Mechanical 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 a Mechanical Engineer, Production Equipment based in South San Francisco, you will own design and deployment of fixtures, workstations, mechanical tooling, and end-of-line test equipment that directly enable aircraft assembly, battery integration, dock components, and flight‑critical subsystems. 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 opening sits within our manufacturing engineering team; the exact focus will reflect your strengths and the team’s needs. This role is based in South San Francisco, with regular on-site presence during manufacturing shifts. Occasional evening or weekend commissioning and up to 15% travel to vendor or field sites may be required.

What You’ll Do

• Own equipment and tooling projects from requirements, Siemens NX CAD, and detailed drawings through vendor fabrication, build, commissioning, and production release.
• Design alignment fixtures, press and torque tooling, ergonomic stations, error-proofing devices, handling fixtures, and automated end-of-line test rigs.
• Apply tooling standards, GD&T, tolerance analysis, and material and process selection to safe, maintainable equipment.
• Lead hands-on debugging and root-cause analysis during launches and production ramps, then validate durable improvements.
• Coordinate equipment scope, test requirements, and schedules with Design Engineering, Manufacturing, Quality, Supply Chain, Test, and Field Operations.
• Write technical RFQs, evaluate proposals, verify vendor quality, and perform acceptance testing before and after installation.
• Target tooling availability above 95%, station-level manual assembly cycle-time reductions of 20–40%, and at least 10% improvement in first-pass yield on targeted assemblies within the first 6–12 months of deployment.

What You’ll Bring

• 5+ years designing production equipment, fixtures, or custom automation in a high-volume or rapidly scaling manufacturing environment.
• A bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or equivalent practical experience.
• Strong command of GD&T, tolerance analysis, mechanisms, material selection, and failure-mode thinking.
• Proficiency in 3D CAD; Siemens NX is preferred. SolidWorks or Creo experience is acceptable with a strong commitment to learning NX.
• Hands-on fabrication, build, commissioning, debugging, testing, and operator-training experience.
• Practical knowledge of pneumatics, actuators, sensors, linear motion, guarding, and industrial electrical interfaces.
• Experience coordinating vendor builds, validating equipment against drawings and quality criteria, and delivering measurable improvements in cycle time, uptime, yield, or cost.
• Strong ownership, sound judgment under pressure, and a commitment to safety and reliability

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 $120,000-150,000. 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!