Drone Aerodynamics Intern: Design & Flight Analysis

Zipline; South San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 22,000 - 33,000; Full time

Job summary

Zipline is hiring an Aerodynamics Intern focused on practical vehicle design analysis, CFD modeling, and experimental validation. You’ll contribute to the aerodynamic performance of our drones and learn from world-class engineers in a fast-paced environment.

Based in South San Francisco, you’ll gain hands-on experience with CFD tools, wind tunnels, and flight data, supporting multidisciplinary teams to advance cutting-edge autonomous logistics systems.

Qualifications

• Pledged studies in fluid mechanics, aerodynamics, flight physics or related field.
• Experience with CFD tools or wind-tunnel data is a plus.
• Willingness to work on-site at South San Francisco HQ with occasional California travel.

Responsibilities

• Vehicle design analysis including aerodynamics, propulsion, and power system performance.
• Low- and high-fidelity modeling of subsystems and behaviors.
• Build aerodynamic databases and analyze flight behaviors.
• Plan and analyze wind tunnel tests and flight data.
• Collaborate with controls, mechanical, production, software and electrical engineers.

Skills

Fluid mechanics

Aerodynamics

Flight physics

Aeronautical engineering

Acoustics

Tools

STAR-CCM+

Fluent

OpenFOAM

PowerFLOW

MATLAB

Python

Rust

CATIA

NX

Job description

Zipline is hiring an Aerodynamics Intern focused on practical vehicle design analysis, CFD modeling, and experimental validation. You’ll contribute to the aerodynamic performance of our drones and learn from world-class engineers in a fast-paced environment.

Based in South San Francisco, you’ll gain hands-on experience with CFD tools, wind tunnels, and flight data, supporting multidisciplinary teams to advance cutting-edge autonomous logistics systems.