New Products Mechanical Design Engineer

Zipline; South San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 135,000 - 220,000; Full time

Job summary

Zipline, the world's leading drone-delivery company, is seeking a seasoned mechanical designer for its New Products team in South San Francisco. You will own end-to-end mechanical subsystem delivery, from concept through production release, balancing weight, reliability, manufacturability, and cost while collaborating with aerodynamics, structures, and flight test teams.

You should bring 5+ years in aerospace or related hardware, hands-on experience with composite or metallic structures and

Qualifications

• 5+ years designing mechanical systems for demanding hardware programs.
• Hands-on experience with composite or metallic structures and precision mechanisms.
• Proficiency in CAD, GD&T, and FEA workflows.
• Experience producing production drawings, BOMs, and supplier specs.
• On-site role with travel to launch/field sites.

Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end mechanical subsystem delivery from concept through production release.
• Translate requirements into designs, tolerances, and verification plans.
• Produce drawings, GD&T, BOMs, and supplier specs; manage qualification and changes.
• Drive test campaigns: design fixtures, instrumentation, validation, data collection.
• Use first-principles analysis and FEA to set margins and life predictions.
• Prototype and iterate in-shop; move validated prototypes to producible designs.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams and act as mechanical design authority in reviews.
• Deliver measurable outcomes: reduce mass, meet MTBF targets, on-time releases.

Skills

Mechanical design

Prototype to production

Composite/metallic structures

Precision mechanisms

CAD (NX/SolidWorks)

GD&T

FEA analysis

Tools

NX

SolidWorks

FEA software

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 And The Role

The New Products team invents Zipline’s next generation of systems. We’re looking for exceptional mechanical designers to develop the lightweight structures and precision mechanisms that enable entirely new aircraft capabilities.

You thrive in ambiguity and enjoy creating hardware that has never existed before. Whether your expertise is in composite structures, mechanisms, or both, you combine strong engineering fundamentals with a hands‑on approach to rapidly turn ideas into reliable hardware. You are comfortable moving between concept generation, analysis, CAD, prototyping, testing, and manufacturing, always balancing performance, weight, reliability, manufacturability, cost, and schedule.

You have a track record of solving difficult engineering problems through first-principles thinking, rapid experimentation, and sound technical judgment.

What You'll Do

• Own end-to-end mechanical subsystem delivery for assigned scope (examples: wing/centerbody structure, landing/release mechanisms, payload bay interfaces, or actuation systems) from concept through production release and field deployment.
• Translate mission requirements (mass budget, MTBF targets, operational duty cycles, environmental exposure, and turnaround time) into concrete designs, CAD, tolerance stacks, and verification plans.
• Produce and release drawings, GD&T, BOMs, and supplier specifications; coordinate part qualification, change control, and supplier handoffs to manufacturing partners.
• Drive test campaigns: design test fixtures, lead lab and flight-test instrumentation, execute structural and mechanism validation, collect data, and close failure modes against defined acceptance criteria.
• Use first-principles analysis and FEA to set margins, predict loads and fatigue life, and iterate designs to meet quantified targets (mass, stiffness, life, and safety factors).
• Rapidly prototype and iterate in-shop: build assemblies, lead bench and environmental tests, and convert validated prototypes into producible designs with documented producibility improvements.
• Collaborate daily with aerodynamics, structures, controls/autonomy, flight test, manufacturing, and operations teams; own cross-functional tradeoffs and be the mechanical authority in design reviews.
• Deliver measurable outcomes: reduce subsystem mass within specified range, demonstrate target MTBF or cycle life in test, close validation test plans to signoff, and achieve on‑time drawing release for production runs.

What You'll Bring

• Required: 5+ years designing mechanical systems for aerospace, robotics, automotive, or similarly demanding hardware programs, with direct experience moving hardware from prototype to production.
• Required: Demonstrated hands‑on experience with composite or metallic structural design and/or precision mechanisms (laminates/bonded joints, load path design, bearings, linkages, latches, or actuation systems). Provide concrete examples of subsystems you owned.
• Required: Proficiency in CAD (NX, SolidWorks, or equivalent), GD&T, FEA workflow for structural substantiation, and familiarity with test methods for fatigue, environmental, and life testing.
• Required: Experience producing production drawings, BOMs, supplier specs, and participating in supplier qualification and change‑control processes.
• Required logistics: This role is onsite at our engineering lab/manufacturing campus with frequent hands‑on build and test work; expect regular participation in flight‑test campaigns and periodic travel (program‑dependent) to launch/field sites.
• Required traits: rigorous first‑principles problem solving, data‑driven validation mindset, and willingness to work at the bench alongside technicians during iterative test cycles.
• Nice to have: Python or MATLAB for data analysis, experience with bonded composite manufacturing or automated layup, prior responsibility for structural substantiation or certification artifacts, and prior work on safety‑critical aircraft subsystems.
• Nice to have: Patents, commercialized products, or exceptional personal engineering projects demonstrating creativity and craftsmanship.
• Constraints: This posting preserves the role scope and seniority; Zipline may sponsor work authorization where applicable.

What Else You Need To Know

The starting cash range for this role is $135,000 - $220,000. Please note that this is a target, starting cash range for a candidate who meets the minimum qualifications for this role. 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.