July 12, 2026

Senior Integration and Test Software Engineer - Long Range Plaform

Senior • On-site

South San Francisco, CA

About Zipline

Zipline is the world's largest and most experienced drone delivery service. We are on a mission to serve all humans equally by ensuring access to food, medicine and essential goods anytime, anywhere. We design, build, and operate the world's largest autonomous logistics system, delivering critical supplies quickly and reliably.

Our customers include healthcare systems, governments, retailers, restaurants, and global businesses who rely on us to save lives, reduce emissions, increase economic opportunity, and provide rapid delivery services.

Our system strengthens supply chains, reduces congestion, and gives people time back. With more than 140 million commercial autonomous miles safely flown, Zipline is redefining access to healthcare, consumer products, and food across the globe.

About You and The Role

You will be the Senior Integration & Test Software Engineer (Long Range Platform) owning software-driven test systems that validate long-range delivery drones across engineering, manufacturing, and fleet operations. The role focuses on designing, deploying, and sustaining turnkey SIL/HIL/EOLT test rigs and automation that improve throughput, defect rates, and fleet reliability.

What You'll Do

  • Own end-to-end delivery of test systems including SIL, HIL, EOLT, and bench rigs from prototype through production deployment and sustainment.
  • Define and meet measurable targets for test coverage, failure detection, test cycle time reduction, and defect escape reduction.
  • Architect, implement, and maintain software for test orchestration, data capture, analysis, and reporting.
  • Build automation and dashboards used by manufacturing engineers and test operators.
  • Integrate software with hardware under test including board bring-up, sensor calibration, motion systems, power systems, and DAQ instruments.
  • Lead root-cause investigations and corrective action plans for production and test failures.
  • Define test standards, validation protocols, and CI pipelines that gate production and flight system changes.
  • Collaborate with embedded firmware, hardware, manufacturing engineering, supply chain, and field operations teams.
  • Support on-call production escalations and travel to manufacturing or distribution sites when required.

What You'll Bring

  • 5+ years of experience building integration and test software interfacing with hardware.
  • Strong Python and C/C++ programming skills.
  • Linux system administration experience.
  • Experience with CI, Git, and test automation frameworks.
  • Hands-on embedded systems experience including board bring-up and instrumentation.
  • Experience with HIL, SIL, and EOL test architectures.
  • Experience delivering automation solutions for factory or safety-critical environments.
  • Track record of delivering measurable improvements in throughput, yield, reliability, or defect reduction.
  • Ability to work under high-impact deadlines with on-call rotations and site travel.
  • Ability to work onsite regularly in South San Francisco.
  • Ability to drive cross-functional technical decisions and define acceptance criteria.
  • Visa sponsorship available.

Additional Information

Zipline is an equal opportunity employer and values diversity and inclusion across its workforce.

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On-site

South San Francisco, CA

🏢 Summary: Internship focused on system validation for autonomous drone logistics systems, including Hardware-in-the-Loop testing, flight test automation, and software validation. The role involves building automated testing pipelines, troubleshooting hardware and software issues, and supporting reliability and safety for mission-critical systems. Candidates will gain hands-on experience with Linux-based testing, CI workflows, and multidisciplinary engineering collaboration. 🗂️ Requirements: Completed second year of undergraduate studies, Understanding of engineering design fundamentals, Experience with Rust or Python scripting, Experience writing Python tests with Pytest or Unittest, Familiarity with test plans or validation plans, Experience debugging hardware and software issues, Understanding of electrical systems, Experience working in Linux environments, Familiarity with Git, Familiarity with Bazel, Familiarity with Jira, Understanding of networking concepts such as RPC or sockets, Experience with CI tools, Ability to work full-time in-person in South San Francisco 📃 Skills: Rust, Python, Pytest, Unittest, Linux, Git, Bazel, Jira, RPC, Sockets, GitHub, Buildkite, CI, HIL, Networking 🏢 Description: About Zipline Zipline is the world's largest and most experienced drone delivery service. We are on a mission to serve all humans equally by ensuring access to food, medicine and essential goods anytime, anywhere. We design, build, and operate the world's largest autonomous logistics system, delivering critical supplies quickly and reliably. Today, Zipline operates on four continents, makes a delivery somewhere in the world every 30 seconds, and has completed millions of deliveries to date, including blood, vaccines, medical supplies, food, and retail products. Our customers include the world's largest and most prominent healthcare systems, governments, retailers, restaurants and global businesses who rely on us to save lives, reduce emissions, increase economic opportunity, and provide delivery from point A to point B as fast as possible. The drone is only 15% of what we've built to enable seamless, reliable, global operations. Our system strengthens supply chains, reduces congestion, and gives people time back. With more than 140 million commercial autonomous miles safely flown, Zipline is redefining access to healthcare, consumer products, and food across the globe. We operate at a global scale and are looking for practical problem solvers who thrive on real-world challenges and rapid growth. Our team is motivated by building systems that have a direct, meaningful impact on people's lives and by scaling the future of logistics. We are seeking people who sculpt from first principles, enjoy facing adversity, and can do the impossible at record breaking speeds. System Validation Team The System Validation Team ensures the performance, reliability, and safety of Zipline's integrated system of systems, including the Zip, Droid, and Dock. We specialize in Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) testing, enabling us to validate complex interactions across hardware and software before real-world deployment. Our team builds and maintains automated pipelines that rigorously test software in a simulated environment, ensuring it meets high standards before being tested in flight. By catching potential issues early and refining system behavior, we play a critical role in delivering reliable, safe, and efficient solutions that power Zipline's mission to transform global logistics. Our team owns automation of flight testing as well to capture issues before it happens in commercial flights. The Role As a System Validation Intern, you will contribute to testing and validating Zipline's complete system of systems—spanning the Zip, Droid, and Dock. You'll help build and refine automated testing pipelines, ensuring that software meets rigorous quality standards before being tested in flight. Working closely with a supportive and experienced team, you'll develop hands-on experience with cutting-edge tools and technologies while solving meaningful challenges. Your work will play an essential role in ensuring the reliability of systems that deliver life-saving goods worldwide. This role offers a unique opportunity to learn, grow, and make an impact in a fast-paced, mission-driven environment. What You'll Do - Assist in executing Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) tests and flight tests to validate the interaction between Zipline's Zip, Droid, and Dock systems. - Collaborate with a wide range of engineers from different teams to build and refine automated pipelines that test software before it is deployed in flight. - Design and improve tools that stress-test the system in off-nominal cases. - Analyze and troubleshoot hardware and software issues uncovered during testing, contributing to system improvements. - Work alongside a multidisciplinary team to design and execute system-level validation plans. - Develop and enhance scripts and tools to support automated testing workflows. - Learn how to ensure reliability and quality in complex, safety-critical systems, gaining valuable insights into real-world engineering challenges. What You'll Bring - You must have completed the second year of your undergraduate studies. Master's and PhD students are also eligible. - Strong understanding of engineering design fundamentals and the ability to triage and identify root causes of technical issues. - Experience writing Rust or Python scripts to automate tasks or tests, either through coursework or personal projects. - Hands-on experience writing Python tests using tools like Pytest or Unittest. - Familiarity with creating and executing test plans or validation plans for software or hardware systems. - A hands-on approach to problem-solving, including debugging and triaging technical issues. - General understanding of electrical systems such as motors, sensors, cameras, and onboard computers. - Experience working in a Linux environment, including using command-line tools effectively. - Familiarity with tools like Git for version control, bazel for build and test management and Jira for task tracking. - Basic understanding of networking concepts such as RPC or sockets. - Experience working with CI tools like GitHub Actions, Buildkite, or similar. - Strong attention to detail and organizational skills to document test results and track issues effectively. What Else You Should Know This internship is a full-time position, in-person at the South San Francisco office. Fall 2026 interns will work from September to December. Zipline is an equal opportunity employer and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. Zipline is also committed to providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities during the interview process.

Technology

Zipline

Senior Embedded Firmware Engineer - Long Range Platform

Senior

On-site

South San Francisco, CA

🏢 Summary: Senior Embedded Software Engineer role focused on developing and validating safety-critical embedded software for Zipline’s long-range autonomous aircraft platform. The position involves owning embedded subsystems, building diagnostics and testing infrastructure, and improving fleet reliability through real-time systems development and field validation. 🗂️ Requirements: 5+ years experience in embedded or flight-critical systems, Production experience with embedded software in safety- or mission-critical systems, Strong systems-level experience with C++ or Rust, Experience with bare-metal and RTOS environments, Strong Python experience for test and telemetry tooling, Ability to debug hardware/software interactions using oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, JTAG, and telemetry, Experience with fault management and deterministic real-time systems, Ability to own embedded subsystems end-to-end, Bachelor’s degree in EE/CS or equivalent experience, Willingness to travel for field testing and support incident response 📃 Skills: C++, Rust, Python, RTOS, Linux, JTAG, Telemetry, Firmware, Drivers, Embedded, Avionics, Debugging, Oscilloscopes, Datasheets 🏢 Description: About Zipline Zipline is the world's largest and most experienced drone delivery service. We are on a mission to serve all humans equally by ensuring access to food, medicine and essential goods anytime, anywhere. We design, build, and operate the world's largest autonomous logistics system, delivering critical supplies quickly and reliably. Today, Zipline operates on four continents, makes a delivery somewhere in the world every 30 seconds, and has completed millions of deliveries to date, including blood, vaccines, medical supplies, food, and retail products. Our customers include the world's largest and most prominent healthcare systems, governments, retailers, restaurants and global businesses who rely on us to save lives, reduce emissions, increase economic opportunity, and provide delivery from point A to point B as fast as possible. The drone is only 15% of what we've built to enable seamless, reliable, global operations. Our system strengthens supply chains, reduces congestion, and gives people time back. With more than 140 million commercial autonomous miles safely flown, Zipline is redefining access to healthcare, consumer products, and food across the globe. We operate at a global scale and are looking for practical problem solvers who thrive on real-world challenges and rapid growth. Our team is motivated by building systems that have a direct, meaningful impact on people's lives and by scaling the future of logistics. We are seeking people who sculpt from first principles, enjoy facing adversity, and can do the impossible at record breaking speeds.About You and The Role Senior Embedded Software Engineer on the Long Range Platform (South San Francisco). You will own low-level and edge software that makes our long-range aircraft safe, reliable, and operable across a production delivery network. This role sits at the hardware/software boundary: you will be accountable for flight- and safety-critical embedded stacks running on embedded RTOS systems, and for the diagnostics and validation infrastructure that proves those stacks in the field. Your work directly affects aircraft reliability, mission completion rate, and field-maintenance load across a distributed fleet. What You'll Do Own one or more end-to-end embedded subsystems (firmware, drivers, runtime, monitoring) for the long-range platform and be the primary technical owner for design, implementation, and production readiness. Deliver and maintain flight- and safety-critical code on microcontrollers (bare-metal/RTOS): drivers, device bring-up, real-time control interfaces, fault management, and graceful degradation logic. Define and ship measurable reliability and observability outcomes (MTTR, mission success rate, in-field fault rates, test coverage targets). Instrument systems so flight-data can be used to detect regressions and prioritize fixes. Lead hardware-in-the-loop, bench, and field validation for changes you introduce; partner with systems, hardware, test engineering, and operations to create repeatable test plans and failure-insertion exercises. Build and extend tooling for deterministic test, logging, post-flight analysis, and automated regression tests to accelerate safe deployments across the fleet. Triage and resolve high-severity field incidents: drive RCA, implement fixes, and own follow-through until fleet metrics demonstrate resolution. Collaborate closely with avionics, systems engineering, manufacturing, and flight operations to set integration boundaries, certification inputs, and release criteria for software changes. What You'll Bring Title/level: Senior Embedded Software Engineer as stated. Location: South San Francisco HQ Must-have technical skills: substantial systems-level experience shipping embedded production code in C++ or Rust; strong familiarity with Python for test/telemetry tooling. Experience with bare-metal and RTOS environments is required; experience with embedded linux is nice to have. Production & safety experience: proven track record deploying and operating embedded software in safety- or mission-critical systems (aviation, robotics, industrial controls, or similar). Experience with fault management, deterministic real-time requirements, and validation strategies is required. Debugging & hardware bring-up: demonstrated ability to read schematics, bring up peripherals from datasheets, and debug hardware/software interaction using oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, JTAG, and in-field telemetry. Ownership & outcomes: history of owning subsystem delivery end-to-end, shipping repeatable test suites, and meeting quantified reliability targets (provide examples in interview). Logistics & intensity: comfortable with field testing cadence, occasional travel to flight-test sites, and participating in incident response outside standard hours when critical fleet incidents occur. Education & experience: bachelor's degree in EE/CS or equivalent experience; typically 5+ years in embedded/flight-critical systems OR equivalent demonstrated impact. What Else You Need to Know Zipline is an equal opportunity employer and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws or our own sensibilities. We value diversity at Zipline and welcome applications from those who are traditionally underrepresented in tech. If you like the sound of this position but are not sure if you are the perfect fit, please apply!

Technology

Zipline

Head of Systems Engineering

Senior

On-site

South San Francisco, CA

🏢 Summary: Lead the systems engineering team for autonomous drone logistics platforms, defining product architecture, verification, and safety-critical system capabilities at global scale. The role focuses on scaling autonomous aircraft operations, optimizing performance and safety, and driving cross-functional technical roadmaps for complex real-world environments. 🗂️ Requirements: Leadership experience delivering complex technical systems, Experience with safety-critical autonomous systems, Systems engineering expertise, Architecture and interface definition experience, Verification and validation planning experience, Fault-tolerant and fail-safe systems knowledge, Tradeoff analysis using models and metrics, Cross-functional communication skills, Team mentoring and technical leadership 📃 Skills: Systems, Autonomy, Architecture, Verification, Validation, Safety, FaultTolerance, Modeling, Optimization, Metrics, Testing, Regulatory, Hardware, Software, Logistics, Aerospace 🏢 Description: About Zipline Zipline is the world's largest and most experienced drone delivery service. We are on a mission to serve all humans equally by ensuring access to food, medicine and essential goods anytime, anywhere. We design, build, and operate the world's largest autonomous logistics system, delivering critical supplies quickly and reliably. Today, Zipline operates on four continents, makes a delivery somewhere in the world every 30 seconds, and has completed millions of deliveries to date, including blood, vaccines, medical supplies, food, and retail products. Our customers include the world's largest and most prominent healthcare systems, governments, retailers, restaurants and global businesses who rely on us to save lives, reduce emissions, increase economic opportunity, and provide delivery from point A to point B as fast as possible. The drone is only 15% of what we've built to enable seamless, reliable, global operations. Our system strengthens supply chains, reduces congestion, and gives people time back. With more than 140 million commercial autonomous miles safely flown, Zipline is redefining access to healthcare, consumer products, and food across the globe. We operate at a global scale and are looking for practical problem solvers who thrive on real-world challenges and rapid growth. Our team is motivated by building systems that have a direct, meaningful impact on people's lives and by scaling the future of logistics. We are seeking people who sculpt from first principles, enjoy facing adversity, and can do the impossible at record breaking speeds. About You and The Role You will lead the systems engineering team responsible for defining the product capabilities roadmap, decomposing those capabilities into concrete architectures engineering teams can deliver on, and system validation & verification of new capabilities across our current platforms as well as new and novel autonomous aircraft concepts. In 2026, we will scale Platform 2 deliveries per day by 10x while we ramp range by 5x - so, we'll fly 50x further every day than we do today. We'll do that while ramping into significantly more complex airspaces and environmental conditions across 5 metros in the US. Then, in 2027 we'll make a similar 10x+ jump while expanding across the globe. This is a key leadership position to find the right path for enabling safe scaling into complex environments, defining architectures to achieve safety and cost goals over hardware and software revisions, and balancing competing objectives such as range, acoustics, delivery throughput, and cost. What You'll Do Scope: Product level requirements, architecture and decomposition, verification plans, operational performance monitoring of key product attributes and functions including: - Network Optimization & Capacity - Aircraft Autonomy - Flight Performance - Operational Design Domain / Operating Envelope - Flight Reliability and Fault Management Responsibilities: - Serve as a trusted technical expert of high-reliability, safety-critical autonomous systems owning system level architecture, requirements, metrics, and test coverage to ensure product capabilities are delivered safely - Define interfaces and drive cross-disciplinary discussions to align on architectures - Develop frameworks and facilitate trade studies to optimize performance, safety, and cost - Create and maintain systems models and diagrams - Set standards for hardware and software releases and test requirements - Partner with safety engineering and regulatory teams to prove flight worthiness Leadership: - Grow and mentor a world-class Systems Engineering team and adjacent teams - Drive multi-year technical roadmap across the product What You'll Bring - Demonstrated leadership delivering complex technical solutions amid ambiguity and competing priorities - Track record of shipping high-reliability, safety-critical autonomous systems into real-world operation - Deep systems engineering experience with product requirements, architecture, interface definition, system decomposition, verification planning, and validation - Technical judgment in safety-critical autonomy including fail-safe, fault-tolerant, and fail-operative approaches - Experience making tradeoffs among safety, performance, cost, and operational constraints using models, metrics, and test evidence - Ability to develop technical leaders and communicate system decisions across engineering, safety, regulatory, and operational teams What Else You Need To Know Zipline is an equal opportunity employer and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. We value diversity and welcome applications from those traditionally underrepresented in tech. If you like the sound of this position but are not sure if you are the perfect fit, please apply.

Technology

Zipline

Global Supply Manager

Senior

On-site

South San Francisco, CA

🏢 Summary: Global Supply Manager role focused on end-to-end commodity strategy, supplier performance, and sourcing for mission-critical hardware supporting autonomous aircraft and logistics operations. The position involves supplier negotiations, qualification, manufacturing ramp execution, and cross-functional collaboration with engineering and operations teams. This is an onsite role in South San Francisco with regular supplier engagement and international travel. 🗂️ Requirements: 5+ years in sourcing, commodity management, or supplier leadership for high-reliability hardware production, Experience negotiating and managing multi-million-dollar supplier contracts, Technical expertise in electronics, motors, batteries, composites, or precision machining, Experience with supplier qualification and industrialization into volume production, Strong analytical skills in should-cost modeling and supplier risk analysis, Familiarity with AS9100/ISO9001 quality systems and traceability requirements, Ability to work onsite in South San Francisco, Willingness to travel 20–30% internationally and domestically 📃 Skills: Sourcing, Procurement, Negotiation, AS9100, ISO9001, PPAP, FAI, Analytics, Manufacturing, Industrialization, Composites, Electronics, Batteries, Machining, Avionics, SupplyChain, RiskManagement 🏢 Description: About Zipline Zipline is the world's largest and most experienced drone delivery service. We are on a mission to serve all humans equally by ensuring access to food, medicine and essential goods anytime, anywhere. We design, build, and operate the world's largest autonomous logistics system, delivering critical supplies quickly and reliably. Today, Zipline operates on four continents, makes a delivery somewhere in the world every 30 seconds, and has completed millions of deliveries to date, including blood, vaccines, medical supplies, food, and retail products. Our customers include the world's largest and most prominent healthcare systems, governments, retailers, restaurants and global businesses who rely on us to save lives, reduce emissions, increase economic opportunity, and provide delivery from point A to point B as fast as possible. The drone is only 15% of what we've built to enable seamless, reliable, global operations. Our system strengthens supply chains, reduces congestion, and gives people time back. With more than 140 million commercial autonomous miles safely flown, Zipline is redefining access to healthcare, consumer products, and food across the globe. We operate at a global scale and are looking for practical problem solvers who thrive on real-world challenges and rapid growth. Our team is motivated by building systems that have a direct, meaningful impact on people's lives and by scaling the future of logistics. We are seeking people who sculpt from first principles, enjoy facing adversity, and can do the impossible at record breaking speeds. About You and The Role We're hiring a Global Supply Manager to own end-to-end commodity strategy and supplier performance for mission-critical hardware that enables Zipline's autonomous aircraft and global delivery operations. You will operate at the intersection of manufacturing ramp execution, product engineering, and global sourcing—delivering reliable, scalable supply for systems where component failure or late deliveries directly impact flight operations and customer outcomes. This is an in-person role based at our HQ in South San Francisco with regular on-site supplier engagements and 20–30% travel to supplier sites across North America, Asia, and Europe. What You'll Do - Own one or more critical commodity/category portfolios end-to-end: sourcing strategy, supplier selection, contract terms, qualification, ramp to volume, and long-term supplier development. - Set and deliver measurable targets within your portfolio, including cost reduction, supplier on-time delivery improvements, quality reduction targets, qualification cycle-time, and ramp throughput milestones. - Lead competitive source selection and negotiations for multi-year, multi-million-dollar supply agreements. - Manage supplier qualification and performance through PPAP plans, scorecards, QBRs, corrective action plans, and on-site audits. - Integrate with Engineering, Supplier Industrialization, Manufacturing Operations, Materials Planning, and Program Management teams. - Architect and execute risk mitigation strategies and manage supply disruption responses. - Drive supplier cost-down and value-engineering initiatives. - Own supplier disputes, claims, and contractual compliance. What You'll Bring - 5+ years of hands-on sourcing, commodity management, or supplier leadership experience supporting high-reliability hardware production. - Proven track record negotiating and managing multi-million-dollar supplier contracts and delivering measurable outcomes. - Deep technical familiarity with at least one critical commodity area including electronics assemblies, motors, batteries, composites, or precision machining. - Experience driving supplier qualification and industrialization into volume production under aggressive schedules. - Strong analytical skills including should-cost modeling, total-cost-of-ownership analysis, spend segmentation, and supplier risk scoring. - Familiarity with supplier quality systems and regulatory/traceability requirements including AS9100/ISO9001 and FAI. - Must be based in or willing to work full-time onsite in South San Francisco. - Ability to travel 20–30% for supplier and site visits, including international travel. Major bonuses (not required) - Advanced degree in Engineering, Supply Chain, or Business. - Prior experience supporting flight-critical systems or battery supply chains. - Experience managing localization or vertical integration programs and global supplier portfolios. What Else You Need To Know Zipline is an equal opportunity employer and values diversity in the workplace.