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Merlin Labs (NASDAQ: MRLN) is a publicly traded aerospace and defense company developing autonomous flight systems for aircraft. The company has proven its non-human pilot autonomy platform through hundreds of autonomous flights from global test facilities and is expanding to accelerate development and deployment across commercial and defense aviation.
As a Software Integration Engineer on the Virtual Test Environments (VTE) team, you will develop and maintain hardware-in-the-loop test environments and supporting software that captures, displays, and replays engineering data. Working alongside a Staff Software Integration Engineer, you will help exercise aircraft systems and resolve integration issues before flight.
Key responsibilities include:
- Develop and maintain C++ and Python software connecting aircraft avionics, simulation models, test hardware, and engineering tools
- Implement software components and hardware interfaces within established architecture, contributing to design decisions and code reviews
- Integrate UEI PowerDNA equipment through vendor SDKs, low-level I/O APIs, and hardware abstraction layers
- Configure and validate ARINC 429, CAN, serial, analog, and discrete interfaces using aircraft interface control documents
- Support real-time execution of aircraft simulation models, including periodic processing, I/O exchange, watchdogs, and performance diagnostics
- Develop and maintain telemetry interfaces and data-processing components that collect, validate, record, and distribute data over UDP, TCP, and messaging systems
- Contribute to asynchronous Rust services for telemetry ingestion, timestamp alignment, flight-test displays, and session recording
- Build operator displays and diagnostic tools using GL Studio, React, HTML5, SQL, and web APIs
- Build, deploy, and troubleshoot software on Linux hosts and embedded targets using cross-compilation, packaging, systemd, and Docker workflows
- Write unit tests, Python-based smoke tests, and hardware integration tests; reproduce defects and add regression coverage
- Collaborate with avionics, aircraft software, flight dynamics, and lab engineers to diagnose cross-system issues
- Maintain code and configuration changes in Git, track work in Jira, and document interfaces, deployment steps, and troubleshooting procedures
The role requires regular onsite presence in the Boston lab to integrate and troubleshoot physical equipment. You will work in a hands-on capacity, connecting software, simulation models, and physical hardware while taking ownership of well-defined engineering efforts.
QUALIFICATIONS:
Required:
- Proficiency developing and debugging modern C++ and Python software
- Strong working familiarity with Linux host systems (command-line tools, builds, dependencies, services, permissions, networking, diagnostics)
- Experience integrating software with physical hardware, external systems, or vendor libraries and APIs
- Understanding of resource management, multithreading, synchronization, and error handling in C++
- Familiarity with UDP/TCP networking and binary data formats (byte order, message framing, input validation)
- Familiarity with timing-sensitive software concepts (periodic execution, buffering, latency, watchdogs)
- Ability to interpret technical documentation and interface definitions and translate them into working software and tests
- Experience using Git for collaborative development, automated testing, and Jira or comparable issue tracking
- Familiarity with Docker-based application deployment
- Willingness to learn Rust, embedded Linux deployment, and avionics interfaces with support from experienced engineers
- Ability to work independently on assigned components, communicate progress and blockers, and seek guidance when needed
- Ability to work regularly onsite in Boston lab
Nice to Have:
- Experience with UEI PowerDNA/PDNA SDKs or comparable data acquisition and avionics interface platforms
- Familiarity with ARINC 429, CAN, and RS-232/RS-422 serial interfaces
- Experience with embedded Linux, ARM targets, cross-compilation, CMake, Yocto SDKs, Debian packaging, or systemd services
- Experience with Rust, particularly asynchronous programming using Tokio, serde, or axum
- Experience integrating or troubleshooting low-level I/O APIs, device drivers, or hardware abstraction layers
- Experience with hardware-in-the-loop testing, aircraft simulation, or integrating generated simulation models into C++ applications
- Familiarity with telemetry systems, timestamp synchronization, IRIG time, or flight-test displays such as IADS
- Experience with GL Studio, React and JavaScript/TypeScript, HTML5, SQL, or REST APIs
- Experience with GoogleTest, pytest, parser fuzzing, or continuous integration using GitHub Actions
- Familiarity with ZeroMQ, session recording, S3 storage, or simulation replay workflows
- Aviation experience through professional work, flight simulation, or a pilot's license
