Flight Structures & Mechanisms Engineer

Zipline; South San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 145,000 - 225,000; Full time

Job summary

Zipline is seeking a Mechanical Engineer for Platform 2 Aircraft Structures & Mechanisms to own flight hardware across its life cycle. You will design, analyze, test, and iterate on high‑performing structural components, collaborating with production, systems, and test teams to scale autonomous delivery hardware.

The role emphasizes first‑principles engineering, test‑first verification, and hands‑on development of carbon composites, metals, and actuated mechanisms.

Qualifications

• Ownership of high‑performance or low‑margin mechanical hardware validation through development, qualification, production ramp, and field deployment.
• First principles approach to engineering and a Test‑first mindset: experience planning and executing environmental, vibration, fatigue, and thermal verification; ability to design test fixtures and interpret data.

Responsibilities

• Own end‑to‑end delivery of structural or mechanical subsystems from requirements → design → build → test → release → production/operations sustainment
• Produce and defend system‑level trade studies, tolerance stacks, load paths, failure modes, and hand‑calcs/analysis that bound designs for safety‑critical loads and manufacturability of high performance hardware
• Create CAD assemblies, detailed drawings, GD&T, and manufacturing documentation for complex assemblies: own design reviews, DFM and first‑article criteria
• Lead supplier selection, qualification, and handoff: drive DFM feedback, define inspection criteria, and reduce supplier NPI cycle time and scrap rates. Own escalation and remediation when supplier output risks field operations
• Cross‑functional interface: partner daily with Systems, Software, Production, Integration & Test, Reliability, and Field Ops to align requirements, manage trade‑offs, and eliminate deployment blockers
• Ship for scale: translate prototypes into designs that meet target cost, cycle time, and inspection rates for medium‑volume production; own metrics for manufacturability and in‑field reliability and drive them to target

Skills

High‑performance hardware

First principles

Test planning

Carbon composites

Injection moulded plastics

Mechanical design

Tools

CAD

DFM

GD&T

Job description

Zipline is seeking a Mechanical Engineer for Platform 2 Aircraft Structures & Mechanisms to own flight hardware across its life cycle. You will design, analyze, test, and iterate on high‑performing structural components, collaborating with production, systems, and test teams to scale autonomous delivery hardware.

The role emphasizes first‑principles engineering, test‑first verification, and hands‑on development of carbon composites, metals, and actuated mechanisms.