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Zipline

Builds and runs autonomous drone delivery

Manufacturing Test Engineer

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

About the Job

Requirements

  • At least 2 years building production test systems, automated test equipment, or end-of-line testers for electro-mechanical or mechatronic products, with demonstrated ownership of multiple shipped tester programs.
  • A Bachelor of Science in Electrical, Mechatronics, Mechanical, or Computer Engineering, or equivalent experience.
  • Hands-on skill with instrumentation, signal measurement, power delivery, harnessing, connectors, sensors, actuators, and printed circuit board assembly-level electrical debugging.
  • Strong test-automation experience; Python is preferred, with experience using LabVIEW, TestStand, or embedded test frameworks and integrating data acquisition equipment, oscilloscopes, digital multimeters, power supplies, and electronic loads.
  • Proficiency with embedded and product interfaces, including Controller Area Network, Universal Asynchronous Receiver-Transmitter, Ethernet, Inter-Integrated Circuit, Serial Peripheral Interface, and Universal Serial Bus, and strategies for validating communications and firmware-hardware interactions.
  • A record of improving production metrics such as yield, cycle time, false failures, tester utilization, or gauge repeatability and reproducibility through data-driven technical work, including ownership of metrics reporting.
  • Comfort with frequent cross-functional coordination, vendor builds, factory acceptance testing, site acceptance testing, and production qualification.
  • Rigorous attention to safety and traceability, decisive technical judgment under production pressure, hands-on testing and debugging capability, and focus on measurable outcomes.
  • Experience working directly on manufacturing floors during launches and escalations, and willingness to spend significant onsite time supporting shifts, debugging, and qualifying equipment.

Responsibilities

  • Own assigned electrical, functional, and automated production testers and calibration stations from requirements through internal or vendor build, installation, validation, production release, and sustainment for aircraft, docks, delivery pods, and subassemblies.
  • Define test coverage, pass/fail limits, golden-unit strategies, gauge repeatability and reproducibility, capability targets, and release criteria with Design, Firmware, Quality, and Operations.
  • Integrate harnesses, data acquisition equipment, sensors, actuators, power systems, safety interlocks, and mechanical fixtures to meet throughput and cycle-time needs.
  • Build automation and data pipelines using Python, LabVIEW/TestStand, or equivalent tools for reproducible execution, data logging, manufacturing execution system integration, and dashboards.
  • Troubleshoot production escalations on the factory floor under time pressure, including printed circuit board assembly-level electrical failures, tester instability, fixture issues, software bugs, and product/tester correlation. Distinguish product defects from measurement or tester problems and validate corrective changes before release.
  • Improve first-pass yield, false-fail rate, tester uptime, utilization, and per-unit cycle time; set targets and report progress monthly.
  • Coordinate assigned launch readiness with Manufacturing Engineering, Quality, Technicians, Operations, and vendors, including requirements, validation plans, operator and technician training, calibration schedules, spares, change control, vendor builds, factory acceptance testing, site acceptance testing, and production qualification.
  • Evaluate and deploy scalable tester architectures and automation that reduce operator steps, minimize touch time, and standardize interfaces across lines.
  • Maintain test procedures, maintenance and calibration plans, validation records, and change-control artifacts required for production readiness and traceability.
  • Deliver and validate assigned production tester programs with documented acceptance criteria and production-release evidence.
  • Reduce false failures and improve first-pass yield, cycle time, and tester uptime for supported lines against agreed targets.
  • Sustain traceable, repeatable test execution and report progress monthly 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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