Senior Program Manager (Government & Defense)

Join Merlin, a leading company in the aviation industry, as a Senior Program Manager. In this role, you will lead and scale a portfolio of high-impact autonomy programs, drive program strategy and execution, and serve as the senior point of contact for customer engagements. You will need to have exceptional listening, communication, and stakeholder engagement skills, as well as proven success leading complex programs involving cross-functional teams.

• Own and lead a portfolio of programs, spanning autonomy, integration, flight test, certification, and operational fielding.
• Drive program strategy and execution across multiple internal and external teams—including engineering, product, test, supply chain, and business development.
• Serve as the senior point of contact for customer engagements, program reviews, and critical milestones.
• Ability to context switch between strategy, execution, and team dynamics across multiple efforts
• Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Secret Security Clearance
• Ability to manage a portfolio of programs with resource and time constraints and understand the broader product strategy
• Exceptional listening, communication, and stakeholder engagement skills, with the ability to build alignment between customers and internal teams
• Proven success leading complex programs involving cross-functional teams and technical integration with focus on software development and deliveries
• Experience scaling program teams or building new operating models in high-growth environments
• Active Security Clearance
• Prior experience in autonomy, mission systems, or flight control integration
• 8+ years of experience in program or project leadership roles, ideally with aviation or automotive autonomy experience