Software Integration Engineer
Merlin Labs3 days ago
Boston, MA, USAMid Level
Base Salary
$130k - $175k/yr
Responsibilities
- Develop and maintain C++ and Python software connecting aircraft avionics, simulation models, test hardware, and engineering tools.
- Implement software components and hardware interfaces within an established architecture and contribute 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, including signal mapping, message encoding, update rates, and error handling.
- Support real-time aircraft simulation execution, including periodic processing, I/O exchange, watchdogs, and performance diagnostics.
- Develop telemetry interfaces and data-processing components for collecting, validating, recording, and distributing 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, and add regression coverage.
- Collaborate with avionics, aircraft software, flight dynamics, and lab engineers to diagnose issues across software, networks, and connected hardware.
- Maintain code and configuration in Git, track work in Jira, and document interfaces, deployment steps, and troubleshooting procedures.
Requirements
- Proficiency developing and debugging modern C++ and Python software.
- Strong familiarity with Linux host systems, including command-line tools, builds, dependencies, services, permissions, networking, and diagnostics.
- Experience integrating software with physical hardware, external systems, vendor libraries, or APIs.
- Understanding of resource management, multithreading, synchronization, and error handling in C++.
- Familiarity with UDP/TCP networking, binary data formats, byte order, message framing, input validation, timing-sensitive software, buffering, latency, and watchdogs.
- Ability to interpret technical documentation and interface definitions and translate them into working software and tests.
- Experience with Git, automated testing, and Jira or comparable issue-tracking tools.
- 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 the Boston lab.
- Preferred qualifications include UEI PowerDNA/PDNA or comparable data-acquisition and avionics-platform experience; ARINC 429, CAN, and RS-232/RS-422 familiarity; embedded Linux, ARM, cross-compilation, CMake, Yocto SDKs, Debian packaging, or systemd experience; Rust with Tokio, serde, or axum; low-level I/O, device-driver, or hardware-abstraction experience; hardware-in-the-loop testing; aircraft simulation; telemetry, timestamp synchronization, IRIG time, or flight-test-display experience; GL Studio, React, JavaScript/TypeScript, HTML5, SQL, or REST API experience; GoogleTest, pytest, parser fuzzing, or GitHub Actions; ZeroMQ, session recording, or S3 experience; and aviation experience.
Benefits
- The position is based onsite at Merlin headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts.
- On-site perks include catered lunches, snacks, coffee, tea, and other beverages.
- Benefits include health, dental, life insurance, flexible paid time off, and a 401k with match.
- The company offers professional development support and an innovative, entrepreneurial, team-focused environment.
Tech Stack
Categories
About Merlin Labs
Merlin Labs builds an aircraft-agnostic autonomy system—Merlin Pilot—that acts as a non-human pilot from takeoff to touchdown for civil and defense operators. The company sells AI-powered flight software and integration services, validated through hundreds of autonomous test flights across multiple aircraft. Founded in 2019 and headquartered in Boston, it is listed on NASDAQ (MRLN) and has secured $100M+ in awarded contracts from military customers.