Provides legal oversight for government contract proposals, procurement, negotiations, contract structuring, and FAR/DFARS compliance. Drafts and negotiates commercial agreements including teaming agreements, technology licenses, NDAs, vendor contracts, and supply-chain agreements. Builds contracting templates, playbooks, and processes while supporting broader legal matters such as international government contracting, partnerships, aviation regulation, lobbying compliance, employment issues, and litigation. Serves as the primary legal contact for business requests in a fast-paced, regulated aerospace and defense environment.
About Merlin:
Merlin (NASDAQ: MRLN) is a publicly traded aerospace and defense company building a non-human pilot to deliver full-stack autonomy for any aircraft from takeoff to touchdown. The Merlin Pilot autonomy system powers a growing range of aircraft and mission profiles and has been proven through hundreds of autonomous flights from Merlin's global flight test facilities, including Kerikeri, New Zealand; Quonset Point, Rhode Island; and soon, Bedford, Massachusetts. Headquartered in Boston, Merlin is expanding its organization to accelerate the development and deployment of its autonomy platform, helping customers solve some of aviation's most pressing challenges, from pilot shortages to improving flight safety. Backed by some of the world's leading investors prior to its public listing, Merlin continues to advance the certification and commercialization of autonomous flight across commercial and defense aviation.
About You:
You are a business-minded government contracts attorney who moves comfortably between FAR/DFARS and commercial contract negotiation, and who appreciates that both are vital to our mission to create the Operating System of Record for autonomous flight. Partnering closely with Contracts Management, Program Management, Finance, Revenue and Supply Chain, you bring legal oversight to proposals and procurement, provide guidance to the teams executing existing agreements, and help shape the contracting strategy that lets the business grow with confidence. You have real experience structuring and negotiating complex government contract vehicles, but you are just as capable running a commercial NDA or technology license to signature without hand-holding. This is expected to be your primary area of expertise and the core of the role.
You understand what it means to work inside a small and growing legal department: the range of matters is broad, headcount is lean, and you will be expected to jump in outside your lane when the business needs it. You see gaps in your own experience as places to grow into, not reasons to say no, and you'd rather learn a new area on the job than sit it out until you master the theory.
You are energized by building things that do not exist yet: playbooks, templates, and intake processes that enable a small legal team to operate like a much larger one.
You crave the opportunity to operate with autonomy in a fast-paced, highly regulated environment, and are comfortable being the primary point of contact for a growing volume of inbound legal requests from the business.
Responsibilities:
- Own the legal side of Merlin's government contracts lifecycle: proposal review, procurement strategy, negotiations, contract structuring, and FAR/DFARS compliance.
- Own day-to-day commercial legal activities, serving as the primary point of contact for inbound contract requests from the business: independently draft and negotiate teaming agreements, technology licenses, NDAs, vendor and supply chain, and other commercial agreements.
- Help build the contracting templates, playbooks, and process infrastructure Merlin needs to scale.
- Grow into other legal matters across Merlin as the team's workload requires and as your experience develops, including foreign and allied government contracting (FMS/DCS), strategic partnership and joint development agreements, aviation regulatory questions, government ethics and lobbying compliance, employment-related questions, and litigation support.
Qualifications:
- J.D. and active bar membership in at least one U.S. state.
- 8+ years of substantive legal experience, ideally including significant time in an in-house corporate legal department.
- Real depth in U.S. government contracts law (FAR/DFARS), from the prime, subcontractor, or government/agency side.
- Real depth in commercial contracting, particularly supply chain, procurement, or vendor agreements.
- A resourceful, creative approach to legal problems, and genuine comfort with ambiguity and a fast pace.
- An independent interest in the law and policy related to our technology, not just a willingness to work in the space.
- A generalist mindset: you don't need prior experience in every area beyond your core strengths, but you should want it.
- Eligibility for a U.S. government security clearance.
Nice to Have:
- Experience with Foreign Military Sales (FMS), Direct Commercial Sales (DCS), or other international government contracting frameworks.
- Experience negotiating strategic partnerships, joint ventures, or joint development agreements, including IP allocation between parties.
- Experience with lobbying disclosure, PAC administration, or political law compliance.
- Familiarity with ITAR/EAR export controls.
- Background in IP licensing.
This position is based on-site at Merlin HQ in Boston, MA.
Once you’re here, you’ll enjoy a variety of on-site perks designed to make your workday enjoyable and convenient. These include catered lunches featuring a rotating menu of delicious options, an assortment of snacks to keep you fueled throughout the day, and a selection of beverages, including coffee, tea, and other drinks, to keep you refreshed.
Our goal is to create an environment where you can thrive both professionally and personally
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.
Merlin Labs is an equal opportunity employer and values diversity. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, genetic information, sex (including pregnancy), gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, military service or obligation or disability status, or any other characteristic protected by law. All job offers are contingent upon the candidate passing background and reference checks.
At this time, we are unable to provide visa sponsorship or consider candidates who require visa transfers. Applicants must be authorized to work in the United States without the need for visa sponsorship now or in the future.
In compliance with federal law, all persons hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States and to complete the required employment eligibility verification form upon hire.
If you require reasonable accommodation in completing an application, interviewing, completing any pre-employment testing, or otherwise participating in the employee selection process, please direct your inquiries to: [email protected]
Merlin Labs does not accept unsolicited resumes from any source other than directly from candidates.
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Boston is a powerhouse for technology innovation thanks to world-class research universities like MIT and Harvard and a robust pipeline of venture capital investment. Host to the first telephone call and one of the first general-purpose computers ever put into use, Boston is now a hub for biotechnology, robotics and artificial intelligence — though it’s also home to several B2B software giants. So it’s no surprise that the city consistently ranks among the greatest startup ecosystems in the world.
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