Senior / Staff Mechanical Engineer, Dropbox

🏢 Summary: Senior Hardware Test Engineer role focused on validating mechanical and electromechanical systems for autonomous delivery infrastructure. The position involves designing test methods, fixtures, automation, and reliability validation processes for Dropbox package-loading systems used in drone logistics operations. The role includes hands-on testing, failure analysis, instrumentation, and cross-functional collaboration from prototype through fleet deployment. 🗂️ Requirements: Experience owning mechanical or electromechanical hardware validation, Experience designing and building mechanical test rigs and automated cycle-test systems, Strong knowledge of statics, dynamics, kinematics, fatigue, wear, materials, bolted joints, tolerance analysis, and FEA, Advanced CAD and technical drawing skills, Experience with sensors and data-acquisition systems, Experience validating actuators, transmissions, bearings, seals, PCBAs, harnesses, and embedded controls, Expertise in experimental design, accelerated testing, and statistical confidence methods, Experience developing automated test and analysis tools using Python, Experience performing root cause analysis for complex hardware failures, Experience testing environmental durability, structural loads, abuse conditions, and fault recovery, Ability to translate field data into laboratory validation tests, Experience collaborating with suppliers, manufacturing, and engineering teams, Ability to work onsite in South San Francisco and travel as needed 📃 Skills: Python, CAD, FEA, PCBAs, Sensors, Instrumentation, DAQ, Kinematics, Statics, Dynamics, Tolerance, Automation, Embedded, Actuators, Bearings, Thermocouples, Accelerometers, Loadcells, Straingauges, Cameras 🏢 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 Zipline builds and operates autonomous delivery systems that move critical goods reliably and safely. Dropbox is our customer-facing package-loading product that integrates mechatronics, sensors, electronics, access control, user interaction, and environmental protection so untrained users can hand off packages to our droids. Failures or slow service at Dropbox directly increase field escalations, maintenance cost, and delivery delays. As a Senior Hardware Test Engineer on Dropbox, you will own mechanical-heavy test and validation for critical assemblies and system-level behaviors. You will develop the test methods, equipment, automation, and evidence needed to prove that Dropbox meets its functional, safety, reliability, environmental, and lifetime requirements. This is a hands-on individual-contributor role spanning test strategy, fixture design, instrumentation, experimental execution, data analysis, and failure investigation. You will work closely with design engineers while maintaining independent judgment about test adequacy, product risk, and release readiness. What You'll Do - Own end-to-end validation of Dropbox mechanisms, structures, enclosures, electromechanical assemblies, and mechanical interfaces from prototype through fleet deployment. - Translate product requirements, hazard analyses, field conditions, customer workflows, and known failure modes into measurable test requirements and pass/fail criteria. - Develop verification plans with clear coverage, traceability, sample sizes, margins, acceptance criteria, and exit gates. - Design, analyze, build, commission, and maintain test stands, fixtures, environmental setups, automated cycle rigs, and representative system test articles. - Select and integrate instrumentation such as load cells, torque sensors, displacement sensors, accelerometers, strain gauges, thermocouples, cameras, current sensors, and data-acquisition hardware. - Produce drawings, tolerance analyses, safety reviews, BOMs, assembly instructions, calibration procedures, and maintenance documentation for test equipment. - Apply free-body diagrams, hand calculations, tolerance analysis, kinematics, fatigue and wear models, and FEA to design test equipment and establish representative loading. - Develop tests covering structural strength, mechanism performance, high-cycle life, wear, ingress, contamination, corrosion, temperature, humidity, misuse, obstruction, package variation, installation variation, and fault recovery. - Validate interactions among mechanical hardware, actuators, sensors, electronics, embedded controls, packages, users, and droids. - Automate test execution, data collection, health monitoring, fault detection, and reporting using Python or equivalent tools. - Define sample sizes, acceleration factors, confidence levels, and statistical acceptance criteria that produce defensible reliability evidence. - Correlate bench and accelerated tests with field telemetry, returned hardware, service records, and observed environmental conditions. - Identify gaps between laboratory tests and field failures, then update test profiles to improve fidelity. - Lead structured failure investigations using physical inspection, teardown, dimensional measurements, logs, instrumentation, and fault-tree methods. - Distinguish product failures from fixture, instrumentation, software, setup, and operator-induced failures. - Partner with Mechanical, Electrical, Embedded Software, Systems, Reliability, Manufacturing, Operations, and Safety to drive failures to root cause and permanent corrective action. - Establish regression tests that detect hardware and software changes affecting mechanism performance, safety, or reliability. - Present test evidence, unresolved risks, and release recommendations clearly during design and readiness reviews. - Work directly with suppliers and manufacturing partners to validate components, tooling, processes, and production changes. - Mentor engineers and technicians in fixture design, instrumentation, experimental methods, test execution, and failure analysis. - Improve test throughput, repeatability, automation, lab utilization, and failure-to-answer time. What You'll Bring - Proven ownership of mechanical or electromechanical hardware validation through development, qualification, production ramp, and field deployment. - Deep hands-on experience designing and building mechanical test rigs, fixtures, instrumented assemblies, and automated cycle-test systems. - Strong mechanical fundamentals, including statics, dynamics, kinematics, fatigue, wear, materials, bolted joints, tolerance analysis, and FEA. - Advanced CAD and drawing skills for test equipment, fixtures, interfaces, and released hardware. - Practical experience selecting, installing, calibrating, and troubleshooting sensors and data-acquisition systems. - Experience validating mechanisms containing actuators, transmissions, bearings, seals, sensors, PCBAs, harnesses, and embedded controls. - Demonstrated expertise in experimental design, measurement uncertainty, repeatability, sample-size selection, accelerated testing, and statistical confidence. - Experience developing automated test and analysis tools using Python or an equivalent language. - Track record finding root causes for complex or intermittent failures and verifying that corrective actions prevent recurrence. - Experience testing environmental durability, high-cycle mechanisms, structural loads, abuse conditions, and fault recovery. - Ability to translate imperfect field data into representative laboratory tests and actionable engineering conclusions. - Experience working with design teams, suppliers, manufacturing, and technicians to execute test programs under aggressive schedules. - Clear written and verbal communication, including concise test plans, reproducible reports, and evidence-based readiness recommendations. - Location and logistics: this role is in person in South San Francisco with regular work in the lab. Travel to suppliers, manufacturers, test locations, and deployment sites is expected based on program needs. - Periodic off-hours support may be required during critical builds, test campaigns, production ramps, and field escalations. - Traits: mechanical curiosity, disciplined experimental practice, skepticism of weak evidence, calm troubleshooting, and willingness to remain with a problem until it is understood. What Success Looks Like - Delivered repeatable test systems and validation evidence that enabled Dropbox assemblies to meet their reliability and release targets. - Identified critical failure modes before fleet deployment and verified effective corrective actions. - Improved correlation between accelerated testing and field performance. - Reduced test cycle time, manual effort, and failure-to-answer time through better fixtures, automation, and analysis. - Established reusable test methods that increased validation coverage and supported production and fleet expansion. 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!

🏢 Summary: Mechanical Engineering Manager role focused on leading the architecture, development, production, and field performance of Zipline’s customer-facing autonomous delivery Dropbox system. The position combines technical leadership and hands-on engineering across electromechanical systems, manufacturing, validation, and reliability for high-volume deployment. Candidates will manage a mechanical engineering team while driving product architecture, testing, production scaling, and cross-functional integration. 🗂️ Requirements: Experience managing and developing mechanical engineering teams, Experience leading electromechanical products from architecture through production and field deployment, Strong expertise in mechanisms, structures, actuators, sensors, and electronics integration, Knowledge of GD&T, tolerance analysis, materials, fatigue, wear, and FEA, Experience designing around PCBAs, harnesses, connectors, motors, and embedded control systems, Experience with sheet metal, injection-molded plastics, machined parts, castings, and extrusions, Experience with DFM, DFA, supplier engagement, and manufacturing ramp, Experience defining validation plans for safety, reliability, and environmental requirements, Experience resolving production or field failures using root-cause analysis, Strong written, verbal, and visual communication skills 📃 Skills: GD&T, FEA, DFM, DFA, PCBAs, NX, Sensors, Actuators, Motors, Harnessing, Mechanisms, Structures, Kinematics, Firmware, Telemetry, Injection-molding, Sheet-metal, Machining, Castings, Extrusions 🏢 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. 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 Dropbox is Zipline's customer-facing product through which partners load orders for autonomous pickup by Platform 2. Dropbox integrates package loading and validation, mechatronics, controlled access, handoff interfaces, sensors, electronics, environmental protection, and service features. It must be intuitive for an untrained user, safe around people, reliable over high cycle counts, and capable of operating unattended in demanding environments. Zipline is hiring a Mechanical Engineering Manager to lead the team responsible for the mechanical architecture, development, production, and field performance of Dropbox. You will manage and grow a team of mechanical engineers while partnering with Industrial Design, Electrical Engineering, Embedded Software, Systems, Test, Reliability, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Deployment, Operations, and Product. You will own the current product and define the next generation required to support significantly larger deployment volumes. This is a player-coach role. You will set direction, develop engineers, and remain close enough to the hardware to guide architecture, review critical analyses, and help resolve the team's hardest technical problems. What You'll Do - Manage, mentor, and develop a high-performing team of mechanical engineers. - Hire exceptional engineers and establish clear ownership, technical direction, and execution plans. - Own the Dropbox mechanical architecture and roadmap from requirements through field deployment. - Lead development of the enclosure, structure, elevator, lid and access mechanisms, latches, package interfaces, droid interfaces, electronics packaging, harnessing, sealing, and service features. - Translate customer and system needs into mechanical requirements, interface definitions, and validation plans. - Drive system trades across safety, reliability, user experience, throughput, installation, serviceability, manufacturability, cost, and schedule. - Establish system-level datum structures, GD&T, alignment schemes, and tolerance strategies. - Integrate mechanical design with sensing and firmware behavior for motion control, homing, access control, obstruction detection, fault handling, and service recovery. - Guide the selection and integration of motors, actuators, transmissions, bearings, sensors, connectors, PCBAs, harnesses, and seals. - Ensure designs account for fatigue, wear, contamination, water ingress, corrosion, thermal variation, misuse, package variation, and installation variation. - Use first-principles analysis, hand calculations, tolerance analysis, kinematic analysis, FEA, prototypes, and testing to guide decisions. - Drive design reviews, DFMEAs, hazard assessments, fault-tree analyses, and risk-retirement plans. - Define component and system testing for functionality, lifetime, environmental exposure, abuse, obstruction, motion faults, package variation, and droid handoff. - Lead Dropbox through prototype builds, engineering validation, design validation, production validation, and volume ramp. - Partner with NPI, Manufacturing, Quality, Supply Chain, and suppliers to achieve scalable, high-yield production. - Drive DFM and DFA across sheet metal, injection-molded plastics, machined parts, castings, extrusions, seals, and electromechanical assemblies. - Lead responses to test, production, and field failures, including containment, root cause, corrective action, and permanent resolution. - Use field reliability, service, and telemetry data to prioritize product improvements. - Reduce failure rates, recovery time, maintenance burden, installation complexity, and total cost of ownership. What You'll Bring - Past success managing and developing an excellent team of mechanical engineers. - A record of hiring strong engineers and creating a culture of ownership, urgency, and technical rigor. - Experience leading first-of-a-kind electromechanical products from architecture through production and field deployment. - Significant direct technical contributions to mechanical product architecture earlier in your career. - Deep experience with mechanisms, structures, actuators, sensors, electronics integration, and high-cycle moving assemblies. - Strong fundamentals in hand calculations, GD&T, tolerance analysis, materials, fatigue, wear, bolted joints, and FEA. - Experience designing around PCBAs, harnesses, connectors, motors, transmissions, sensors, and embedded control systems. - Experience with sheet metal, injection-molded plastics, machined parts, castings, extrusions, seals, and relevant high-volume processes. - Demonstrated success with DFM, DFA, supplier engagement, inspection planning, and manufacturing ramp. - Experience defining validation plans and demonstrating safety, reliability, environmental, and lifetime requirements. - Experience resolving complex production or field failures through disciplined root-cause analysis. - Strong customer judgment and an understanding that usability, serviceability, and fault recovery are engineering requirements. - Excellent written, verbal, and visual communication skills. Nice to Have - Experience with outdoor, unattended, or customer-facing electromechanical products. - Experience in robotics, industrial automation, material handling, automotive, appliances, kiosks, or similar systems. - Experience designing powered mechanisms that operate around untrained users. - Experience with environmental sealing, drainage, condensation, corrosion, and wide-temperature operation. - Experience using fleet telemetry or reliability data to improve mechanical hardware. - Experience with Siemens NX. - Aerospace-, automotive-, medical-, or similarly rigorous validation experience. What Else You Need to Know Zipline is an equal opportunity employer and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type. We value diversity at Zipline and welcome applications from those who are traditionally underrepresented in tech.

🏢 Summary: Senior Product Integration Engineer role focused on integrating autonomous drone delivery hardware and software into real-world customer environments. The position involves defining product requirements, deployment workflows, firmware behaviors, safety constraints, and scalable site configurations for Zipline’s Dropbox delivery system. The role requires close collaboration across hardware, firmware, deployment, and partner teams to ensure safe, repeatable, and efficient deployments. 🗂️ Requirements: Experience integrating electromechanical or autonomous systems, Experience translating customer workflows into technical requirements, Knowledge of mechanical hardware, sensors, electronics, firmware, software, and controls, Experience defining state machines and system-level requirements, Ability to read building plans and electrical diagrams, Experience evaluating physical and environmental site constraints, Experience collaborating with firmware teams, Ability to reason about safety hazards and mitigations, Ability to model throughput and operational edge cases, Experience leading technical discussions with customers, Ability to produce technical deployment documentation, Strong technical communication skills, Ability to work on-site and travel as needed 📃 Skills: CAD, Firmware, Sensors, Electronics, Software, Controls, Telemetry, Automation, Robotics, Electromechanical, Diagrams, Architecture, Deployment, Configuration, Commissioning 🏢 Description: About Zipline Zipline is the world's largest and most experienced drone delivery service. The company designs, builds, and operates autonomous logistics systems that deliver medical supplies, food, and retail products globally. Zipline operates across four continents and has completed millions of deliveries using autonomous drone technology. About You and The Role Zipline builds and operates autonomous delivery systems that move critical goods reliably and safely. Dropbox is a customer-facing package-loading product that integrates mechatronics, sensors, electronics, access control, user interaction, firmware, autonomy interfaces, and environmental protection so untrained users can hand off packages to drones. Every partner site is different. Window dimensions, building geometry, utilities, traffic, pedestrian access, permitting constraints, employee workflows, and delivery volume all affect how Dropbox can be configured and operated. Product behavior must account for these real-world constraints without creating an unmanageable number of hardware variants or site-specific exceptions. As a Senior Product Integration Engineer, you will act as the technical bridge between partners, Product, Hardware, Firmware, Systems, Safety, and Deployments. You will convert partner workflows and building conditions into product requirements, configuration rules, interface definitions, and product behaviors. You will work directly with partners during site exploration and pilots, define successful integration requirements, and provide Deployment teams with the information required to survey, design, install, commission, and support sites. You will also work closely with Firmware teams to define state machines, interlocks, fault responses, recovery behavior, configuration parameters, and telemetry. This is a hands-on individual contributor role requiring work across partner operations, building drawings, system state diagrams, safety analyses, and firmware design reviews. Success means Dropbox behaves safely and predictably, meets throughput needs, and can be deployed repeatedly without site-specific engineering exceptions. What You'll Do - Own technical product integration for Dropbox across partner workflows, building interfaces, product configuration, firmware behavior, and deployment readiness. - Work directly with partners to understand workflows, operational priorities, and construction constraints. - Lead site fit studies using drawings, surveys, CAD envelopes, representative hardware, and on-site observations. - Translate partner needs into product requirements while maintaining scalable product architecture. - Define supported site archetypes and configurations. - Define building and site constraints including structural interfaces, utilities, clearances, traffic zones, and service access. - Develop and maintain partner integration packages including interface drawings, utility requirements, configuration rules, and site acceptance criteria. - Provide Deployment teams with survey requirements, installation inputs, commissioning steps, and escalation criteria. - Partner with Deployment Engineering to make installation and commissioning safe and repeatable. - Lead technical engagement for partner pilots and use field observations to improve workflows and configurations. - Define operational concepts across loading, validation, handoff, recovery, service, and downtime. - Work with Firmware engineers to develop testable state machines and product behavior. - Define behavior for access control, interlocks, obstructions, power loss, communication loss, and recovery. - Ensure telemetry and recovery actions are visible and understandable to operators and support teams. - Define how site configuration and operating modes are represented and validated in software. - Own cross-functional interface definitions among Dropbox, buildings, users, cloud systems, and deployment tooling. - Translate safety analyses into sensing strategies, operating limits, and configuration constraints. - Define throughput and cycle-time requirements. - Quantify tradeoffs between throughput and safety. - Drive cross-functional technical decisions balancing safety, reliability, cost, and schedule. - Define verification and acceptance evidence for new configurations and site types. - Use pilot feedback and telemetry to improve requirements and reduce downtime and installation exceptions. - Maintain decision records, configuration matrices, state diagrams, and deployment guidance. What You'll Bring - Proven experience integrating complex electromechanical, robotic, industrial automation, or autonomous systems into customer environments. - Experience translating customer workflows into scalable technical requirements. - Strong systems knowledge across hardware, sensors, electronics, firmware, software, controls, and human interaction. - Experience defining concepts of operation, interface-control documents, state machines, fault behavior, and system-level requirements. - Ability to read building plans, site surveys, mechanical drawings, electrical diagrams, and architecture documentation. - Experience evaluating structures, clearances, utilities, environmental exposure, and installation constraints. - Experience partnering with firmware teams to define observable and recoverable behavior. - Ability to reason about safety hazards and mitigations. - Ability to model throughput, cycle time, and operational edge cases. - Experience leading technical discussions with customers and partners. - Ability to produce technical packages executable by deployment and construction teams. - Strong written, verbal, and visual communication skills. - Comfort working at deployment sites and resolving integration issues directly. - This role is in person in South San Francisco and includes travel to partner, supplier, test, and deployment sites. - Periodic off-hours or travel support may be required during pilots and critical deployments. What Success Looks Like - Deployment teams receive accurate information early enough to install sites without repeated engineering escalation. - Controlled Dropbox configurations support the majority of partner and building scenarios. - Partner requirements and site constraints are identified before causing redesign or operational disruption. - Dropbox state machines and fault behavior are safe, predictable, testable, and recoverable. - Safety and throughput requirements are consistently reflected in architecture, firmware, configuration, and site design. - New partner integrations move faster with fewer unresolved assumptions. - Field learnings reduce installation exceptions, failed operations, downtime, and service burden.

🏢 Summary: Test Engineering Manager role focused on leading end-to-end validation and test strategy for Zipline’s Dropbox autonomous delivery system. The position involves managing test engineering teams, building automated test infrastructure, driving reliability and failure analysis, and ensuring safe scalable deployment of electromechanical and robotic products. 🗂️ Requirements: Experience managing test/validation engineers for electromechanical or robotic products, Expertise in test rigs, fixtures, instrumentation, DAQ, and automated test equipment, Knowledge of mechanical hardware, sensors, electronics, embedded software, and controls, Experience with experimental design and statistical analysis, Ability to conduct root-cause analysis and implement corrective actions, Experience building test automation and analysis tools, Strong written and verbal communication skills, Ability to work onsite in South San Francisco, Experience with system-level validation for hardware and software products, Ability to scale test capabilities for production and fleet deployment 📃 Skills: Python, SQL, DAQ, Automation, Instrumentation, Electronics, Sensors, Embedded, Controls, Robotics, Telemetry, Statistics, Hardware, Manufacturing, Reliability 🏢 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 Zipline builds and operates autonomous delivery systems that move critical goods reliably and safely. Dropbox is our customer-facing package-loading product that integrates mechatronics, sensors, electronics, access control, user interaction, and environmental protection to enable untrained users to hand off packages to our droids. The Test Engineering Manager for Dropbox will lead a team that proves Dropbox is safe, reliable, and production-ready across development, qualification, and fleet deployment. You will own the test strategy, infrastructure, automation, and system-level evidence that determine whether Dropbox can scale to hundreds or thousands of sites, and you will convert field learnings into design and process changes that reduce failures in the field. What You'll Do - Own end-to-end test and validation for Dropbox: define measurable success criteria, test coverage, traceability, and exit gates from prototype through production and fleet rollout. - Lead and grow a team of test engineers: set technical standards, assign clear ownership, hire, and mentor engineers to deliver test scope on schedule. - Translate product requirements, hazards, customer workflows, and failure modes into quantifiable test requirements and pass/fail criteria. - Design and execute component, subsystem, and system-level tests that measure functionality, safety, reliability, lifetime, environmental exposure, misuse, packaging variation, and fault recovery. - Build and maintain automated test stands, fixtures, instrumented rigs, DAQ, and analysis tooling to increase test throughput and repeatability. - Define sample sizes, acceleration factors, confidence levels, and statistical acceptance criteria to produce defensible reliability evidence. - Correlate lab and accelerated tests with production and field telemetry to validate test fidelity and update test profiles based on operational data. - Establish regression and release-readiness testing that reliably catches hardware and software regressions before field deployment. - Lead structured failure investigations and root-cause analysis; own corrective actions that feed into design, manufacturing, and deployment changes. - Partner daily with Mechanical, Electrical, Embedded Software, Systems, Reliability, Manufacturing, and Operations to remove test-blockers and align release criteria. - Deliver dashboards and metrics (coverage, MTBF, P95 latency for critical operations, failure rate per 1,000 cycles, test throughput) that make readiness and risk visible to stakeholders. - Improve lab utilization, automation levels, and the speed at which the organization converts test evidence into product decisions. What You'll Bring - Proven experience managing a team of test/validation engineers for complex electromechanical or robotic products through development, qualification, production, and field deployment. - Hands-on expertise designing test rigs, fixtures, instrumentation, DAQ, and automated test equipment; comfortable operating and iterating lab hardware. - Strong systems judgment across mechanical hardware, sensors, electronics, embedded software, controls, and user interactions. - Demonstrated skill with experimental design and statistical analysis: defining sample sizes, confidence intervals, acceleration models, and correlating lab-to-field performance. - Track record driving failure investigations to a root cause and implementing design or process changes that measurably reduce field failures. - Experience building test automation and analysis tools (Python, SQL, or equivalent) and authoring reproducible test reports and dashboards. - Clear written and verbal communication; able to present tradeoffs and readiness recommendations to engineering and product leadership. - Operate at the intensity required by customer-facing, unattended field systems: prioritize rapid learning while enforcing safety and reliability gates. - Location & logistics: this is an in-person role based in South San Francisco; regular onsite presence in the lab is required. Role will include travel to suppliers, manufacturers, test sites, and deployment sites as needed. - Must-haves: proven ownership of system-level validation for hardware+software products and demonstrated ability to scale test capabilities to support production ramp and fleet expansion. 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!

🏢 Summary: Senior Integration & Test Software Engineer role focused on building and owning software-driven SIL, HIL, and EOLT test systems for autonomous delivery drones. The position involves developing automation, integrating embedded hardware and software, supporting production operations, and improving fleet reliability at scale. The role requires strong cross-functional collaboration, production support, and hands-on work with embedded systems and factory test infrastructure. 🗂️ Requirements: 5+ years building integration and test software interfacing with hardware, Strong Python skills, Strong C/C++ skills, Linux system administration experience, Experience with CI and Git, Experience with test automation frameworks, Hands-on embedded systems experience, Experience with board bring-up and instrumentation, Experience with HIL/SIL/EOL test architectures, Experience building automation for factory or safety-critical environments, Ability to own cross-disciplinary test programs end-to-end, Ability to work onsite in South San Francisco regularly, Willingness to participate in on-call rotations and travel up to 20% 📃 Skills: Python, C++, C, Linux, Git, CI, SIL, HIL, EOLT, DAQ, Automation, Embedded, Oscilloscopes, Instrumentation 🏢 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 be the Senior Integration & Test Software Engineer (Long Range Platform) owning software-driven test systems that validate our long-range delivery drones across engineering, manufacturing, and fleet operations. Zipline's mission to deliver critical goods at scale depends on test systems that catch failures before flight and enable rapid, reliable product iterations. You will operate at the intersection of embedded flight code, factory automation, and field operations: designing, deploying, and sustaining turnkey SIL/HIL/EOLT test rigs and automation that directly affect throughput, defect rates, and fleet reliability in production and operational deployments. What You'll Do - Own end-to-end delivery of test systems (SIL, HIL, EOLT, bench rigs) from prototype through production deployment and field sustainment. You are the technical owner accountable for schedules, acceptance criteria, and production readiness. - Ship measurable improvements: define and meet targets such as test coverage %, mean time to detect (MTTD) critical failures, reduction in test cycle time, and defect escape rate reductions tied to your systems. - Architect, implement, and maintain software that runs and orchestrates test sequences, data capture, analysis, and reporting. Build automation and dashboards used by manufacturing engineers and test operators. - Integrate software with hardware under test: board bring-up, sensor calibration, motion systems, power systems, and DAQ instruments. Validate against datasheets and representative hardware in lab and factory settings. - Lead investigations and root-cause analysis for failures discovered in test or production, produce corrective plans, and drive fixes to closure with engineering and operations stakeholders. - Define and enforce test standards, pass/fail criteria, and validation protocols used across products and production lines. Own CI/validation pipelines that gate changes to flight or manufacturing systems. - Work cross-functionally with embedded firmware, hardware, manufacturing engineering, supply chain, and field ops to deploy test systems at scale; coordinate vendor hardware and field installation when required. - Support on-call and production escalation cadence for systems you own. Travel to manufacturing or distribution sites as required. What You'll Bring - Proven history owning cross-disciplinary test or integration programs end-to-end. - 5+ years building integration/test software that interfaces with hardware. - Strong Python and C/C++ skills. - Linux system administration experience. - Experience with CI, Git, and test automation frameworks. - Hands-on experience with embedded systems, board bring-up, instrumentation, and interpreting datasheets. - Experience with HIL/SIL/EOL test architectures. - Experience building automation used in factory or safety-critical environments. - Demonstrated record of delivering systems with measurable impact on throughput, yield, defect reduction, or reliability improvements. - Comfortable with high-impact deadlines, on-call rotations, and occasional site travel. - Ability to drive cross-functional technical decisions and define acceptance criteria. - Ability to work regularly onsite in South San Francisco. - Visa sponsorship available. What Else You Need to Know Zipline is an equal opportunity employer and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type. We value diversity and welcome applications from those traditionally underrepresented in tech.

🏢 Summary: Software Engineering Manager role leading the development of Zipline’s Launch & Scale Platform, focused on building operational systems that support global infrastructure deployment and launch workflows. The position combines hands-on technical leadership, backend platform architecture, workflow automation, and cross-functional collaboration to scale deployment operations from tens to thousands of sites. Candidates will manage engineering teams, define technical strategy, and build integrated systems supporting construction, permitting, asset tracking, and operational readiness. 🗂️ Requirements: 6+ years building software products, 2+ years managing engineers or equivalent leadership experience, Experience leading backend or full-stack operational platforms, Hands-on software engineering and architecture experience, Experience with distributed systems and workflow orchestration, Experience with event-driven architectures and scalable backend services, Experience building robust APIs and system integrations, Experience integrating ERP, GIS, and document systems, Experience modeling operational workflows and complex state transitions, Ability to define and deliver measurable operational metrics, Experience owning production services and operational reliability, Ability to work cross-functionally with operational stakeholders, Willingness to travel regularly within the U.S. 📃 Skills: Python, APIs, ERP, GIS, Backend, DistributedSystems, Workflows, Architecture, Orchestration, EventDriven, Integration, AssetManagement, Construction, Operations, Infrastructure 🏢 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 are the Software Engineering Manager for Zipline's Launch & Scale Platform: the leader who builds the software systems that enable Zipline to rapidly deploy new infrastructure around the world. This team owns the operational platform that turns a new market from an idea into a live, revenue-generating network—covering site acquisition, infrastructure design, permitting, construction execution, deployment tracking, and launch readiness. Your work directly affects Zipline's ability to expand into new countries and deliver time-critical supplies reliably at scale. This is a greenfield product and engineering leadership role. You will establish the product roadmap, technical vision, and engineering foundations for a platform intended to scale Zipline from tens of sites to hundreds or thousands. You will partner closely with Real Estate, Launch Operations, Construction, Hardware, Flight Operations, Commercial, and Manufacturing to replace fragmented manual workflows with a single, auditable, automated operational system that raises launch velocity, predictability, and safety. What You'll Do - Own end-to-end strategy, delivery, and operational reliability for the Launch & Scale Platform. - Define and prioritize the product and technical roadmap with stakeholders, driving decisions by measurable business impact. - Reduce manual coordination across launch workflows and improve predictability of launch dates. - Translate complex operational processes into durable systems with workflow automation and auditability. - Design and operate production services for business-critical launch systems. - Build integrations across ERP, GIS, document management, permitting systems, construction tools, asset management, and internal operational systems. - Ship code, lead architecture reviews, review critical pull requests, and troubleshoot production incidents. - Hire, coach, and scale the engineering organization. - Collaborate with Launch Operations, Construction, Hardware, Real Estate, Flight Operations, and Commercial teams. What You'll Bring - Engineering Manager experience leading backend or full-stack operational platforms. - 6+ years building software products. - 2+ years managing engineers or equivalent leadership experience. - Experience with distributed systems, workflow orchestration, event-driven architectures, APIs, and scalable backend services. - Experience integrating ERP, GIS, and document systems. - Experience modeling workflows, physical assets, and complex state transitions. - Track record of delivering measurable operational outcomes. - Experience owning production services and designing for operational reliability. - Strong technical judgment, prioritization, and stakeholder influence. Logistics This role can be based in South San Francisco or remote within the U.S. Regular travel is expected to collaborate closely with stakeholders, understand operational challenges firsthand, and build software grounded in real-world workflows. Travel may include visits to headquarters, operating sites, and new market launches. Remote team members should expect more frequent travel, potentially a couple of times per month. What Else You Need To Know Zipline is an equal opportunity employer and values diversity and inclusion in the workplace.

🏢 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 - Senior Embedded Software Engineer level experience. - 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. - Experience with embedded Linux is nice to have. - Proven track record deploying and operating embedded software in safety- or mission-critical systems such as aviation, robotics, or industrial controls. - Experience with fault management, deterministic real-time requirements, and validation strategies. - Demonstrated ability to read schematics, bring up peripherals from datasheets, and debug hardware/software interaction using oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, JTAG, and in-field telemetry. - History of owning subsystem delivery end-to-end, shipping repeatable test suites, and meeting quantified reliability targets. - Comfortable with field testing cadence, occasional travel to flight-test sites, and participating in incident response outside standard hours when critical fleet incidents occur. - 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. 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!

🏢 Summary: Billing operations role focused on partner financial onboarding, payout processing, billing system optimization, reconciliations, and dispute resolution within a fast-paced logistics and technology environment. The position requires strong financial systems expertise, advanced Excel skills, and experience with ERP, billing, and analytics tools to improve and scale financial operations. 🗂️ Requirements: 3+ years of experience in billing operations, financial systems, or corporate accounting, Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, or related field, Advanced Excel proficiency, Experience with NetSuite, Oracle, or similar Tier 1 ERP systems, Experience with financial products and billing engines, Strong data analytics capabilities, Ability to manage competing priorities in a fast-paced environment, Strong written and verbal communication skills 📃 Skills: Excel, PowerQuery, VLOOKUP, PivotTables, NetSuite, Oracle, FISPAN, Stripe, SQL, Mode, Tableau, PowerBI, ERP 🏢 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. What You'll Do - Support and manage the financial onboarding of new merchants and partners into the financial system ecosystem, ensuring compliance with all requirements and actively following up on missing information. - Manage the generation, validation, and initiation of weekly and monthly partner payout statements, ensuring high accuracy and compliance. - Assist with User Acceptance Testing (UAT) and system architecture enhancements for new billing engine implementations. - Deep-dive into merchant disputes and systemic billing errors, identifying root causes and assisting with implementing long-term system fixes. - Prepare month-end close journal entries and support senior billing operations as needed. - Continuously evaluate current billing workflows to identify process improvements and eliminate manual interventions. - Build and maintain positive professional relationships with internal and external stakeholders. What You'll Bring - 3+ years of experience in billing operations, financial systems, or corporate accounting. - Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, or a related field. - Advanced Excel proficiency including Power Query, VLOOKUPs, and Pivot Tables. - Experience with NetSuite, Oracle, or similar Tier 1 ERP systems and financial products such as FISPAN, Stripe, and billing engines. - Familiarity with SQL or data visualization tools such as Mode, Tableau, or PowerBI. - Strong organizational, communication, and analytical skills. - Ability to navigate ambiguity, manage competing priorities, and translate complex technical issues into financial impacts. What Else You Need to Know Zipline is an equal opportunity employer and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type. We value diversity and welcome applications from those who are traditionally underrepresented in tech.

🏢 Summary: Internship focused on developing perception and sensing systems for autonomous drone operations, including prototype data collection platforms, embedded software, and CAD-based mechanical design. The role involves building and testing sensing solutions using radar and camera technologies in real-world environments. 🗂️ Requirements: Completed second year of undergraduate studies, Strong mechanical engineering fundamentals, Proficiency in CAD design, Embedded software development experience, Experience with Arduino or Raspberry Pi devices, Ability to design mechanical, electrical, and software systems, Experience with radar or camera sensors, Ability to independently prototype and test solutions 📃 Skills: CAD, Arduino, Raspberry, Radar, Camera, Embedded, Software, Mechanical, Electrical, Sensors 🏢 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. About the Zip Perception Team The Zip Perception team owns the onboard and offboard perception systems that detect and track airborne and ground obstacles. This is a multi-disciplinary team that is involved in developing the embedded sensing systems through detection, tracking, and prediction. Your work here would help define how we prepare the Zipline fleet to perform mission-critical deliveries in complex, real-world environments. The Role As a member of the Zip Perception Team, you'll work towards helping develop new sensing modalities to improve the safety of our Zip aircraft. You'll be able to take ownership on designing a prototype data collection platform, from the CAD design, to the software powering the platform. This role is focused on driving solutions from ideation through field testing. What You'll Do - Design, build, and run prototype data collection rigs to provide key data for training and live detections. - Use 2D and 3D CAD tools to design parts, assemblies and fixtures based on sound engineering principles. - Develop software to ingest sensor data and integrate with other software components. - Use resources creatively to design, build, and test prototypes to gather quick learnings. - Work cross-functionally with other Zipline teams and suppliers to review designs. What You'll Bring - Completed second year of undergraduate studies; Masters and PhD students are also eligible. - Strong mechanical engineering fundamentals with the ability to independently size and integrate components. - High proficiency in CAD with experience delivering multiple projects. - Solid embedded software background with experience using Arduino, Raspberry Pi, or similar embedded devices. - Experience working on projects involving mechanical, electrical, and software design. - Ability to adapt quickly and simplify solutions when appropriate. - Previous experience with radar or camera sensors. What Else You Should Know - Full-time, in-person internship based in South San Francisco from September to December 2026. - Compensation is $50 per hour. - Additional benefits may include relocation support, housing stipend, overtime pay, paid sick time, and other applicable benefits. - Zipline is an equal opportunity employer and provides reasonable accommodations during the interview process.

🏢 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.