Operations Engineer

Zipline; South San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 104,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

Zipline is seeking an Operations Engineer within Manufacturing Engineering to connect demand, output, staffing, shifts, equipment, space, material flow, process capability, and capital investment on the factory floor. You will turn production goals into practical plans, remove bottlenecks, and implement improvements to sustain throughput and cost efficiency.

You will lead capacity analyses, balance workloads, and collaborate across Manufacturing, Production, and Supply Chain to optimize lines,

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, or a related technical field.
• 3+ years in industrial, manufacturing, operations engineering, or production systems.
• Experience with time studies, labor and capacity models, line balancing, takt time, standard work, factory layouts, and material flow.
• Track record of identifying manufacturing constraints and improving throughput, productivity, utilization, lead time, or cost.
• Strong spreadsheet and analytical skills, including work with ERP, MES, labor-tracking, and production data.

Responsibilities

• Build capacity and capital-investment scenarios for labor, equipment, tooling, shifts, floor space, and future demand.
• Identify bottlenecks and implement improvements in throughput, utilization, cycle time, labor efficiency, and cost.
• Lead time studies and define standard work and labor models; balance station loading against takt time.
• Own factory performance and production-system design, connecting processes into an efficient end-to-end system.
• Improve factory layouts, workstations, operator movement, and material presentation.
• Define WIP, buffer, queue, and rework strategies to protect output while reducing inventory and lead time.
• Partner with Manufacturing, Production, Supply Chain, and Material Planning on line architecture, lineside availability, and replenishment.
• Develop factory KPIs, decision tools, make-versus-buy analyses, and investment cases; drive improvements through implementation.

Skills

Time studies

Line balancing

Takt time

Factory layouts

Analytical skills

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering or related field

Tools

ERP/MES platforms

SQL

Python

BI tools

Labor-tracking systems

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. Our customers include the world’s largest and most prominent healthcare systems, governments, retailers, restaurants and global businesses who rely on us to save lives, reduce emissions, increase economic opportunity, and provide delivery from point A to point B as fast as possible. The drone is only 15% of what we’ve built to enable seamless, reliable, global operations. Our system strengthens supply chains, reduces congestion, and gives people time back. With more than 140 million commercial autonomous miles safely flown, Zipline is redefining access to healthcare, consumer products, and food across the globe. We operate at a global scale and are looking for practical problem solvers who thrive on real-world challenges and rapid growth. Our team is motivated by building systems that have a direct, meaningful impact on people’s lives and by scaling the future of logistics. We are seeking people who sculpt from first principles, enjoy facing adversity, and can do the impossible at record breaking speeds.

About The Role

As an Operations Engineer on Manufacturing Engineering, you will connect demand, output, staffing, shifts, equipment, space, material flow, process capability, and capital investment. Working with production teams on the factory floor, you will make constraints visible, improve flow, and help leaders scale capacity deliberately. You will turn production goals into practical factory plans, remove bottlenecks, implement improvements, and establish operating routines that support timely corrective action. Your work will help manufacturing leaders match capacity to demand and sustain improvements in throughput, utilization, lead time, and cost.

What You’ll Do

• Build capacity and capital-investment scenarios for labor, equipment, tooling, shifts, floor space, and future demand.
• Identify current and future bottlenecks and implement improvements in throughput, utilization, cycle time, labor efficiency, and cost.
• Lead time studies, define standard work and labor models, and balance station loading against takt time.
• Own factory performance and production-system design, connecting individual processes into an efficient end-to-end system.
• Improve factory layouts, workstations, operator movement, and material presentation.
• Define WIP, buffer, queue, and rework strategies that protect output while reducing inventory and lead time.
• Partner with Manufacturing, Production, Supply Chain, and Material Planning on line architecture, lineside availability, and replenishment.
• Develop factory KPIs, decision tools, make-versus-buy analyses, and investment cases; carry improvements through implementation.

What You’ll Bring

• A bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Operations Research, Systems Engineering, or a related technical field.
• 3+ years in industrial engineering, manufacturing engineering, operations engineering, production systems, or a comparable environment.
• Experience with time studies, labor and capacity models, line balancing, takt time, standard work, factory layouts, and material flow.
• A record of identifying manufacturing constraints and improving throughput, productivity, utilization, lead time, or cost.
• Strong spreadsheet and analytical skills, including work with ERP, MES, labor-tracking, and production data.
• Ability to build operational and financial models for capital investment, automation, make-versus-buy, and factory scaling.
• A hands‑on approach, clear communication, and ownership of improvements from ambiguous problem through implementation.

Nice to Have

• 5–7 years of relevant experience.
• Experience scaling complex electromechanical products, expanding factories, or launching new production lines.
• Familiarity with simulation, optimization, SQL, Python, BI tools, manufacturing dashboards, or ERP/MES platforms.
• Experience with Lean manufacturing, Theory of Constraints, PFMEA, value-stream mapping, or automation business cases.

What Else You Need To Know

The starting cash range for this role is $104,000 - $170,000. 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. If you like the sound of this position but are not sure if you are the perfect fit, please apply!

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.