Staff Simulation Platform Engineer at Merlin

Department: Engineering

Compensation

$180,000 – $240,000/yr

Setup: Hybrid
Location: Boston, Massachusetts
Type: Full-time
Level: staff+
Posted: May 6, 2026

Description

Merlin is hiring a Staff Simulation Platform Engineer to design and build scalable simulation infrastructure supporting aircraft modeling, autonomy development, and hardware-in-the-loop validation across multiple aircraft platforms. The role focuses on simulation topology, routing and interface stability, scenario-based validation, CI/CD, reproducibility, and technical leadership, reporting to the Virtual Test Environments Lead. It requires 7+ years of simulation or autonomy validation experience, distributed-systems architecture, interface-contract design, real-time or HIL integration, and Python or C++ proficiency. The position is based on-site at Merlin HQ in Boston, Massachusetts, and does not offer visa sponsorship.

Required Skills

Python
C++
CI/CD
Hardware-in-the-loop
Distributed systems
Scenario validation

Additional Information

Required Previous Experiences: 7+ years building or scaling complex simulation or autonomy validation environments
Experience contributing to or architecting large-scale simulation frameworks
Software architecture experience in multi-component, distributed systems
Experience defining interface contracts, configuration schemas, or API boundaries
Experience integrating simulation environments with real-time or hardware-in-the-loop systems
Hands-on proficiency in Python and/or C++
Ability to modernize or scale legacy engineering toolchains
Preferred Qualifications: Experience developing simulation or virtual validation environments for autonomy systems
Experience designing scenario-based validation systems
Familiarity with SIL/HIL integration
Experience implementing CI/CD in engineering-heavy environments
Background in safety-critical systems