uncrewed or crewed aircraft).
Pilot license and flight experience is a plus.

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

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About the job

Apply before

Jul 29, 2026

Posted on

May 30, 2026

Job type

Full Time

Experience level

Senior

Experience

5 years minimum

Location requirements

United States

Hiring timezones

United States +/- 0 hours

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About Merlin Labs

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Merlin Labs is an aviation technology company focused on developing the world's most capable pilot by leveraging advanced automation and artificial intelligence. Our customers, in both the commercial and defense sectors, face increasing demands for air transportation and the challenges of pilot shortages and complex operational environments. This is why we are dedicated to creating autonomous flight solutions that enhance safety, efficiency, and resilience in the skies. We believe that the future of aviation isn't an all-or-nothing approach between human pilots and autonomy; instead, we see technology and human expertise working together as a critical step towards a fully autonomous future. The Merlin Pilot, our integrated hardware and software solution, is designed to make Human Factor-driven decisions, enabling it to adapt to unexpected environmental or experiential impacts on mission success. This system can support a variety of scenarios, from assisting crews in dangerous missions to enabling reduced crew operations on large aircraft, and is adaptable across diverse aircraft fleets.

Our mission is to create the world's most capable pilot, leveraging technology as the key enabler of air network resiliency. We understand that the global dependency on air transportation is growing, and autonomous flight solutions are crucial for a more flexible and scalable aviation ecosystem. Merlin Labs is committed to a practical, phased approach to autonomous flight, initially pairing advanced automation with human pilots to build trust and ensure safety. We have worked closely with regulatory bodies like the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand (CAA) to achieve safety-critical certifications. Our technology has undergone rigorous testing, with over 800 hours in the sky and integration on five different aircraft types. We are actively partnering with industry leaders and government agencies to bring these transformative capabilities to both civilian and military aviation, addressing critical needs such as enhancing national security and solving logistical challenges in air cargo transport. As we continue to innovate, we are looking for passionate individuals to join our team and pioneer the future of autonomous flight.

Tech stack

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Python

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