RF Test Engineer (Senior - Staff)

Zipline; South San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Zipline is hiring for an Avionics RF Test Engineer to own design validation and test planning for RF products used in our life‑saving drone system. You will coordinate with hardware, software, and test teams to ensure high‑quality test plans and campaigns from development through production.

You’ll build subject‑matter expertise on tested components, analyze data, triage field issues, and support certification testing to enable safe operation in real-world environments.

Qualifications

• 3+ years in RF engineering with testing, performance validation, and design verification.
• BS or MS in Electrical Engineering with RF focus.
• Experience testing sensors/electronics for critical systems.
• RF test asset design validation in high-volume production.
• Experience with Wi‑Fi, GNSS, ADS‑B, UWB, Radar or similar wireless protocols.
• Ability to design test plans, requirements, standards and criteria.
• Strong knowledge of communications fundamentals and signal processing.
• Proficient in Python, Linux environments, and scripting (bash/shell).
• Excellent communication and cross‑functional collaboration skills.
• Eligible to work in the US and able to work on site at Zipline South San Francisco.

Responsibilities

• Own design validation and test planning for RF products, including manufacturing test.
• Become SME on tested components, capturing behavior under varied conditions.
• Coordinate cross‑functional teams and vendors to deploy test plans.
• Drive end‑to‑end test campaigns from development to production.
• Triage field failures with data analysis and test campaigns.
• Support certification testing for safe real‑world flight.

Skills

RF engineering

Test planning

Data analysis

Python

Linux

Communication

Cross-functional teamwork

Education

Bachelor’s/Master’s in Electrical Engineering (RF focus)

Tools

Python

Linux

Bash/Shell

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 You And The Role

The Avionics team is a group of hardware, software, and test experts responsible for designing robust systems that control our life‑saving drone delivery service in some of the toughest environments on Earth. The Avionics system is a vital part of the overall Zipline aircraft system architecture, where we strive to achieve high performance and reliability while minimizing mass and cost. You and our team will be responsible for delivering high‑performance communication and navigation systems that are tightly integrated into the aircraft and flight computer, and for ensuring these systems support Zipline’s expansion from 100,000 deliveries per year to 100 million across the globe.

What You’ll Do

• Own the design validation and test planning efforts for our RF products, including both design validation and manufacturing test.
• Develop a deep understanding of components under test, becoming a subject‑matter expert in the component’s behavior under a range of environmental, performance, and system conditions.
• Coordinate cross‑functional teams and external vendors to deploy high‑quality test plans and test systems in a timely manner to support production timelines.
• Drive end‑to‑end test campaigns from development through design validation, certification, and production, often working on all facets simultaneously.
• Triage and root‑cause field failures, using data analysis, test heritage, correlation to operating conditions, and one‑off test campaigns.
• Support the certification testing to enable our aircraft to fly in the real world.

What You’ll Bring

• 3+ years of experience in RF engineering roles, with manufacturing test, system performance testing, certification, and design validation experience.
• Bachelor’s and/or Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, with a focus on RF communications and design.
• Past test engineering experience in sensors and electronics for critical systems in fields such as automotive, aerospace, transportation, or medical devices.
• Test asset design validation for RF products in high‑volume production environments.
• Experience with one or more of Wi‑Fi, Cell, GNSS, ADS‑B, UWB, Radar, or similar consumer electronics wireless protocols.
• Experience developing test plans, test requirements, test standards, and test criteria for hardware products and RF systems.
• Strong understanding of communication system fundamentals including linear systems, signal processing, and communication theory.
• Proficient in Python, Linux environments, and scripting languages such as Bash or Shell.
• Enthusiasm for collaborating in a fast‑paced, cross‑functional environment.
• Clear communication skills and the ability to explain technical challenges and solutions to fellow engineers and non‑engineers alike.
• Must be eligible to work in the US.
• Must be able to work in person at Zipline’s South San Francisco office.

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.