Merlin Labs

Electrical Engineer

Merlin Labs$85K — $115K *
Aerospace & Defense
8 - 10 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • BS in Electrical or Aerospace Engineering
  • 10+ years of relevant systems level electrical systems and integration design experience for aviation and aerospace
  • Experience integrating and testing avionics systems
  • Experience with component specification and procurement processes
  • Experience integrating systems with COTS/MOTS modules and custom circuits
  • Knowledge of standard interface protocols (ARINC 429, RS-232, etc.)
  • Familiarity with lab test equipment and wire harness design

Responsibilities

  • Lead avionics systems integration and testing for aircraft autonomy
  • Write and maintain electrical systems requirements and load analyses
  • Develop and execute test plans and verification documents
  • Specify and integrate COTS/MOTS electronic subsystems
  • Prepare electrical design and fabrication documentation
  • Manage supplier performance against requirements and schedules
  • Guide team members on electrical and electronic system architecture

Benefits

  • Health, dental, and life insurance
  • Unlimited vacation policy
  • 401(k) with company match
  • Support for professional development
  • Work/life integration opportunities
Full Job Description
About You:

You are a motivated and detail-oriented electrical engineer who is excited to help develop next-generation autonomous aerospace systems. You thrive in fast-paced startup environments where collaboration, ownership, and technical excellence are critical to success. You bring experience designing and integrating complex electrical systems for aerospace, robotics, autonomous systems, or other high-performance hardware applications.

You enjoy solving challenging technical problems and working across multidisciplinary teams to bring advanced hardware from concept through flight testing and production. You are comfortable balancing rapid development timelines with the rigor required for mission-critical systems and regulated environments. You are hands-on, adaptable, and passionate about building reliable, scalable electrical architectures that enable autonomous flight.

Responsibilities:

  • Design, develop, and integrate electrical systems and hardware for autonomous aircraft platforms including power distribution, avionics interfaces, harnessing, sensors, communications, and embedded electronics
  • Create schematics, wiring diagrams, and electrical documentation to support prototype and production hardware builds
  • Support electrical architecture development, component selection, system integration, and hardware validation activities
  • Collaborate closely with mechanical, avionics, software, systems engineering, manufacturing, and flight test teams to ensure seamless integration across aircraft systems
  • Perform electrical analysis, troubleshooting, and root cause investigations to resolve hardware and integration issues
  • Support prototype assembly, hardware bring-up, integration testing, environmental testing, and flight test operations
  • Develop and execute electrical test plans, validation procedures, and qualification activities
  • Work with suppliers and manufacturing partners to support fabrication, sourcing, and production readiness efforts
  • Contribute to continuous improvement initiatives focused on reliability, manufacturability, weight optimization, power efficiency, and system performance
  • Operate effectively in a fast-moving development environment with evolving priorities and aggressive execution schedules


Qualifications:

  • Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or related engineering discipline
  • 1-3 years of professional electrical engineering experience in aerospace, autonomous systems, robotics, automotive, defense, or other high-performance hardware industries
  • Experience designing and integrating electrical systems for complex electromechanical platforms
  • Experience creating wiring diagrams, wiring harness documentation, and electrical integration drawings
  • Knowledge of power systems, signal integrity, embedded hardware, sensors, communications interfaces, and avionics integration principles
  • Hands-on experience with hardware bring-up, lab debugging, electrical testing, and troubleshooting
  • Familiarity with oscilloscopes, multimeters, logic analyzers, and other electrical lab equipment
  • Understanding of EMC/EMI considerations, grounding strategies, and reliability-focused design practices
  • Strong communication skills and ability to collaborate across multidisciplinary engineering teams
  • Experience supporting autonomous aircraft, UAVs, eVTOL platforms, robotics systems, or flight hardware development is highly preferred
  • Hands-on mechanical prototyping a plus (3d printing, laser cutting, etc.)
  • Familiarity with FAA certification environments, aerospace standards, or regulated development processes is a plus


$85,000 - $115,000 a year

The compensation range provided is a good-faith estimate based on a wide range of factors, inclusive of base salary only. The actual offer will be determined by a variety of factors including the candidate's qualifications, skills, experience, education, and training. Highly competitive equity grants are considered part of Merlin's total compensation package. Additionally, Merlin offers top-tier benefits for full-time employees.

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.

About Merlin Labs

Merlin Labs is an aerospace company that develops autonomous flight technology for small aircraft. The company's technology is designed to enable small planes to fly themselves, reducing the need for human pilots and making air travel more efficient and accessible. The company was founded in 2018 and is based in Menlo Park, California.
Learn more about Merlin Labs
Size
50 employees
Industry
Founded
2018

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