Flight Test Engineer Intern (Fall 2026)

About the Flight Test Engineering Team

Zipline's Flight Test Engineering team designs flight test courses and methods to support overall system validation. The team develops custom flight control software for complex maneuvers and collaborates with development engineers to create rigorous tests for critical edge cases. Work spans simulation, hardware testing, data-driven analysis, and system-level evaluations supporting global deployments.

The Role

As a Flight Test Engineering Intern, you will analyze flight test data logs to determine test effectiveness, identify root causes of success or failure, and track performance trends. You will contribute to the design of new flight test campaigns, defining test scope, methods, and data post-processing in collaboration with cross-functional engineering teams. This role provides hands-on experience validating complex autonomous robotic systems at scale.

What You'll Do

• Analyze flight test data logs using custom scripts (Python, Databricks, SQL) to identify anomalies, assess reliability, track performance trends, and perform regression analyses.
• Design, oversee execution, and review results of software validation and flight test campaigns to ensure new features perform as intended and prevent hardware/software regression.
• Test and monitor the development branch daily to surface instability and potential issues.
• Collaborate with GNC, Aerodynamics, Structures, and Systems Engineering teams to ensure system-level requirements are clear, measurable, and ready for flight testing.
• Develop new test infrastructure, including instrumentation systems (e.g., load cells, vision systems) or modified flight control software, to collect additional in-flight data.
• Maintain documentation, dashboards, and SQL queries to track test progress and operational efficiency.
• Support and potentially own aspects of flight operations including preflight, launch, flight maneuvers, and incident reporting.

What You'll Bring

• Completion of at least the second year of undergraduate studies in a relevant engineering or technical field (Masters and PhD students eligible).
• Strong mathematical and physics foundation.
• Experience in autonomous vehicle or robotic system integration and testing.
• Experience in data processing and visualization.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.

What Else You Should Know

This is a full-time, in-person internship based in South San Francisco from September to December. The hourly rate is $40 per hour. Additional benefits may include relocation support, housing stipend, overtime pay, and paid sick time, subject to local requirements.