Aviation Test & Maintenance Engineering Lead

Socket.dev; Esparto (CA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 216,000; Full time

Job summary

Zipline seeks a Test Maintenance Engineering Lead (Senior Manager/Director level) to build and oversee a multi-state maintenance organization, acting as the linchpin between hardware testing and commercial operations.

You will be a hands-on leader, defining structure for a distributed workforce while performing tasks alongside technicians, upholding safety and quality standards across the testing and deployment lifecycle.

Qualifications

• 10–15+ years of aviation maintenance or related experience.
• Senior leadership experience building distributed teams across states.
• Hands-on troubleshooting and mechanical expertise.
• Strong focus on safety, quality, and process improvement.

Responsibilities

• Design and scale a multi-state maintenance organization; set clear expectations.
• Lead from the front; perform tasks as needed to guide the team.
• Uphold aviation-grade safety, precision, and quality with speed.
• Proactively identify and resolve technical and process gaps before affecting the product.
• Collaborate with Engineering, Quality, Operations, and Commercial teams.
• Foster a humble, ego-free culture centered on continuous improvement.

Skills

Aviation maintenance

Test engineering

Leadership

Root cause analysis

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

A&P license

Job description

Zipline seeks a Test Maintenance Engineering Lead (Senior Manager/Director level) to build and oversee a multi-state maintenance organization, acting as the linchpin between hardware testing and commercial operations.

You will be a hands-on leader, defining structure for a distributed workforce while performing tasks alongside technicians, upholding safety and quality standards across the testing and deployment lifecycle.