Automation Engineer, Production Equipment – On-Site SF

Telemetry Today LLC; South San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity compensation

Discretionary bonuses

Medical, dental and vision insurance

Paid time off

Job summary

Zipline in South San Francisco is seeking an Automation Engineer, Production Equipment, to lead the design, integration, and commissioning of production automation for aircraft assembly, battery integration, and dock components. This site‑based role requires hands‑on ownership of equipment from design through deployment.

You will translate cycle‑time, uptime, and maintenance needs into concrete equipment requirements, coordinate vendor builds, and ensure safe, reliable operation on the factory

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or equivalent practical experience.
• Mastery of GD&T, tolerance analysis, mechanism design, and failure‑mode thinking for assembly tooling.
• Proficiency in 3D CAD; Siemens NX preferred, SolidWorks/Creo acceptable with NX learning intent.
• Hands‑on experience commissioning equipment on the factory floor; on‑site work most of the week.

Responsibilities

• Evaluate automation opportunities against cycle time, FPY, uptime, and translate into equipment requirements.
• Integrate automation into assembly workflows and train operators during deployment and scale‑up.
• Own integration from requirements through vendor fabrication, build, commissioning and production release.
• Deliver measurable improvements: tooling availability above 95%, 20–40% cycle‑time savings per station, 10% FPY gain.
• Coordinate with Design, Manufacturing, Quality, Supply Chain, Test, and Field Ops on tooling scope and schedules.
• Write RFQs, evaluate proposals, verify vendor QC, and perform acceptance testing at build and installation.

Skills

Production equipment design

GD&T expertise

3D CAD

On-site commissioning

Vendor management

Problem solving

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering

Tools

Siemens NX

SolidWorks/Creo

Job description

Zipline in South San Francisco is seeking an Automation Engineer, Production Equipment, to lead the design, integration, and commissioning of production automation for aircraft assembly, battery integration, and dock components. This site‑based role requires hands‑on ownership of equipment from design through deployment.

You will translate cycle‑time, uptime, and maintenance needs into concrete equipment requirements, coordinate vendor builds, and ensure safe, reliable operation on the factory