Manufacturing Engineer, Early Career

Zipline; South San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 104,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

Zipline, based at the South San Francisco manufacturing facility, seeks an early-career manufacturing engineer to turn assembly ideas into pilot builds and production improvements. You’ll work with engineers and technicians on final assembly and feeder sub-assemblies, owning bounded tasks and growing factory-floor judgement.

Ideal candidates have a BS in Mechanical Engineering or related field, hands-on project experience, and a practical approach to safety, quality, and reliable field

Qualifications

• BS in Mechanical Engineering or a related field is required.
• Hands-on internships, co-ops, labs, student projects, or manufacturing work with demonstrated contribution.
• Foundational knowledge of mechanical and electro-mechanical assembly, engineering drawings, and manufacturing processes.

Responsibilities

• Turn assembly ideas into pilot builds, validated processes, and production improvements.
• Design fixtures, gauges, tooling, and workstations with guidance.
• Learn PFMEAs, control plans, capability studies, and first-article inspections.

Skills

3D CAD

Siemens NX

Excel

PFMEA

control plans

first-article inspection

production validation

data analysis

Education

BS in Mechanical Engineering or related field

Tools

Siemens NX

Minitab

JMP

MES/ERP systems

Excel

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.

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 & The Role

Zipline builds, manufactures, and operates autonomous delivery systems that move essential goods. In this role, you will help turn electro-mechanical aircraft, docks, and logistics hardware into safe, reliable, repeatable production processes that support field operations.

Based at Zipline’s South San Francisco manufacturing facility, you will work alongside manufacturing engineers, technicians, and cross-functional partners on final assembly and feeder sub-assemblies. You will own bounded engineering tasks, learn on the factory floor, and help improve quality, throughput, and production readiness.

This individual-contributor role welcomes new graduates and early-career engineers. Relevant internships, co-ops, academic or personal projects, and hands-on manufacturing experience can demonstrate your readiness; there is no experienced-hire years threshold. You will take ownership of clearly scoped tasks with technical guidance and review, build factory-floor judgment, and grow your ability to deliver manufacturing improvements while meeting aerospace safety and field-reliability requirements.

Rare travel between sites may be required during ramp and sustainment. Nights or weekends may be needed to support critical production ramps or outages.

What You’ll Do

• Help turn assembly ideas into pilot builds, validated processes, and production improvements.
• Design and improve fixtures, gauges, tooling, and workstations with technical guidance and review.
• Learn how process decisions are tested through PFMEAs, control plans, capability studies, first-article inspections, and validation.
• Use factory observations and production data to identify opportunities to improve safety, quality, yield, throughput, and downtime.
• Investigate production issues with technicians and engineers, test possible root causes, and verify corrective actions.
• Write clear work instructions and process records, and support technician and operator training.
• Contribute to design-for-manufacturing, layout, capacity, and equipment work; share progress and raise safety, quality, or schedule risks promptly.

What You’ll Bring

• A BS in Mechanical Engineering or a related field is required.
• Hands-on experience through internships, co-ops, laboratories, student teams, academic or personal projects, or manufacturing work, with examples of your contribution and testing.
• Foundational knowledge of mechanical and electro-mechanical assembly, engineering drawings, manufacturing processes, and safe shop or laboratory practices.
• Experience using 3D CAD to design parts, fixtures, jigs, tooling, or assemblies; Siemens NX experience is helpful.
• Familiarity with basic statistics, structured problem solving, and process variation, and willingness to build practical skills in PFMEA, control plans, SPC, Cp/Cpk, first-article inspection, and production validation.
• Ability to organize and analyze engineering or production data using Excel or similar tools; exposure to Minitab, JMP, or MES/ERP systems is helpful.
• A hands-on approach, attention to process details, curiosity about how products are built, and commitment to safety, quality, and reliable field operation.
• Clear communication and collaboration with technicians and engineers, openness to feedback, and the judgment to seek review or elevate risks.
• Ownership of agreed tasks, documentation, and follow-through, with willingness to learn planning, procurement, commissioning, and production sustainment through supported assignments.

What Else You Need To Know

The starting cash range for this role is $104,000 - $140,000. Please note that this is a target, starting cash range for a candidate who meets the minimum qualifications for this role. We are always open to negotiation. The final cash pay for this role will depend on a variety of factors, including a specific candidate's experience, qualifications, skills, working location, and projected impact. The total compensation package for this role may also include: equity compensation; discretionary annual or performance bonuses; sales incentives; benefits such as medical, dental and vision insurance; paid time off; and more.

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. If you like the sound of this position but are not sure if you are the perfect fit, please apply!

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.