Engineering Technician

InfoStride; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 60,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Zipline is seeking an Engineering Technician on the Powertrain team to build, operate, and improve hardware and test systems that support our aircraft’s electrical power and propulsion systems.

You will work with battery cells and packs, power-distribution hardware, motor controllers, and integrated propulsion assemblies, partnering with design and test engineers to create fixtures and automated test setups for development and qualification.

Qualifications

• Experience building, operating, or troubleshooting test equipment, production equipment, prototypes, or lab infrastructure for complex electromechanical products.
• Hands-on experience with batteries, power electronics, electric motors, motor controllers, propellers, rotating machinery, or related aerospace/robotics hardware.
• Strong mechanical aptitude and the ability to build robust fixtures, wiring, instrumentation, and test setups.
• Familiarity with measurement systems, sensors, DAQ hardware, electrical power systems, and laboratory safety practices.
• Experience reading mechanical drawings, electrical schematics, wiring diagrams, assembly documentation, and engineering work instructions.
• Experience executing environmental, thermal, vibration, fatigue, durability, reliability, or safety testing.

Responsibilities

• Prototype Development: Build, assemble, modify, and maintain prototypes for batteries, power electronics, motors, motor controllers, propellers, and propulsion systems.
• Assemble and commission custom test equipment, fixtures, instrumentation, and lab infrastructure from drawings and schematics.
• Perform wiring, soldering, crimping, cable fabrication, and mechanical assembly using standard shop practices.
• Fabricate and modify fixtures, wiring harnesses, and lab tooling using rapid prototyping methods.
• Support engineering changes and hardware bring-up throughout the product lifecycle.
• Validation & Laboratory Operations: Set up and maintain lab equipment, perform validation activities, and ensure data quality and traceability.
• Troubleshoot prototype hardware and test systems, identifying root causes and implementing corrective actions.
• Develop and improve lab workflows, fixture designs, tooling, and test efficiency.
• Collaborate with Mechanical, Electrical, Test, Manufacturing, Reliability, and Systems Engineers to iterate hardware and improve execution.

Skills

Prototype development

Laboratory operations

Troubleshooting

Mechanical aptitude

Electrical systems

Multidisciplinary collaboration

Tools

Lab equipment

DAq systems

Python

LabVIEW

MATLAB

Job description

• Client 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 You and The Role
• As an Engineering Technician on the Powertrain team, you will build, operate, troubleshoot, and improve the hardware and test systems used to develop, validate, and support our aircraft’s electrical power and propulsion systems.
• The team owns the systems that store, distribute, convert, and use electrical energy throughout the aircraft—including battery cells and packs, power-distribution hardware, busbars, connectors, power electronics, electric motors, motor controllers, propellers, and integrated propulsion assemblies.
• You will partner closely with design and test engineers to create the fixtures, instrumentation, automated test systems, and processes that enable development, qualification, manufacturing validation, and field support. Your scope will grow with experience, from building and executing individual tests to owning complex test systems and helping define team-wide validation practices.

What You'll Do

• Prototype Development
• Build, assemble, modify, and maintain engineering prototypes for batteries, power electronics, electric motors, motor controllers, propellers, and integrated propulsion systems.
• Assemble and commission custom test equipment, fixtures, instrumentation, and laboratory infrastructure using engineering drawings, electrical schematics, and work instructions.
• Perform wiring, soldering, crimping, cable fabrication, connector assembly, and mechanical assembly using high-quality engineering and manufacturing practices.
• Fabricate and modify test fixtures, mechanical components, wiring harnesses, and laboratory tooling using standard shop equipment and rapid prototyping methods.
• Support engineering changes, prototype iterations, and hardware bring-up throughout the product development lifecycle.
• Validation & Laboratory Operations
• Set up, operate, and maintain laboratory equipment including power supplies, battery cyclers, dynamometers, electronic loads, oscilloscopes, DAQ systems, environmental chambers, vibration equipment, and thermal instrumentation.
• Execute engineering validation activities including characterization, environmental, vibration, thermal, fatigue, abuse, electrical performance, and reliability testing.
• Collect, document, and organize engineering data while ensuring repeatability, traceability, and measurement quality.
• Maintain laboratory organization, calibration records, tooling, consumables, and equipment to ensure safe, reliable, and efficient engineering operations.
• Support commissioning of new laboratory equipment and validation infrastructure.
• Troubleshoot prototype hardware, laboratory equipment, and test systems, partnering with engineers to identify root causes and implement corrective actions.
• Identify and implement improvements to laboratory workflows, assembly methods, fixture designs, tooling, and test efficiency.
• Develop and improve work instructions, assembly documentation, laboratory procedures, and standard operating practices.
• Partner closely with Mechanical, Electrical, Test, Manufacturing, Reliability, and Systems Engineers to rapidly iterate hardware and improve engineering execution.
• As experience grows, independently own prototype builds, laboratory equipment, validation activities, and portions of engineering programs while mentoring teammates and driving improvements to laboratory capability and engineering processes.
• Help improve laboratory capability, test throughput, documentation, and engineering standards.

What You’ll Bring

• Experience building, operating, or troubleshooting test equipment, production equipment, prototypes, or laboratory infrastructure for complex electromechanical products.
• Hands-on experience with batteries, power electronics, electric motors, motor controllers, propellers, rotating machinery, or related aerospace/robotics hardware.
• Strong mechanical aptitude and the ability to build robust fixtures, wiring, instrumentation, and test setups.
• Familiarity with measurement systems, sensors, DAQ hardware, electrical power systems, and laboratory safety practices.
• Experience reading mechanical drawings, electrical schematics, wiring diagrams, assembly documentation, and engineering work instructions.
• Experience executing environmental, thermal, vibration, fatigue, durability, reliability, or safety testing.
• Strong troubleshooting skills with the ability to independently diagnose and resolve mechanical and electrical issues.
• Excellent organizational skills, attention to detail, and commitment to safe laboratory practices.
• Strong communication skills and the ability to collaborate effectively with multidisciplinary engineering teams.
• Experience with Python, LabVIEW, MATLAB, NI TestStand, or similar automation tools is a plus.