Lead Engineering Technician

Namely; South San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Zipline in South San Francisco, CA, seeks an experienced leader to guide electromechanical hardware builds for UAV projects. You will own build readiness, drive daily priorities, and ensure high-quality hardware on the floor.

You will manage Engineering Technicians, coordinate with Engineering, Manufacturing, Validation, Production, Supply Chain, and Field Operations to remove blockers and improve tooling, documentation, and processes. A hands-on leadership style is essential.

Qualifications

• 6+ years building complex electromechanical hardware.
• Experience leading technicians or managing technical teams.
• Strong hands-on troubleshooting across mechanical, electrical, test, and integrated hardware systems.
• Experience building and integrating complex assemblies using wiring, soldering, composites, machining, fixtures, test equipment, and validation tools.
• Ability to interpret mechanical drawings, electrical schematics, BOMs, work instructions, and technical documentation.

Responsibilities

• Lead hands-on electromechanical builds, integration, validation, troubleshooting, rework, and recovery of aircraft and supporting hardware.
• Directly manage, hire, onboard, schedule, coach, review, and develop a team of Engineering Technicians.
• Set daily priorities and allocate technician capacity across prototype, NPI, validation, production support, remanufacturing, and field-operations work.
• Resolve competing execution needs by coordinating cross-functional tradeoffs and escalating decisions when needed.
• Confirm build readiness by ensuring required hardware, tooling, documentation, materials, and configurations are available before work begins.
• Partner with Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Validation, Production, Supply Chain, and Field Operations to remove technical and execution blockers.
• Maintain safety, craftsmanship, quality, documentation, traceability, and configuration-control standards; use build-floor feedback to improve tooling, methods, work instructions, manufacturability, and recovery processes.

Skills

Team leadership

Troubleshooting

Prioritization

Documentation

Tools

Wiring

Soldering

Machining

Fixtures

Test equipment

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

Zipline's next-generation aircraft and supporting hardware must be built, integrated, validated, recovered, and improved while products, processes, and configurations are still evolving. Your team turns engineering intent into safe, traceable hardware that enables validation, production, remanufacturing, and reliable field operations.

You will lead and work alongside Engineering Technicians on the build floor. Your role will be to own build readiness, daily execution priorities, technical blocker resolution, recovery quality, and technician capability so the team can deliver high-quality hardware consistently.

What You'll Do

• Lead hands-on electromechanical builds, integration, validation, troubleshooting, rework, and recovery of aircraft and supporting hardware.
• Directly manage, hire, onboard, schedule, coach, review, and develop a team of Engineering Technicians.
• Set daily priorities and allocate technician capacity across prototype, NPI, validation, production support, remanufacturing, and field-operations work.
• Resolve competing execution needs by coordinating cross-functional tradeoffs and escalating decisions when needed.
• Confirm build readiness by ensuring required hardware, tooling, documentation, materials, and configurations are available before work begins.
• Partner with Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Validation, Production, Supply Chain, and Field Operations to remove technical and execution blockers.
• Maintain safety, craftsmanship, quality, documentation, traceability, and configuration-control standards; use build-floor feedback to improve tooling, methods, work instructions, manufacturability, and recovery processes.

What You'll Bring

• 6+ years building complex electromechanical hardware in UAV, aerospace, robotics, automotive, manufacturing, or a similar hardware environment.
• Experience leading technicians or managing technical teams supporting prototype, NPI, validation, production, or hardware recovery work.
• Strong hands-on troubleshooting across mechanical, electrical, test, and integrated hardware systems.
• Experience building and integrating complex assemblies using wiring, soldering, composites, machining, fixtures, test equipment, and validation tools.
• Ability to interpret mechanical drawings, electrical schematics, BOMs, work instructions, and technical documentation.
• Ability to prioritize competing hardware work, make sound decisions, and remove blockers in an evolving development environment.
• A hands-on build-floor leadership style with high standards for ownership, process discipline, documentation, safety, and quality.

What Else You Need To Know

The starting cash range for this role is$120,00 to $150,000. 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.

Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey. Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiring process or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in a confidential file.

As set forth in Zipline ’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.