System Test Automation Intern (Fall 2026)

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.

System Validation Team

The System Validation Team ensures the performance, reliability, and safety of Zipline's integrated systems, including the Zip, Droid, and Dock. The team specializes in Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) testing and automated pipelines that validate software in simulated environments before flight deployment.

The Role

As a System Validation Intern, you will contribute to testing and validating Zipline's complete system of systems. You will help build and refine automated testing pipelines, support software validation, and work on reliability and safety for mission-critical logistics systems.

What You'll Do

• Assist in executing Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) tests and flight tests.
• Collaborate with engineers to build and refine automated software testing pipelines.
• Design and improve stress-testing tools for off-nominal system behavior.
• Analyze and troubleshoot hardware and software issues uncovered during testing.
• Design and execute system-level validation plans.
• Develop scripts and tools to support automated testing workflows.
• Support reliability and quality validation for safety-critical systems.

What You'll Bring

• Completed second year of undergraduate studies; Master's and PhD students are eligible.
• Understanding of engineering design fundamentals and root-cause analysis.
• Experience writing Rust or Python scripts for automation or testing.
• Hands-on experience with Python testing tools such as Pytest or Unittest.
• Familiarity with software or hardware validation plans.
• Experience debugging and triaging technical issues.
• Understanding of electrical systems including motors, sensors, cameras, and onboard computers.
• Experience working in Linux environments and using command-line tools.
• Familiarity with Git, Bazel, and Jira.
• Basic networking knowledge including RPC and sockets.
• Experience with CI tools such as GitHub Actions or Buildkite.
• Strong attention to detail and organizational skills.

Additional Information

This internship is a full-time, in-person position based in South San Francisco from September to December 2026.

Zipline is committed to equal opportunity employment and providing reasonable accommodations during the interview process.