Yep! You can change the side the mechs are on at the top of their details panel when you click one in the map editor (player/AI enemy/AI ally/none). The AI isn’t great at using all player systems, though.
Could you give me any more details? I just did a quick test and yeah it does look like you need at least one player-controlled unit on the field or it’ll wrap up after a round or two. Is that what you’re seeing?