Automation Engineer - Production Equipment

About You & the Role

Zipline’s Manufacturing Engineering team delivers the production systems that turn autonomous delivery aircraft and their subsystems into reliable, repeatable products at scale. As an Automation Engineer, Production Equipment based at Coop, Zipline’s South San Francisco manufacturing site, you will select, integrate, deploy, and sustain production automation for aircraft assembly, battery integration, dock components, and flight-critical subsystems. You will translate cycle-time, labor, quality, uptime, and maintainability needs into practical equipment requirements, coordinate internal and vendor builds, and bring systems into stable production through acceptance, commissioning, operator training, and continuous improvement.

This is a hands-on individual-contributor role, with direct ownership of equipment design, build, commissioning, and improvement on the factory floor. Your work determines throughput, first-pass yield, assembly cycle time, and maintenance uptime for production lines that supply field operations and live delivery fleets; mistakes affect fleet readiness and safety-critical performance.

This role is site‑based at the specified South San Francisco manufacturing facility; expect regular on‑site presence during standard manufacturing shifts, availability for occasional off‑hours commissioning, and up to 15% travel to vendor or field sites.

What You’ll Do

• Evaluate automation opportunities against manual work content, cycle time, first-pass yield, uptime, and maintainability, and translate the chosen approach into equipment requirements.
• Integrate automation into existing assembly workflows, verify vendor-built systems against acceptance criteria, and train operators during production deployment and scale-up.
• Own the integration and deployment of production automation from requirements through vendor fabrication, build, commissioning, and production release; work with mechanical and controls partners on CAD (Siemens NX), detailed drawings, and equipment interfaces.
• Deliver measurable improvements: increase tooling availability above 95%, reduce manual assembly cycle time by 20–40% per station, and improve first-pass yield (FPY) on targeted assemblies by at least 10% within the first 6–12 months of deployment.
• Integrate and install automation incorporating alignment fixtures, press and torque tooling, ergonomic operator stations, poka‑yoke devices, handling/transport fixtures, and automated end-of-line test rigs tied to build and test specs for aircraft, battery packs, and docks.
• Perform on-line debugging and rapid root‑cause analysis during launches and ramp phases; be prepared to run weekend or evening commissioning efforts during critical releases.
• Develop and apply tooling design standards, GD&T practices, tolerance stacks, and material/process selections that meet safety and maintainability requirements for autonomous hardware.
• Coordinate cross-functionally with Design Engineering, Manufacturing, Quality, Supply Chain, Test Engineering, and Field Operations to align tooling scope, test requirements, and production schedules.
• Work directly with fabricators and vendors: write technical RFQs, evaluate proposals, verify vendor QC, and perform acceptance testing at build and after installation.

What You’ll Bring

• 2+ years designing production equipment, fixtures, or custom automation in a high-volume or fast-ramping manufacturing environment.
• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or equivalent practical experience.
• Demonstrated mastery of GD&T, tolerance analysis, mechanism design, material selection, and failure‑mode thinking for assembly tooling.
• Proficiency in 3D CAD; Siemens NX preferred (SolidWorks/Creo experience acceptable with strong NX learning intent).
• Hands-on experience commissioning equipment on the factory floor: supporting fabrication, build, debug, test, and operator training; comfortable spending most of your week on-site.
• Practical knowledge of pneumatics, actuators, sensors, linear motion, machine guarding, and industrial electrical interfaces used in tooling and small automation.
• Track record delivering quantitative outcomes (cycle time, uptime, FPY, cost per unit) and making trade-offs between throughput, reliability, and maintainability.
• Ability to coordinate vendor builds and perform acceptance testing to technical drawings and QA criteria.
• Must-have traits: high ownership of safety and reliability, decisive technical judgment under schedule pressure, comfort with ambiguity and rapid iteration, and willingness to escalate and resolve issues that affect fleet readiness.

Nice to Have

• 5–7 years of relevant experience preferred.
• Experience with aerospace, drones, medical devices, or safety-critical electro-mechanical products is strongly preferred.

What Else You Need to Know

The starting cash range for this role is $140,000-$160,000. Please note that this is a target, starting cash range for a candidate who meets the minimum qualifications for this role. We are always open to negotiation. 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, 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!