Electrical Engineer Intern (Summer 2027)

Zipline; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 33,000 - 47,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

In-person internship

SF or Dallas office access

Mentorship from senior engineers

Job summary

Zipline in South San Francisco or Dallas is seeking Electrical Engineering Interns for Summer 2027. You will work as a full-time, in-person member of our team, contributing to battery charging electronics, ground support electronics, and avionics test campaigns.

You'll collaborate with software, mechanical, and test teams to move projects from concept to validated hardware. Prior project experience and coursework related to robotics or sensors is highly valued.

Qualifications

• Must be an undergraduate in an engineering program (2nd year+).
• Exposure to object-oriented programming is a plus.
• Interest in electronics, sensors, and test methods for flight systems.

Responsibilities

• Assist prototyping and testing of battery charging electronics.
• Develop and deploy ground support electronics for take-off/landing.
• Collaborate with software, hardware test, and manufacturing teams.
• Document test results and contribute to design validation campaigns.

Skills

C++/Java

Robotics/Automation

Sensor data

Cloud services (AWS/GCP)

Education

Undergraduate student (2nd year)

Pursuing BS/MS in Electrical Engineering

Tools

Spark

Hadoop

AWS

GCP

Job description

• At Zipline, the Electrical Engineering Teams are at the heart of our flight and ground systems, responsible for designing, building, and testing all the electronics and software that goes into a scaled instant logistics system
• From custom circuit board design, EOL tester development, and sensor integration to real-time flight control and communication systems, the team ensures our platforms operate safely and effectively in some of the most challenging environments in the world
• The team works cross-functionally with mechanical, test, embedded, software, and systems engineering teams to create scalable, high-performance products that power life‑saving missions every day
• Leading the way in drone delivery often means exceeding the capabilities of what’s available off the shelf, and as a result we are engineering the majority of our system in‑house
• Doubling down on the reliability of our systems is critical to delivering to our next billion customers—people whose lives will be meaningfully affected by smarter, more equitable access
• We are deliberately expanding our electrical design and test capabilities and adding to the ranks of our experienced team to achieve these goals
• We need dedicated engineers to burn down risk and improve reliability in our system like their life depends on it, because others’ lives do
• Electronics are where software meets the physical world, and so our electrical engineering team has a wide array of engineering skills and works with a variety of different teams
• We need people who are comfortable working in different domains, thrive when working on a problem as part of a small group, and are able to communicate technical concepts clearly to a wide variety of stakeholders—software and mechanical engineers, hardware test and manufacturing, and operations and field support, to name a few
• Our small team can get a lot done because our team members are strong individual contributors with a good grasp of electrical engineering fundamentals and the ability to define requirements for their systems, rapidly develop creative and simple solutions, and prove with testing that their work meets the rigors and edge‑cases of real‑world deployment
• You’ll have your own projects but we haven’t been saving an “intern project” - you’ll be a full member of our team, and like with our other engineers, we’ll work with you to find projects that align with your goals and interests and the team’s and company’s priorities
• Examples of previous projects for interns include:
• Prototyping new versions of our battery charging electronics to meet harsher environmental requirements in new countries where we’re launching our service
• Architecting ground support electronics to assist the air vehicle with take‑off and landing
• Developing and deploying test equipment such as EOL’s for design validation and production
• Supporting design validation campaigns to ensure that our avionics products meet design and reliability requirements
• Root cause investigation for our products from test, flight, or field issues
• Our internships are full‑time positions, in‑person at our South San Francisco or Dallas office. We will host our Summer 2027 interns from May/June to August/September

In your application, we’d love to see either a sample of work you’re proud of or a short note about your prior experience and how it relates to the three points aboveYou’ve worked on a project in or out of school that moved under its own power (plane, car, boat, quadcopter, rocket, balloon, rocket on a balloon, submarine, rover, etc. - we’re not picky)Must have at least completed the second year of your Undergraduate studies. Masters and PhD students are also eligibleSoftware Development: Exposure to object‑oriented programming (e.g., C++ or Java) is a bonusBonus Qualifications:Cloud Computing/Big Data Tools: Familiarity with cloud services (AWS, GCP, Azure) or big data tools (Spark, Hadoop) is helpful but not requiredYou’ve designed and tested a custom circuit board (it doesn’t need to have worked - we’d love to hear about it!)You’ve collaborated on the above two things as part of a group - school club, competition team, as part of a job/internship, or just with friendsExperience in Robotics/Automation: Prior exposure to robotics systems, automation, or sensor data (through coursework, projects, or clubs) is a plus