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Zipline

Builds and runs autonomous drone delivery

Mechanical Engineer - Production Test

Design EngineeringConfirmed live in the last 24 hours
Full-timeSouth San Francisco, CA, USA$125k - $145k

About the Job

Requirements

  • At least 2 years of experience building production test systems, automated test equipment, or end-of-line testers for electro-mechanical or mechatronic products, with ownership of multiple shipped tester programs.
  • A Bachelor of Science in Electrical, Mechatronics, Mechanical, or Computer Engineering, or equivalent experience.
  • Practical skills in instrumentation, signal measurement, power delivery, harnessing, connectorization, sensor and actuator interfaces, and printed circuit board assembly (PCBA) debugging, with hands-on shop-floor experience.
  • Experience with test automation; Python is preferred, along with experience using LabVIEW, TestStand, or embedded test frameworks and integrating data acquisition systems, oscilloscopes, digital multimeters, power supplies, and electronic loads.
  • Proficiency with embedded and product interfaces including CAN, UART, Ethernet, I2C, SPI, and USB, and strategies for validating communications and firmware-hardware interactions.
  • A track record of measurable production improvements, such as first-pass yield, cycle time, false-fail reduction, tester utilization, and GR&R, and ownership of metrics reporting.
  • Experience working on manufacturing floors during launches and escalations, and willingness to spend significant onsite time supporting shifts, debugging, and equipment qualification.
  • Comfort with cross-functional coordination and coordinating vendor builds, factory acceptance testing, site acceptance testing, and production qualification activities.
  • Rigorous attention to safety and traceability, decisive technical judgment under production pressure, practical hands-on test and debugging capability, and insistence on measurable outcomes.

Responsibilities

  • Design production test fixture mechanics for repeatable product locating, loading, handling, and connection, with attention to safe operation and maintainability.
  • Integrate instrumentation, sensors, actuators, harnessing, and safety interlocks into mechanical fixtures with electrical and software partners, and validate fixture correlation and repeatability.
  • Own the mechanical design, delivery, and sustainment of production testers and calibration stations from requirements through internal or vendor build, installation, validation, and continuous improvement for aircraft, dock, pod, and subassembly builds.
  • Partner on tester acceptance criteria and validate fixture contributions to test coverage, pass/fail limits, golden-unit strategy, GR&R, capability targets, and production release criteria with Electrical Design, Firmware, Quality, and Operations.
  • Collaborate with electrical and software engineers to integrate electrical and functional testers, including harnessing, data acquisition, sensors and actuators, power systems, safety interlocks, and mechanical fixtures, to meet cycle-time and throughput targets.
  • Partner on test automation and data pipelines using Python, LabVIEW, TestStand, or equivalent tools, and validate fixture interactions to enable reproducible, high-throughput test flows, data logging, manufacturing execution system and manufacturing integration, and production dashboards.
  • Increase first-pass yield, reduce false-fail rates, improve tester uptime and utilization, and shorten per-unit cycle time; set targets and report progress monthly.
  • Troubleshoot and resolve production escalations on the floor, including fixture issues, tester instability, and product/tester correlation failures, partnering with electrical and software engineers on PCBA-level failures and software bugs under time pressure.
  • Coordinate requirements, validation plans, training, calibration schedules, spares strategy, and change control for cross-functional launches with Manufacturing Engineering, Quality, Technicians, Operations, and external vendors.
  • Identify and deploy scalable tester architectures and automation that reduce operator steps, minimize touch time, and standardize interfaces across lines.
  • Produce and maintain test procedures, maintenance and calibration plans, validation records, and change-control artifacts required for production readiness and traceability.
  • Support factory-floor launches and escalations at the South San Francisco manufacturing site, with regular floor presence; travel to other sites or vendor locations may be required for launches and validations.
  • Deliver and validate production tester programs with documented acceptance criteria and production-release evidence during the first year.
  • Reduce false failures and improve first-pass yield, cycle time, and tester uptime for supported lines during the first year.
  • Sustain traceable, repeatable test execution and report progress against agreed production goals.

Desired Qualifications

  • Python experience is preferred.
  • Five to seven years of relevant experience is preferred.

About the Company

Zipline

Builds and runs autonomous drone delivery

Zipline builds and operates autonomous drone delivery networks for retailers, restaurants and healthcare systems that need to move products without road traffic. Its electric aircraft carry food, prescriptions and other supplies from partner sites or distribution hubs to customers and health facilities. The company combines aircraft, charging equipment and delivery software with flight operations, so partners buy a logistics service rather than manage their own drones. Merchants use its ordering and tracking tools to reach customers, while governments and health systems contract for medical supply delivery. Zipline was founded in 2014 and has its headquarters in South San Francisco, California.

Company size
1,001-5,000
Company stage
Late Stage VC
Total funding
$3.6B
Headquarters
South San Francisco, CA
Founded
2014

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