Manufacturing Test Engineer

Zipline; South San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 125,000 - 145,000; Full time

Job summary

Zipline, based in South San Francisco, is hiring a Manufacturing Test Engineer to own electrical, functional and automated test systems for aircraft, docks, delivery pods and subassemblies. You’ll lead end-to-end test system delivery on high-throughput production lines, emphasizing safety, traceability and measurable yield improvements.

This onsite role requires hands-on debugging on factory floors, cross-functional coordination, and building scalable tester architectures with Python, LabVIEW

Qualifications

• 2+ years building production test systems, automated test equipment, or end-of-line testers for electro-mechanical or mechatronic products.
• BS in Electrical, Mechatronics, Mechanical, or Computer Engineering, or equivalent experience.
• Hands-on skill with instrumentation, signal measurement, power delivery, harnessing, connectors, sensors, actuators, and PCBA-level electrical debug.
• Strong test-automation experience: Python; experience with LabVIEW, TestStand, or embedded test frameworks.
• Proficiency with CAN, UART, Ethernet, I2C, SPI, and USB interfaces and validating communications.
• History of improving production metrics (yield, cycle time, false fails, tester utilization) with data-driven reporting.
• Comfort with cross-functional coordination, vendor builds, FAT/SAT, and production qualification.
• Rigorous safety and traceability mindset; hands-on test/debug capability with measurable outcomes.

Responsibilities

• Own assigned electrical, functional, and automated production testers and calibration stations from requirements through build, installation, validation, release, and sustainment.
• Define test coverage, pass/fail limits, golden-unit strategies, GR&R, capability targets, and release criteria with Design, Firmware, Quality, and Operations.
• Integrate harnesses, DAQ, sensors, actuators, power systems, safety interlocks, and fixtures to meet throughput and cycle-time needs.
• Build automation and data pipelines using Python, LabVIEW/TestStand, or equivalents for reproducible execution and dashboards.
• Troubleshoot production escalations on the factory floor; distinguish product defects from tester issues and validate corrective changes.
• Improve first-pass yield, false-fail rate, tester uptime, utilization, and per-unit cycle time; report progress monthly.
• Coordinate launch readiness with Manufacturing Engineering, Quality, Technicians, Operations, and vendors; manage training, calibration, spares, and change control.
• Evaluate and deploy scalable tester architectures and automation to reduce touch time and standardize interfaces.

Skills

Production test systems

Automated test equipment

End-of-line testers

Electrical debugging

Test-automation

Python

LabVIEW

TestStand

CAN

UART

Ethernet

I2C

SPI

USB

GR&R

Data-driven metrics

Manufacturing floor support

Education

BS in Electrical Engineering

BS in Mechatronics Engineering

BS in Mechanical Engineering

BS in Computer Engineering

Equivalent experience

Tools

LabVIEW

TestStand

DAQ

Oscilloscopes

DMMs

Power supplies

Electronic loads

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.

About Zipline 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 We are hiring a Manufacturing Test Engineer to own electrical, functional, and automated test systems that verify Zipline aircraft, dock, delivery pod, and subassembly hardware at scale. Zipline operates safety-critical autonomous aircraft and logistics systems that deliver medicine and essentials across varied field conditions; production test directly affects fleet uptime, field reliability, and customer deliveries. In this role you will lead end-to-end test system delivery for factory floors that support high-throughput manufacturing and rapid product iterations. You will be expected to prioritize safety, traceability, and measurable improvements in yield and time-to-deploy while working in a fast-scaling production environment with direct consequences for aircraft reliability and delivery network performance.

This opening sits within our manufacturing engineering team; the exact focus will reflect your strengths and the team’s needs. This role is based at Zipline’s South San Francisco manufacturing site, with an onsite-first approach and regular factory-floor presence. Travel to other Zipline sites or vendor locations may be required for launches and validations.

What You’ll Do

• Own assigned electrical, functional, and automated production testers and calibration stations from requirements through internal or vendor build, installation, validation, production release, and sustainment for aircraft, docks, delivery pods, and subassemblies.
• Define test coverage, pass/fail limits, golden-unit strategies, GR&R, capability targets, and release criteria with Design, Firmware, Quality, and Operations.
• Integrate harnesses, DAQ, sensors, actuators, power systems, safety interlocks, and mechanical fixtures to meet throughput and cycle-time needs.
• Build automation and data pipelines using Python, LabVIEW/TestStand, or equivalent tools for reproducible execution, data logging, MES/MFG integration, and dashboards.
• Troubleshoot production escalations on the factory floor under time pressure, including PCBA-level electrical failures, tester instability, fixture issues, software bugs, and product/tester correlation. Distinguish product defects from measurement or tester problems and validate corrective changes before release.
• Improve first-pass yield, false-fail rate, tester uptime, utilization, and per-unit cycle time; set targets and report progress monthly.
• Coordinate assigned launch readiness with Manufacturing Engineering, Quality, Technicians, Operations, and vendors, including requirements, validation plans, operator and technician training, calibration schedules, spares, change control, vendor builds, FAT/SAT, and production qualification.
• Evaluate and deploy scalable tester architectures and automation that reduce operator steps, minimize touch time, and standardize interfaces across lines.
• Maintain test procedures, maintenance and calibration plans, validation records, and change-control artifacts required for production readiness and traceability.

What You’ll Bring

• 2+ years building production test systems, automated test equipment, or end-of-line testers for electro-mechanical or mechatronic products is required; demonstrated ownership of multiple shipped tester programs.
• A BS in Electrical, Mechatronics, Mechanical, or Computer Engineering, or equivalent experience.
• Hands-on skill with instrumentation, signal measurement, power delivery, harnessing, connectors, sensors, actuators, and PCBA-level electrical debug.
• Strong test-automation experience: Python preferred; experience with LabVIEW, TestStand, or embedded test frameworks and integrating DAQ, oscilloscopes, DMMs, power supplies, and electronic loads.
• Proficiency with embedded/product interfaces, including CAN, UART, Ethernet, I2C, SPI, and USB, and strategies for validating communications and firmware-hardware interactions.
• A record of improving production metrics such as yield, cycle time, false fails, tester utilization, or GR&R through data-driven technical work, with ownership of metrics reporting.
• Comfort with frequent cross-functional coordination, vendor builds, FAT/SAT, and production qualification.
• Rigorous attention to safety and traceability, decisive technical judgment under production pressure, hands-on test/debug capability, and insistence on measurable outcomes.
• Experience working directly on manufacturing floors during launches and escalations; willingness to spend significant onsite time supporting shifts, debugging, and qualifying equipment.

Nice to Have

• 5–7 years of relevant experience preferred. This is a preference, not an additional minimum requirement.

First-Year Success

• Deliver and validate assigned production tester programs with documented acceptance criteria and production-release evidence.
• Reduce false failures and improve first-pass yield, cycle time, and tester uptime for supported lines against agreed targets.
• Sustain traceable, repeatable test execution and report progress monthly against agreed production goals.

What Else You Need To Know

The starting cash range for this role is $125,000 - $145,000. 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.

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.