Civil and Structural Engineer Intern (Spring 2027)

Socket.dev; South San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 55,000 - 66,000; Full time

Job summary

Zipline's Ground Systems Deployment team is seeking a Civil/Structural Engineer Intern to support the rollout of site infrastructure across metros and adapt standards for charging sites.

You will collaborate with Real Estate & Development, Systems Engineering, and Tower Engineering to ensure designs meet municipal codes, permitting and Zipline's engineering requirements, with headquarters in South San Francisco.

Qualifications

• Completed second year of undergraduate studies in Civil or Structural Engineering.
• Proficiency in Bluebeam and drafting software such as AutoCAD or Revit.
• Excellent communications and problem solving skills.
• Bonus: Experience with building codes and developing site plans.
• Based at Zipline's headquarters in San Francisco, with possible travel to the DWF area in Texas.
• Open mind to help us bring Zipline's service to new and existing customers!

Responsibilities

• Support the civil and structural design of new Zipline sites, including charging infrastructure, foundations, equipment pads, and other ground-system elements.
• Perform structural calculations and help develop drawings and design documentation that support permitting, construction, and site deployment.
• Help create and improve reusable design standards for charging sites and ground-system hardware, then adapt those standards to real-world site constraints.
• Support permitting and regulatory reviews by helping address comments and coordinate with municipalities, inspectors, consultants, and other external partners.
• Collaborate with teams across Real Estate & Development, Systems Engineering, Tower Engineering, construction, and deployment to understand how engineering decisions affect site layout, constructability, and operations.
• Evaluate site-specific engineering challenges and develop practical solutions that improve safety, constructability, cost, and speed of deployment.
• Gain hands-on experience taking infrastructure from early site concepts through permitting and construction, while learning how civil and structural engineering is applied to a rapidly scaling UAS network.

Skills

Communications

Problem solving

Education

Second year undergraduate in Civil or Structural Engineering

Tools

Bluebeam

AutoCAD

Revit

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.

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 Ground Systems 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 a 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

As a Civil/Structural Engineer Intern on the Ground Systems Deployment team, you will support the rollout of Zipline's site infrastructure across multiple metros and help shape how UAS infrastructure integrates with the built environment—not just for Zipline, but for our customers and the industry as a whole.

You will contribute to developing standards for charging sites and support the structural engineering of ground systems hardware and site infrastructure needed to secure permits and approvals for new Zipline sites.

You will work closely with cross-functional teams, including Real Estate & Development, Systems Engineering, and Tower Engineering, to ensure that site layouts and infrastructure meet Zipline's engineering requirements as well as applicable municipal codes and permitting standards.

This position is based at our headquarters in South San Francisco.

What You’ll Do

• Support the civil and structural design of new Zipline sites, including charging infrastructure, foundations, equipment pads, and other ground-system elements.
• Perform structural calculations and help develop drawings and design documentation that support permitting, construction, and site deployment.
• Help create and improve reusable design standards for charging sites and ground-system hardware, then adapt those standards to real-world site constraints.
• Support permitting and regulatory reviews by helping address comments and coordinate with municipalities, inspectors, consultants, and other external partners.
• Collaborate with teams across Real Estate & Development, Systems Engineering, Tower Engineering, construction, and deployment to understand how engineering decisions affect site layout, constructability, and operations.
• Evaluate site-specific engineering challenges and develop practical solutions that improve safety, constructability, cost, and speed of deployment.
• Gain hands-on experience taking infrastructure from early site concepts through permitting and construction, while learning how civil and structural engineering is applied to a rapidly scaling UAS network.

What You’ll Bring

• You must have completed the second year of your undergraduate studies in Civil or Structural Engineering. Master's and PhD students are also eligible.
• Proficiency in Bluebeam and drafting software such as AutoCAD or Revit.
• Excellent communications and problem solving skills.
• Bonus: Experience working with building codes and developing site plans.
• The individual will be based at Zipline's headquarters in San Francisco, with possible travel to the DWF area in Texas.
• An open mind to help us bring Zipline's service to new and existing customers!

What Else You Should Know

This internship is a full-time position, in-person at our South San Francisco office. We will host our Spring 2027 interns from (January 2027 - April 2027).

The hourly rate for this internship is $44 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.

• 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.