Vice President of Systems Engineering
Merlin Labs
Principal Engineer – Aviation
Critical Software
full-time
Posted on:
Location Type: Hybrid
Location: Lisbon • 🇵🇹 Portugal
Visit company websiteJob Level
Lead
About the role
- Support sales teams in the aviation market and drive customer engagement at a technical level (Pre-Sales & Business Development)
- Lead technical discussions with clients and articulate complex solutions to technical and business audiences
- Identify and develop strategic alliances with OEMs, technology partners, and channel partners
- Develop solution architectures and technical proposals tailored for the aviation industry, ensuring compliance with aviation standards and safety-critical requirements (Solution Design & Business Proposals)
- Provide technical oversight and act as a trusted advisor to project teams during project execution (Delivery Support)
- Participate in strategic projects for customer engagement and technical validation
- Foster knowledge sharing and reuse of proven solutions across aviation projects to promote continuous improvement
- Stay current with aviation industry developments, attend sector events, and incorporate new insights (Driving Innovation)
- Collaborate with Business Development and Marketing on targeted lead generation campaigns and identify strategic partnerships (Lead Generation & Strategic Alliances)
Requirements
- Strong customer orientation and ability to build long-term client relationships
- Proven expertise in aviation systems and safety-critical software
- Excellent problem-solving and solution design skills
- Strong presentation, communication, and technical writing abilities
- Leadership and mentoring capabilities to guide both sales and delivery teams
- Solid understanding of business strategy and aviation market trends
- Ability to work with autonomy and decision-making responsibility in high-stakes environments
- 10+ years of experience in safety critical systems engineering
- At least 5 years of experience in the aviation sector
- Proven experience in pre-sales engineering, solution design, and technical leadership
- Deep understanding of aviation standards and certifications (e.g., DO-178C, ARP4754, DO-326A)
- Demonstrated ability to support both sales activities and project delivery
- Engineering degree in Computer Science, Aerospace, Electrical Engineering, or related field (Master’s preferred)
- Fluency in English (other languages are a plus)
Benefits
- A challenging environment where you can thrive, both personally and professionally
- A real possibility of impacting the lives of millions of people while working in the most critical industries
- The opportunity to make the difference while participating in social initiatives
- Work-life balance: flexible work policies designed to fit your life around your career at Critical
- Fringe Benefits and Well-being especially planned to support you and those who are important to you
- Modern and cosy offices that will make you feel just like home
- Critical Software is proud to be a Benefit Corporation with commitments to society, workers, community and environment
- Equal opportunity workplace with adjustments in the recruitment process for candidates with disabilities or neurodevelopmental conditions
ATS Keywords
Tip: use these terms in your resume and cover letter to boost ATS matches.
Hard skills
safety-critical softwaresolution designpre-sales engineeringtechnical leadershipaviation systems engineeringproblem-solvingtechnical writingpresentation skillscustomer engagementsolution architecture
Soft skills
customer orientationrelationship buildingleadershipmentoringcommunicationautonomydecision-makingcollaborationknowledge sharingcontinuous improvement
Certifications
DO-178CARP4754DO-326A
