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July 16, 2026
Senior/Staff Electrical Engineer, Dropbox
Senior • On-site
South San Francisco, CA
Zipline is the world's largest and most experienced drone delivery service. The company designs, builds, and operates autonomous logistics systems that deliver food, medicine, medical supplies, and retail products globally. Operations span four continents with millions of completed deliveries and more than 140 million commercial autonomous miles flown.
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, and environmental protection so untrained users can hand off packages to autonomous delivery systems.
As a Senior or Staff Electrical Engineer on Dropbox, you will own critical electrical systems from architecture and component selection through detailed design, validation, production ramp, and fleet operation. Responsibilities include power distribution, motor and actuator interfaces, sensing, PCBAs, wiring harnesses, connectors, grounding, protection, communications, and system diagnostics.
Dropbox operates unattended in demanding field environments and around untrained users. Its electrical systems must tolerate weather, installation variation, power disturbances, mechanical motion, contamination, service activity, and repeated daily operation while remaining safe and easy to diagnose.
You will work closely with Mechanical Engineering, Firmware, Systems, Safety, Test, Reliability, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Deployment, and Operations. This is a hands-on individual-contributor role with responsibility for both detailed electrical design and system-level product outcomes.
At the Staff level, responsibilities additionally include setting electrical architecture and technical direction across Dropbox generations, establishing reusable design standards, and leading resolution of complex cross-functional problems.
What You'll Do
- Own critical Dropbox electrical systems from requirements and architecture through production release and field deployment
- Develop electrical architecture for power distribution, control electronics, sensors, actuators, user interfaces, communications, and service diagnostics
- Translate product behavior, safety analyses, environmental conditions, mechanical interfaces, and field workflows into electrical requirements
- Define electrical success metrics including power consumption, sensing coverage, fault-detection performance, environmental margin, production yield, and field reliability
- Select and integrate sensors, motors, actuators, motor drivers, power supplies, converters, protection devices, connectors, harnesses, and communications interfaces
- Design or guide development of PCBAs, schematics, layouts, cables, wiring harnesses, interconnects, and electrical assembly documentation
- Own grounding and shielding strategy, connector architecture, thermal derating, and protection coordination
- Design for electrical faults including overcurrent, short circuit, reverse polarity, overvoltage, undervoltage, brownouts, electrostatic discharge, and communication loss
- Partner with Safety and Systems engineers to ensure hazards are controlled through architecture, protection, sensing, and fault response
- Work closely with Mechanical Engineering on electronics packaging, cable routing, environmental sealing, thermal management, strain relief, and serviceability
- Partner with Firmware engineers to define sensor behavior, actuator interfaces, motor control, telemetry, and recovery
- Perform circuit analysis, power analysis, signal-integrity assessment, tolerance analysis, derating, and worst-case analysis
- Build prototypes, perform bench testing, and use data to reduce technical risk
- Develop validation plans covering electrical safety, environmental exposure, thermal cycling, vibration, ESD, EMI/EMC, and fault injection
- Lead design reviews, DFMEAs, hazard reviews, and readiness reviews
- Produce schematics, drawings, specifications, interface-control documents, BOMs, test requirements, and release documentation
- Work directly with suppliers to qualify components, PCBAs, harnesses, connectors, power systems, and manufacturing processes
- Support prototype builds, validation phases, production validation, and manufacturing ramp
- Investigate test, production, and field failures using telemetry, logs, electrical measurements, and root-cause methods
- Mentor engineers and establish electrical design and release best practices
What You'll Bring
- Proven ownership of complex electrical or electromechanical products through architecture, validation, production ramp, and deployment
- Strong electrical engineering fundamentals across analog, digital, power, sensors, motor interfaces, embedded systems, and communications
- Experience designing electronics for systems containing motors, actuators, sensors, PCBAs, harnesses, connectors, and embedded controls
- Experience with power-distribution, grounding, shielding, protection, and interconnect architectures
- Experience with schematic capture, PCB design reviews, component selection, tolerance analysis, and worst-case circuit analysis
- Hands-on proficiency with oscilloscopes, multimeters, power analyzers, electronic loads, logic analyzers, current probes, and data-acquisition equipment
- Experience debugging issues involving power, signal integrity, connectors, sensors, communications, or firmware interaction
- Experience designing for outdoor, industrial, automotive, aerospace, robotics, appliance, or similarly demanding environments
- Knowledge of environmental protection, thermal derating, ESD, EMI/EMC, ingress, corrosion, vibration, and connector reliability
- Experience defining verification plans, fault-injection tests, and production acceptance criteria
- Experience working directly with PCB, harness, component, and contract-manufacturing suppliers
- Experience implementing DFM, DFT, end-of-line testing, calibration, and manufacturing controls
- Ability to analyze telemetry or test data using Python, SQL, MATLAB, or equivalent tools
- Strong systems judgment and ability to identify cross-domain root causes
- Clear written, verbal, and visual communication skills
- Role is onsite in South San Francisco with some travel required
- Periodic off-hours support may be required during critical production and deployment activities
Nice to Have
- Experience with motor-control electronics, position sensing, safety interlocks, or automated mechanisms
- Experience with batteries, solar power, or distributed low-voltage systems
- Experience with functional safety principles or electronics operating around untrained users
- Experience developing remote diagnostics, fleet-health monitoring, or automated failure-detection tools
- Firmware experience in C/C++ or debugging embedded systems
- Experience with high-volume electromechanical products
What Success Looks Like
- Electrical systems meet safety, reliability, environmental, and production requirements
- Electrical releases achieve strong production yield without recurring integration issues
- Sensors, actuators, interlocks, and fault responses operate predictably across configurations
- Field electrical failures are detected quickly and permanently corrected
- Manufacturing and deployment teams can build, install, and service systems efficiently
- Electrical architecture supports future product capabilities without unnecessary redesign
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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. 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South San Francisco, CA
🏢 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.
Technology
New offer

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
New offer

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.
Technology

Zipline
Software Engineering Manager, Launch & Scale Platform
Senior
On-site
South San Francisco, CA
🏢 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.
Technology

Zipline
Senior Integration and Test Software Engineer - Long Range Plaform
Senior
On-site
South San Francisco, CA
🏢 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.
Technology
New offer

Zipline
Senior Mechanical Engineer
Senior
On-site
South San Francisco, CA
🏢 Summary: Mechanical Engineer role focused on designing, validating, and scaling structural and electromechanical hardware for long-range autonomous delivery aircraft. The position involves end-to-end ownership of airframe subsystems, from CAD design and simulation through production ramp and field sustainment, with close collaboration across engineering, manufacturing, and operations teams. 🗂️ Requirements: 4+ years of experience designing electromechanical and structural assemblies, Experience owning complex subassemblies through full product lifecycle, Advanced CAD proficiency, Strong GD&T knowledge, Experience creating manufacturing-ready drawings and inspection criteria, FEA and mechanical analysis experience, Hands-on prototyping and validation testing experience, Supplier engagement and DFM experience, Experience with structural components, mechanisms, composites, or metallic assemblies, Ability to travel to suppliers, production sites, and field depots 📃 Skills: CAD, GD&T, FEA, DFM, NX, Composites, Injection, Stamping, Extrusion, Prototyping, Manufacturing, Simulation 🏢 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 an owner-oriented Mechanical Engineer joining Zipline's Long Range Platform team to design, validate, and deliver critical airframe and electromechanical hardware used in long-distance autonomous delivery aircraft. This role sits at the intersection of field logistics, fleet operations, and mass production: your work will reduce aircraft weight, increase structural and mechanism reliability in harsh field conditions, and enable higher sortie rates for customers who depend on predictable, high-uptime deliveries. You will operate with end-to-end hardware responsibility—from requirement definition and architecture trade-offs through prototype validation, supplier integration, production ramp, and in-field sustainment—and you will make decisions that directly affect fleet availability, safety margins, and cost-per-delivery. What You'll Do - Own specific Long Range mechanical subsystems (e.g., wing/fuselage primary structure, deployable delivery mechanism, landing gear and attach fittings, or integrated payload-mount assemblies) and be the primary technical lead from concept to sustained production. - Translate operational and fleet requirements into quantitative mechanical performance targets and design architectures. - Produce and iterate detailed CAD models, tolerance stacks, GD&T, and manufacturing drawings enabling supplier quotes, DFx reviews, and inspection plans for volume production. - Run first-principles analysis and engineering simulation (FEA, buckling, fatigue, jointed-assembly loads) and validate with bench tests and flight-representative test rigs. - Prototype rapidly, lead hands-on build-test-iterate campaigns, and produce test plans tied to release criteria and field reliability goals. - Define and own verification matrices, failure modes and corrective actions through qualification and production ramp. - Partner with Electrical, Software, Integration/Test, Manufacturing Engineering, Supply Chain, and Operations teams to resolve cross-functional tradeoffs and production issues. - Support field deployments and production startups as required. What You'll Bring - 4+ years industry experience designing electromechanical and structural assemblies. - Demonstrated ownership of complex subassemblies through full product cycles. - Deep CAD fluency and rigorous GD&T skills. - Experience producing manufacturing-ready drawings and inspection criteria. - Proven track record applying FEA, hand calculations, tolerance analysis, and test correlation. - Hands-on prototyping and test experience. - Direct supplier engagement experience. - Experience with structural components, mechanisms, fastener systems, composites, or metallic airframe-scale assemblies. - Willingness and ability to travel as needed. - Strong end-to-end ownership mindset. Location & Logistics This role is based in the listed Long Range engineering location (on-site or hybrid as specified by the team). Expect regular on-site collaboration during critical phases and periodic travel to supplier/manufacturing sites and field depots. Nice-to-have - Aerospace or automotive validation experience. - Composites design experience. - High-efficiency electric powertrain exposure. - NX proficiency. - Experience scaling prototypes to injection molding, stamping, or extrusion processes. 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 candidates who may not meet every qualification listed.