On-Site Supplier Quality Engineer – SF Bay Area

Zipline; South San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Zipline, the world’s leading drone delivery company, is seeking a Supplier Quality Engineer to own supplier quality across assigned suppliers and components in South San Francisco. You will partner with engineering, manufacturing, and supply chain to prevent defects and strengthen production readiness.

The role requires hands-on shop floor work, strong problem solving (8D, 5 Whys), and verifying corrective actions while expanding supplier controls.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering or a related technical field or equivalent experience.
• 5+ years in supplier quality, manufacturing quality, or similar hardware roles.
• Proven containment, root-cause, corrective action, and verification.
• Experience with 8D, 5 Whys, and fishbone analyses.

Responsibilities

• Own supplier quality performance: Manage quality for assigned suppliers, establish clear expectations, monitor performance, and drive improvement plans based on risk, defect trends, and production impact.
• Lead containment and corrective action: Coordinate rapid containment of supplier defects across supplier inventory, incoming material, and production. Lead structured investigations that address both why a defect occurred and why it escaped detection, and verify that corrective actions prevent recurrence.
• Support supplier and part qualification: Partner with Supplier Industrialization Engineering to assess supplier capabilities and review evidence supporting the Zipline Part Approval Process (ZPAP), including first article inspections, material certifications, traceability, process controls, and measurement capability.
• Strengthen supplier process controls: Review process flows, process failure mode and effects analyses (PFMEAs), control plans, work instructions, and inspection methods.
• Confirm that controls address critical requirements and are implemented effectively on the production floor.
• Improve incoming quality: Work with Incoming Quality Control and Engineering to define inspection criteria and recommend inspection strategies based on part criticality, supplier capability, and demonstrated performance.
• Support launches and production changes: Participate in new‑product builds, production ramps, supplier transfers, and design or process changes. Identify quality risks, track readiness gaps, and support closure before affected parts enter production.
• Drive supplier development: Conduct supplier process audits and hands‑on improvement activities to reduce defects, scrap, rework, and recurring production disruptions.
• Connect production and field learnings: Partner with Manufacturing and Reliability teams to investigate supplier‑related failures and incorporate lessons learned into supplier controls and qualification requirements.
• Maintain clear records and visibility: Keep supplier quality issues, corrective actions, and qualification evidence traceable to the relevant part, revision, and supplier. Communicate performance trends, open risks, recovery plans, and decisions needed.

Skills

8D problem solving

5 Whys

Fishbone analysis

Root cause analysis

Structured problem solving

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering or related field

Tools

APQP

PPAP

PFMEA

Control Plans

SPC

MSA

GD&T knowledge

Job description

Zipline, the world’s leading drone delivery company, is seeking a Supplier Quality Engineer to own supplier quality across assigned suppliers and components in South San Francisco. You will partner with engineering, manufacturing, and supply chain to prevent defects and strengthen production readiness.

The role requires hands-on shop floor work, strong problem solving (8D, 5 Whys), and verifying corrective actions while expanding supplier controls.