Mechatronics Engineer, Production Test

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

Job summary

Zipline, the world’s largest autonomous drone logistics company, is hiring a Mechatronics Engineer, Production Test at its South San Francisco site. You will own electrical, functional, and automated test systems that verify Zipline aircraft, dock, delivery pod, and subassembly hardware at scale.

This role leads end‑to‑end test system delivery for high‑throughput manufacturing, prioritizes safety and traceability, and collaborates with design, firmware, quality, and operations to improve yield

Qualifications

• 2+ years building production test systems or end-of-line testers for electro-mechanical products.
• Experience with automated test equipment and production testing.
• BS in Electrical, Mechatronics, Mechanical, or Computer Engineering.

Responsibilities

• Build testers integrating harnessing, DAQ, sensors, actuators, and safety interlocks.
• Own production testers from requirements through release and sustainment.
• Define test coverage, pass/fail limits, GP&R, and release criteria with partners.
• Implement test automation and data pipelines for MES/MFG integration.
• Troubleshoot tester issues and wiring on the factory floor.
• Improve yield, cycle time, uptime, and utilization; report monthly.
• Coordinate vendor builds, FAT/SAT, training, calibration, and change control.
• Standardize tester interfaces and maintenance records.

Skills

Python

Test automation

Data pipelines

CAN bus

UART

Ethernet

I2C

SPI

USB

PCBA debugging

Cross-functional

Troubleshooting

Education

BS Electrical Engineering

Tools

LabVIEW

TestStand

DAQ

Embedded test FW

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 You & The Role

We are hiring a Mechatronics Engineer, Production Test 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 expevcted 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 (onsite-first with regular floor presence); travel to other Zipline sites or vendor locations may be required for launches and validations.

What You’ll Do

• Build electrical and functional testers that integrate harnessing, DAQ, sensors, actuators, power systems, safety interlocks, and mechanical fixtures.


• Own production testers and calibration stations from requirements through internal or vendor build, installation, validation, release, and sustainment.


• Define test coverage, pass/fail limits, golden units, GR&R, capability targets, and release criteria with design, firmware, quality, and operations partners.


• Implement test automation and data pipelines for repeatable execution, logging, MES/MFG integration, and production dashboards.


• Troubleshoot PCBA failures, tester instability, fixture issues, software defects, and product/tester correlation failures on the factory floor.


• Improve first-pass yield, false-fail rate, cycle time, uptime, and utilization; set targets and report progress monthly.


• Coordinate vendor builds, FAT/SAT, qualification, training, calibration, spares, and change control.


• Standardize tester interfaces and automation to reduce operator steps and touch time; maintain procedures, validation records, and maintenance plans for traceable production.

What You’ll Bring

• 2+ years building production test systems, automated test equipment, or end-of-line testers for electro-mechanical or mechatronic products; demonstrated ownership of multiple shipped tester programs.


• 5–7 years of relevant experience preferred.


• A BS in Electrical, Mechatronics, Mechanical, or Computer Engineering, or equivalent experience.


• Hands-on skills in instrumentation, signal measurement, power delivery, harnessing, sensors, actuators, and PCBA debugging.


• Strong test-automation experience; Python is preferred, with experience in LabVIEW, TestStand, or embedded test frameworks and common test instruments.


• Familiarity with CAN, UART, Ethernet, I2C, SPI, USB, and firmware-hardware interactions.


• A record of measurable production improvements, cross-functional coordination, and vendor qualification.


• Rigorous attention to safety, traceability, hands‑on troubleshooting, and technical judgment under production pressure.

First-Year Success

• Deliver and validate 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.


• Sustain traceable, repeatable test execution and report progress 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.