Mechanical Test Engineer — Validation & Automation

Zipline; South San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Zipline in South San Francisco hires ME Test engineers across Avionics, Ground Systems and SMI. You will be responsible for hands-on validation of flight and ground test hardware, develop verification plans, and design/test fixtures and instrumentation for robust, scalable deployment.

You will collaborate with mechanical, electrical, embedded software, systems and manufacturing teams to drive failures to root cause and enable rapid, reliable testing across programs.

Qualifications

• Hands-on validation of hardware from development to deployment.
• Experience designing and building test rigs and automated cycle-test systems.
• Strong fundamentals in statics, dynamics, kinematics, fatigue and FEA.
• Experience with sensors and data-acquisition systems.

Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end validation of mechanisms, structures, enclosures, electromechanical assemblies, and mechanical interfaces from prototype through fleet deployment.
• Translate product requirements and field conditions into measurable test requirements and pass/fail criteria.
• Develop verification plans with clear coverage and acceptance criteria.
• Design, analyze, build, and maintain test stands, fixtures, environmental setups, and representative system test articles.
• Select and integrate instrumentation (load cells, torque sensors, accelerometers, thermocouples, etc.).
• Produce drawings, BOMs, and maintenance documentation for test equipment.

Skills

Mechanical validation

Test rigs design

Automated testing

Data analysis

Python scripting

Tools

DAQ hardware

CAD software

Job description

Zipline in South San Francisco hires ME Test engineers across Avionics, Ground Systems and SMI. You will be responsible for hands-on validation of flight and ground test hardware, develop verification plans, and design/test fixtures and instrumentation for robust, scalable deployment.

You will collaborate with mechanical, electrical, embedded software, systems and manufacturing teams to drive failures to root cause and enable rapid, reliable testing across programs.