Engineering Validation & Reliability Technician - Ground Systems

Zipline; South San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 85,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Zipline is seeking an Engineering Validation & Reliability Technician to investigate field-return hardware, collaborate with Field Service Engineers, and drive reliability improvements. You will perform structured root-cause analysis, execute engineering validation testing, and work with Ground Systems Test Engineers to improve product reliability.

You will document investigations, collect evidence, and help reproduce field issues while supporting corrective actions and future designs.

Qualifications

• 2-5+ years supporting electrical or electromechanical hardware in engineering, manufacturing, or test environments.
• Strong electrical troubleshooting and structured root cause analysis skills.
• Experience executing engineering validation or manufacturing test procedures.
• Ability to read electrical schematics, wiring diagrams, and mechanical drawings.
• Hands-on experience with multimeters, oscilloscopes, power supplies, and common laboratory equipment.
• Strong documentation, communication, and cross-functional collaboration skills.
• Experience with automated test equipment, robotics, embedded systems, or aerospace hardware is a plus.
• Experience supporting prototype development or engineering investigations.

Responsibilities

• Field Return Investigation & Issue Triage: investigate returned hardware using structured troubleshooting and document evidence.
• Support Field Service Engineering: partner to resolve escalated issues and validate corrective actions.
• Engineering Test Support: execute validation plans, fixture bring-up, prototype verification, and regression testing.
• Documentation & Continuous Improvement: document investigations and results, identify trends and propose improvements.

Skills

Electrical troubleshooting

Root cause analysis

Cross-functional collaboration

Documentation

Communication

Tools

Multimeters

Oscilloscopes

Power supplies

CAD

Data analysis tools

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 You and The Role

The Ground Systems team designs, builds, validates, and continuously improves the infrastructure that enables Zipline's autonomous delivery systems. As a Engineering Validation & Reliability Technician, you will investigate field-return hardware, partner with Field Service Engineers to resolve complex technical issues, perform structured root cause analysis, execute engineering validation testing, and work closely with Ground Systems Test Engineers to improve product reliability. You enjoy diagnosing electrical and electromechanical failures, collecting technical evidence,

What You'll Do

Field Return Investigation & Issue Triage

• Investigate returned hardware using structured electrical and system-level troubleshooting techniques.
• Characterize failures, isolate root causes, and document technical evidence including logs, measurements, and observations.
• Escalate complex issues with clear engineering findings and recommendations.

Support Field Service Engineering

• Partner with Field Service Engineers to resolve escalated technical issues.
• Validate corrective actions and provide engineering feedback to improve future designs and supportability.

Engineering Test Support

• Execute engineering validation plans, fixture bring-up, prototype verification, and regression testing.
• Collaborate with Ground Systems Test Engineers to verify design changes and reproduce field issues.

Documentation & Continuous Improvement

• Document investigations, test results, and corrective actions.
• Identify recurring failure trends and recommend improvements to products, processes, and documentation.

What You'll Bring

Minimum qualifications

• 2-5+ years supporting electrical or electromechanical hardware in engineering, manufacturing, or test environments.
• Strong electrical troubleshooting and structured root cause analysis skills.
• Experience executing engineering validation or manufacturing test procedures.
• Ability to read electrical schematics, wiring diagrams, and mechanical drawings.
• Hands-on experience with multimeters, oscilloscopes, power supplies, and common laboratory equipment.
• Strong documentation, communication, and cross-functional collaboration skills.

Nice to have

• Experience with automated test equipment, robotics, embedded systems, or aerospace hardware.
• Experience with reliability engineering, failure analysis, CAD, or data analysis tools.
• Experience supporting prototype development or engineering investigations.

Success in this role means delivering high-quality engineering investigations, identifying root causes, executing reliable validation testing, and providing actionable technical feedback that improves product reliability, engineering decision making, and future product designs.

What Else You Need To Know

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.

We value diversity at Zipline and welcome applications from those who are traditionally underrepresented in tech.