Autonomous Drone Flight Test Pilot

Namely; Half Moon Bay (CA); On-site; USD 50,971 - 61,992; Full time

Job summary

Zipline is seeking a hands-on Flight Test Operator to bring early-stage aircraft from prototype to production bring-up. You will run flight campaigns, validate airworthiness, and coordinate with engineering, safety, and manufacturing to deliver reliable, field-ready systems.

Expect to work at Zipline test sites, including weekends and night shifts, with occasional travel between sites. FAA Part 107 certification and drone/aerial piloting experience are required.

Qualifications

• Experience piloting drones or aircraft is required.
• Candidate must hold FAA Part 107 certification at joining.
• Demonstrated aeronautical decision making and safety accountability.
• Ability to own test campaigns end-to-end and coordinate across teams.
• Willingness to work in failure-heavy field environments and outdoors.
• Nice-to-have: Linux CLI, rapid prototyping, automated flight systems.

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end daily flight test campaigns as Remote Pilot in Command.
• Execute and document repeatable ground and flight test procedures.
• Troubleshoot software and hardware issues on-site to return to flight.
• Summarize results with qualitative and quantitative analysis.
• Escalate anomalies to engineering and safety for resolution.
• Enforce safety, brief/debrief, and refine SOPs for reliability.
• Work onsite at Zipline test sites and travel between locations as needed.

Skills

Drone piloting experience

Aeronautical decision making

Go/no-go decision making

Own test campaigns

Safety leadership

Linux CLI

Rapid prototyping

Automated flight systems

Education

FAA Part 107 certification

Tools

Automated flight systems

Job description

Zipline is seeking a hands-on Flight Test Operator to bring early-stage aircraft from prototype to production bring-up. You will run flight campaigns, validate airworthiness, and coordinate with engineering, safety, and manufacturing to deliver reliable, field-ready systems.

Expect to work at Zipline test sites, including weekends and night shifts, with occasional travel between sites. FAA Part 107 certification and drone/aerial piloting experience are required.