{"id":119183,"url":"https://alion.io/job/merlin-labs-engineering-manager-autonomy-planning-behaviors","title":"Engineering Manager, Autonomy Planning & Behaviors","company":{"id":46278,"name":"Merlin Labs","domain":"merlinlabs.com","url":"https://alion.io/company/merlin-labs","size_band":"201-500","is_staffing_agency":false,"employer_type":"direct","is_intermediary":false,"listed_via":null,"ats_vendor":"Lever","truth_index":{"grade":"A","score":92,"open_postings":25,"ghost_share":0,"stale_share":0.12,"repost_share":0,"time_to_fill_p50_days":70,"computed_at":"2026-11-03T05:54:40Z"}},"role":"Leadership","role_family":"Leadership","seniority":"lead","employment_type":"full_time","work_mode":"hybrid","remote_scope":null,"remote_scope_basis":null,"remote_working_hours":null,"hiring_geo_confidence":"structured","locations":["Boston, United States"],"countries":["US"],"hiring_countries":[],"hiring_countries_total":0,"salary":{"min":180000,"max":240000,"currency":"USD","period":"year","gross":null,"usd_annual":240000},"salary_estimate":null,"experience_years_min":null,"visa_sponsorship":false,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":false,"technologies":[{"name":"C++","optional":false},{"name":"Machine Learning","optional":false},{"name":"Motion Planning","optional":false},{"name":"Python","optional":false},{"name":"DO-178C","optional":true},{"name":"ROS","optional":true},{"name":"Zenoh","optional":true}],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2025-08-12T23:36:22Z","employer_posted_date":"2025-08-12","last_verified_at":"2026-11-03T22:06:24Z","board_verified":true,"closed_at":null,"days_open":448,"trust":{"level":"stale","repost_count":0,"flags":["stale"],"days_open":447},"description":"About You:\nYou are an experienced engineer with a background in autonomous systems, aviation, and robotics who wants to lead Merlin’s direction when it comes to decision making and behaviors for mission autonomy. You understand both the commercial and military aviation domains, and enjoy pushing the boundaries on crewed and uncrewed technology to make aviation safer. You have deep experience in leading and managing large teams of engineers as they deploy autonomy, and have a broad understanding of the techniques enabling mission management.\nResponsibilities:\nDrive the technical direction and delivery of autonomous decision making, behavior execution, and motion planning capabilities for airborne systems.\n\nGuide, mentor, and manage a team of engineers across a broad range of experience levels in developing software capabilities.\n\nIdentify gaps and define staffing needs to develop and deliver decision making and behavior capabilities.\n\nEnsure the decision making, behaviors, and motion planning technical plans align with short term R&D objectives, long term objectives, and the Merlin technology roadmap.\n\nSupport simulation, integration, and flight test activities to validate real-world performance.\n\nCollaborate across Merlin to develop novel systems to solve the toughest problems in aviation and autonomy.\n\nQualifications:\nDegree in Computer Science, Aerospace Engineering, Robotics Engineering, or a related subject.\n\nStrong experience developing software for autonomous systems.\n\nSeveral years of experience providing direct management and technical leadership to a team of at least 10 engineers at different levels.\n\nBroad understanding and familiarity with in one or more of the following:\nMission management frameworks such as behavior trees, hierarchical task networks, state machines, petri nets.\n\nSingle- and multi-vehicle autonomy, resource allocation, and decision making algorithms.\n\nAirborne contingency and emergency management.\n\nMachine learning for complex decision making and behavior generation.\n\nFamiliarity with modern software development workflows and practices, including version control, pipelines, and unit testing, and peer review.\n\nExperience with overall product development cycle, including design, testing, and troubleshooting at the system level as well as at the software component level.\n\nProficiency writing both Python and C++.\n\nFamiliarity with simulation software, especially aircraft simulation.\n\nExperience with proposal writing and technical roadmap development.\n\nNice to Have:\nExperience with Zenoh, ROS, DDS, or similar middleware for robotics/autonomy systems.\n\nExperience with government open architectures such as A-GRA, OMS and FACE.\n\nExperience developing and/or using modern avionics systems.\n\nExperience with hardware and software integration and debugging.\n\nExperience with flight testing (uncrewed or crewed aircraft).\n\nAwareness of aviation certification standards such as DO-178.\n\nPilot license and flight experience is a plus.\n\nLogistics:\nWe 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 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