Applications Engineer Intern (Summer 2027)

Zipline; South San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 52,000 - 58,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Relocation support

Housing stipend

Overtime pay

Paid sick time

Job summary

Zipline, the world's leading drone-delivery company, seeks an Applications Engineer Intern for its South San Francisco office. This full-time, in-person role supports ground infrastructure deployment and real-world engineering challenges. The Summer 2027 program runs May/June–August/September with a $40/hour rate.

You will help deploy Platform 2 ground systems, prototype off-the-stack hardware, and collaborate with operations and engineering to deliver reliable solutions.

Qualifications

• Second-year undergraduate in Electrical/Mechanical Eng or related field.
• Reading data sheets, layouts, or schematics.
• CAD skills in Siemens NX or SolidWorks are a plus.
• Excellent written and verbal communication and collaboration.
• Willingness to travel and work outdoors at test sites.

Responsibilities

• Develop system improvements for Platform 2 ground systems and deployments.
• Create technical solutions for specialized needs including lifting or weather stations.
• Evaluate and manage external vendor relationships for high-availability products.
• Refine site requirements and translate into deployable systems.
• Prepare handover materials to move solutions into operations.

Skills

Troubleshooting hardware

Data analysis

Documentation

Cross-functional collaboration

Project management

Education

Undergraduate year 2 in Electrical/Mechanical Eng

Masters/PhD eligible

Tools

Siemens NX

SolidWorks

Job description

About Zipline

Zipline is the world's largest and most experienced drone delivery service. We are on a mission to serve all humans equally by ensuring access to food, medicine and essential goods anytime, anywhere. We design, build, and operate the world's largest autonomous logistics system, delivering critical supplies quickly and reliably. Today, Zipline operates on four continents, makes a delivery somewhere in the world every 30 seconds, and has completed millions of deliveries to date, including blood, vaccines, medical supplies, food, and retail products.

About Zipline

Zipline is the world's largest and most experienced drone delivery service. We are on a mission to serve all humans equally by ensuring access to food, medicine and essential goods anytime, anywhere. We design, build, and operate the world's largest autonomous logistics system, delivering critical supplies quickly and reliably. Today, Zipline operates on four continents, makes a delivery somewhere in the world every 30 seconds, and has completed millions of deliveries to date, including blood, vaccines, medical supplies, food, and retail products. Our customers include the world's largest and most prominent healthcare systems, governments, retailers, restaurants and global businesses who rely on us to save lives, reduce emissions, increase economic opportunity, and provide delivery from point A to point B as fast as possible. The drone is only 15% of what we've built to enable seamless, reliable, global operations. Our system strengthens supply chains, reduces congestion, and gives people time back. With more than 140 million commercial autonomous miles safely flown, Zipline is redefining access to healthcare, consumer products, and food across the globe. We operate at a global scale and are looking for practical problem solvers who thrive on real-world challenges and rapid growth. Our team is motivated by building systems that have a direct, meaningful impact on people's lives and by scaling the future of logistics. We are seeking people who sculpt from first principles, enjoy facing adversity, and can do the impossible at record breaking speeds.

About The Ground Systems Deployment Team

The Deployment and Construction team is responsible for turning bare ground into functional drone charging sites! We're a broad cross-functional team with skills across civil, structural, mechanical, electrical and construction engineering with mandate to deliver world-class construction execution with zero issues in the first 30 days, on-time and on-budget, using scalable, cost-optimized, and serviceable designs.

The Role

Do you want to directly influence a wide range of engineering challenges arising from real-world, fast-paced operations? As an Applications Engineer Intern, you are the technical specialist responsible for solving application-specific challenges related to the deployment of our infrastructure in diverse environments. You take a rigorous systems-based approach to problem-solving. Your primary mission is to identify, validate, and integrate off-the-stack (OTS) systems and commercially available products that meet our rigorous ground infrastructure requirements. Whether you are architecting a remote monitoring camera network, integrating weather sensing arrays, or designing specialized lifting and service apparatus, you ensure that Zipline's hardware functions flawlessly in every unique application.

What You'll Do

• Contribute to the development, testing, and deployment of system improvements for the Platform 2 system supporting ground systems, commercial operations, and new deployments.
• Develop and implement technical solutions for specialized application needs, including lifting apparatus for maintenance or weather stations for localized flight safety.
• Evaluate, select, and manage relationships with external vendors to source high-availability, low-cost commercially available products that fulfill critical system requirements.
• Work with the engineering and deployments organization to refine site requirements and transform them into deployable systems that fulfill first-principles needs.
• Define the necessary handover materials and processes to move new application solutions into a sustaining operations trajectory.

What You'll Bring

• You must have completed the second year of your undergraduate studies, pursuing a degree in Electrical/Mechanical Engineering or a related field. Masters and PhD students are also eligible.
• Proficiency in troubleshooting hardware and software systems, data collection and analysis, and collaborating with stakeholders to address engineering challenges.
• Experience in reading data sheets, layouts, or schematics.
• Possessing CAD skills (Siemens NX, Solidworks, etc.) and any machine shop/prototyping experience is a plus.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills with the ability to simplify complex technical information into clear, repeatable technical instructions.
• Demonstrated strong project management skills, including creating timelines, leading meetings, and providing cross-functional updates.
• Willingness to travel and work outdoors at test sites for hands-on development and testing.
• A problem-solving approach with a drive for continuous improvement in a dynamic, collaborative setting.
• Technical curiosity and a passion for user-centric design.
• Self-directed with the ability to independently manage tasks.
• Eager to learn and grow through building strong relationships with operations and engineering teams.

What Else You Should Know

This internship is a full-time position, in-person at our South San Francisco office. We will host our Summer 2027 interns from (May/June - August/September). The hourly rate for this internship is $40 per hour. Additional benefits may include relocation support, a housing stipend, overtime pay, paid sick time, and other benefits, where applicable and subject to local requirements. 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. Zipline is also committed to providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities. Please let your point of contact at Zipline know if you require any accommodations throughout your interview process.

Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey. Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiring process or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in a confidential file. As set forth in Zipline's Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.