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Abstract The American lobster (Homarus americanusMilne Edwards, 1837) is an ecologically and economically valuable invertebrate in the Northwest Atlantic. Its geographic range is shifting northward due to ocean warming. While extensive research on the thermal tolerance of this species has been performed on adults and postlarvae, there have been few studies focused on its multiple early developmental stages. We applied transcriptomics to investigate transcriptional changes in laboratory-reared American lobster developmental stages I through V. Changes in gene expression were contextualized in the ontogenetic shifts in distribution that these different life history stages experience, with highly active stage IV exhibiting increased cellular metabolism and shell-building processes. We identified differential expression of transcripts related to thermal and UV stress in planktonic stages I-IV compared to benthic stage V, which suggests innate molecular defenses against these stressors. Together, these findings further our understanding of crustacean development in the context of climate change and can be used to inform population distribution modeling efforts. They also provide evidence for the need to investigate the potential trade-offs associated with responding to a changing environment on a stage-by-stage basis.