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Zipline

Builds and runs autonomous drone delivery

Senior / Staff Rotor Dynamics Engineer

Materials & StructuresConfirmed live in the last 24 hours
Full-timeSouth San Francisco, CA, USA$140k - $240k

About the Job

Requirements

  • A bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering, mechanical engineering, or a related field is required.
  • Have 7 or more years of industry experience in the design and analysis of rotor and vehicle structures.
  • Have expertise in helicopter and rotorcraft aeromechanics, including aerodynamics, dynamics, loads, stability, and performance.
  • Have deep knowledge of RCAS, CAMRAD II, FlightLab, Dyrobes Rotor, or other comprehensive rotor analysis codes.
  • Have experience with FEMAP/NASTRAN, Siemens Simcenter, or other finite element software.
  • Have analytical or scientific programming experience in Python or MATLAB.
  • Must be eligible to work in the United States.
  • Have an owner mentality and rapid decision cadence, tolerance for ambiguity and shifting configurations, disciplined documentation habits, and strong hardware intuition.

Responsibilities

  • Own loads development for the propellers on Zipline’s aircraft.
  • Perform dynamic analyses of aircraft propellers, including structural modes, forced harmonic vibration, and rotordynamics simulations.
  • Define rotorcraft loads requirements that support flight performance and vehicle safety.
  • Build finite element models of propellers and powertrain components for structural and loads analyses.
  • Work with the aerodynamics and mechanical engineering teams to design high-performance propeller and rotor blades.
  • Collaborate across hardware, software, and vehicle operations to drive rotorcraft configuration and performance decisions.
  • Evaluate static strength and fatigue life of dynamic system components, including rotor assemblies, propeller blades, and motor shafts.
  • Execute propeller and aircraft testing from start to finish, including pre-test analysis, instrumentation, testing, data analysis, signal processing, and model correlation; work in wind tunnels, the vibration test lab, and on the flight line.
  • Provide mentorship and guidance, share best practices, and build standardized in-house tools and processes to strengthen the engineering organization.

Desired Qualifications

  • Experience developing loads for eVTOL vehicles 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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