Senior Backend Engineer

ABOUT ZIPLINE

Do you want to change the world? Zipline is on a mission to transform the way goods move. Our aim is to solve the world’s most urgent and complex access challenges by building, manufacturing and operating the first instant delivery and logistics system that serves all humans equally, wherever they are. From powering Rwanda’s national blood delivery network and Ghana’s COVID-19 vaccine distribution, to providing on-demand home delivery for Walmart, to enabling healthcare providers to bring care directly to U.S. homes, we are transforming the way things move for businesses, governments and consumers. The technology is complex but the idea is simple: a teleportation service that delivers what you need, when you need it. Using robotics and autonomy, we are decarbonizing delivery, decreasing road congestion, and reducing fossil fuel consumption and air pollution, while providing equitable access to billions of people and building a more resilient global supply chain.

Join Zipline and help us to make good on our promise to build an equitable and more resilient global supply chain for billions of people.

ABOUT YOU AND THE ROLE

As a Senior Backend Engineer on the Fleet Core team, you’ll work on the cloud systems that manage Zipline’s fleet of autonomous aircraft. This includes real-time fleet orchestration interfaces that support test and commercial applications, as well as systems for fleet health monitoring and bidirectional communication with aircraft and ground systems. Together, these components make up the operating system that enables and mediates access to our logistics network.

You’ll also contribute to simulation and test tooling for exercising cloud functionality, and work closely with flight software and application teams to ensure our platform scales reliably and integrates cleanly.

Our ideal candidate is able to navigate ambiguity, take on diverse technical challenges, and work effectively with other engineers and stakeholders to achieve impressive results.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

• Design and build systems to orchestrate a fleet of autonomous Zips, focusing on scalability and reliability
• Expand and evolve our service architecture
• Collaborate with flight software and user-facing application teams to define robust, clear service interfaces
• Build tools for simulation, integration testing, and observability of distributed services

WHAT YOU'LL BRING

• Experience building complex, distributed systems that operate under production loads 
• Proven ownership of systems and the ability to represent their design and behavior across teams
• Solid understanding of microservice design principles
• Strong test automation skills to support maintainable, extensible code
• Solid foundation in designing reliable, low-latency distributed services
• A generalist engineering mindset, ready to dive in and contribute across many facets of Zipline’s software

NICE TO HAVES: 

• Track record of taking projects through a full software lifecycle, from prototype stage to bulletproof production systems
• Expertise in Python, Go, or Rust
• Experience using Kubernetes, CDK, Docker, Kafka, AWS, and other cloud technologies
• Skilled in analyzing and optimizing performance across complex service architectures
• Ability and/or interest in building simple web frontends for engineer-focused testing or debugging tools

WHAT ELSE YOU NEED TO KNOW 

The starting cash range for this role is $170,000 - 210,000. Please note that this is a target, starting cash range for a candidate who meets the minimum qualifications for this role. The final cash pay for this role will depend on a variety of factors, including a specific candidate's experience, qualifications, skills, working location, and projected impact. The total compensation package for this role may also include: equity compensation; discretionary annual or performance bonuses; sales incentives; benefits such as medical, dental and vision insurance; paid time off; and more.

Zipline is an equal opportunity employer and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, ancestry, national origin, religion or religious creed, mental or physical disability, medical condition, genetic information, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, marital status, military or veteran status, citizenship, or other characteristics protected by state, federal or local law or our other policies.

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!

Please Note

We have received reports stating that certain individuals are reaching out to people under false pretenses, claiming to be Zipline employees, affiliates, agents, or representatives. They may seek to gain access to your personal information or to acquire money from you by offering fictitious employment opportunities or by claiming that they are contacting you on Zipline’s behalf.

Genuine Zipline employees or representatives will never ask you for money or payment in exchange for employment opportunities or other related services. Any such offer of employment or any other service in exchange for fees that claims to be from us is deceitful and part of a fraud.

If you believe you have been targeted by a fraudulent party, we ask that you immediately get in touch with us via email at [email protected] upon receiving a suspicious offer or claim.