Mechanical Engineer, Production Equipment & Automation

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

Job summary

Zipline is seeking a Mechanical Engineer, Production Equipment in South San Francisco to own design and deployment of fixtures, workstations and end‑of‑line test gear for aircraft assembly and battery integration. You’ll influence throughput, yield, and uptime on production lines, with on‑site work and occasional after‑hours commissioning and up to 15% travel.

You’ll collaborate across Design, Manufacturing, Quality and Supply Chain to deliver safe, reliable equipment, and you’ll apply GD&T, 3D

Qualifications

• 5+ years designing production equipment, fixtures, or automation in a high-volume or rapidly scaling manufacturing environment.
• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or equivalent practical experience.
• Strong command of GD&T, tolerance analysis, mechanisms, material selection, and failure-mode thinking.
• Proficiency in 3D CAD; Siemens NX is preferred. SolidWorks or Creo experience is acceptable with a strong commitment to learning NX.
• Hands‑on fabrication, build, commissioning, debugging, testing, and operator‑training experience.
• Practical knowledge of pneumatics, actuators, sensors, linear motion, guarding, and industrial electrical interfaces.
• Experience coordinating vendor builds, validating equipment against drawings and quality criteria, and delivering measurable improvements in cycle time, uptime, yield, or cost.
• Strong ownership, sound judgment under pressure, and a commitment to safety and reliability

Responsibilities

• Own equipment and tooling projects from requirements, Siemens NX CAD, and detailed drawings through vendor fabrication, build, commissioning, and production release.
• Design alignment fixtures, press and torque tooling, ergonomic stations, error‑proofing devices, handling fixtures, and automated end‑of‑line test rigs.
• Apply tooling standards, GD&T, tolerance analysis, and material and process selection to safe, maintainable equipment.
• Lead hands‑on debugging and root‑cause analysis during launches and production ramps, then validate durable improvements.
• Coordinate equipment scope, test requirements, and schedules with Design Engineering, Manufacturing, Quality, Supply Chain, Test, and Field Operations.
• Write technical RFQs, evaluate proposals, verify vendor quality, and perform acceptance testing before and after installation.
• Target tooling availability above 95%, station‑level manual assembly cycle‑time reductions of 20–40%, and at least 10% improvement in first‑pass yield on targeted assemblies within the first 6–12 months of deployment.

Skills

Equipment design

Root-cause analysis

Vendor coordination

Hands-on fabrication

Safety & reliability

Machinery maintenance

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering

Tools

Siemens NX

SolidWorks/Creo

Job description

Zipline is seeking a Mechanical Engineer, Production Equipment in South San Francisco to own design and deployment of fixtures, workstations and end‑of‑line test gear for aircraft assembly and battery integration. You’ll influence throughput, yield, and uptime on production lines, with on‑site work and occasional after‑hours commissioning and up to 15% travel.

You’ll collaborate across Design, Manufacturing, Quality and Supply Chain to deliver safe, reliable equipment, and you’ll apply GD&T, 3D