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Merlin Labs (NASDAQ: MRLN) is a publicly traded aerospace and defense company developing autonomous flight systems for commercial and defense aviation. The company has proven its non-human pilot autonomy platform through hundreds of autonomous flights from global test facilities and is expanding operations to accelerate development and deployment.
You will lead strategic sourcing and category management across Merlin's supply chain, owning end-to-end procurement for assigned spend categories including airborne hardware, engineering software, contract labor, flight test assets, and certification partnerships. You will build and execute category strategies backed by market analysis and should-cost modeling, design competitive tenders to expose cost and capability differences, and manage the supply base by rationalizing toward best-in-class suppliers and reducing single-source exposure.
Key responsibilities include negotiating complex contracts (master pricing agreements, NRE/development agreements, SOWs, software licenses) while ensuring compliance with ITAR/EAR and FAR/DFARS requirements; maintaining audit-ready purchase files for internal, external, and government review; engaging cross-functionally with Engineering, Program Management, and Quality on specifications, make-or-buy decisions, and supplier qualification; and mitigating supply risk through long-lead item management, obsolescence tracking, and capacity planning. You will establish category baselines, measure KPIs (spend under management, competitive award rate, savings, cycle time, single-source exposure), and report on supply chain performance.
You thrive at the intersection of strategy and execution, are equally comfortable building category strategy and negotiating contracts, and hold suppliers to a high bar on performance and compliance. You spot supply risk before it becomes program risk and keep work moving in a regulated aerospace and defense environment where compliance and audit-readiness are non-negotiable.
REQUIREMENTS:
- Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Supply Chain, Business, Economics, or similar field
- 6+ years of experience in commodity management, sourcing, or procurement
- Minimum 3 years of experience in aviation or aerospace industry (commercial aviation, defense aerospace, space, MRO, airline, or aerospace OEM/supplier)
- Demonstrated ownership of complete tender cycles for medium-to-high value, long-term contracts from sourcing strategy through award, contract finalization, and ERP execution
- Proficiency interpreting and negotiating risk in terms and conditions, with judgment to escalate to Legal
- Working knowledge of aerospace and defense procurement compliance, including U.S. import/export controls (ITAR/EAR) and government contract flow-downs (FAR/DFARS)
- Technical proficiency with ERP systems and analytical tools; advanced Microsoft Office skills (Excel, PowerPoint, Word); strong analytical and problem-solving ability
- Government contracting ERP experience (Deltek Costpoint, SAP, or similar) strongly preferred
- Proactive approach with clear verbal and written communication; ability to manage deadline pressure, ambiguity, and change
NICE TO HAVE:
- Master's degree in Engineering, Supply Chain, Economics, Business, Mathematics, or Statistics
- Industry-recognized certification (CPSM, CIPS, CSCP, PMP)
- Familiarity with AS9100, FAA/EASA airworthiness approvals, DO-178C and DO-254 standards
- Experience sourcing hardware and software for the same product, including licensed software and certification artifacts
- Early-stage aerospace or autonomy company experience, or support for certifiable autonomy programs (UAM, UAV, optionally piloted aircraft)
- Supply chain scaling experience in startup or small program environments
- Multi-site or international supply base experience
- Private pilot license or hands-on aircraft experience
