Senior Drone Test Systems Engineer — Embedded & Automation

Zipline; South San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Zipline is seeking a Senior Integration & Test Software Engineer (Long Range Platform) to own software-driven test systems validating our long-range delivery drones across engineering, manufacturing, and fleet operations. You will design, deploy, and sustain turnkey SIL/HIL/EOLT rigs and automation that impact throughput, defect rates, and fleet reliability in production and field deployments.

You will lead software that orchestrates test sequences, data capture, analysis, and reporting,

Qualifications

• 5+ years building integration/test software that interfaces with hardware.
• Strong Python and C/C++ skills; Linux system administration; experience with CI, Git, and test automation frameworks.
• Embedded and hardware experience: hands-on with embedded systems, board bring-up, instrumentation (oscilloscopes, DAQ, power analyzers), and HIL/SIL/EOL test architectures.
• Production & safety context: delivering automation to production schedules and quality targets.
• Measurable delivery record: shipped systems with quantified impact (throughput, yield, reliability).
• On-site in South San Francisco; ability to work from the office regularly.
• Visa sponsorship is available.

Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end delivery of test systems (SIL, HIL, EOLT, bench rigs) from prototype through production deployment and field sustainment.
• Define targets such as test coverage %, MTTD, reduction in test cycle time, and defect escape rate reductions tied to your systems.
• Architect, implement, and maintain software that runs test sequences, data capture, analysis, and reporting; build automation and dashboards for engineers and operators.
• Integrate software with hardware under test: board bring-up, sensor calibration, motion/power systems, and DAQ instruments; validate against datasheets in lab and factory settings.
• Lead investigations and root-cause analysis for failures discovered in test or production; develop corrective actions and drive closure with engineering and operations.
• Define and enforce test standards, pass/fail criteria, and validation protocols; own CI/validation pipelines gating changes to flight or manufacturing systems.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with embedded firmware, hardware, manufacturing, supply chain, and field ops to deploy test systems at scale; travel to sites as required.
• Support on-call rotations and production escalations; travel up to ~20% in first year.

Job description

Zipline is seeking a Senior Integration & Test Software Engineer (Long Range Platform) to own software-driven test systems validating our long-range delivery drones across engineering, manufacturing, and fleet operations. You will design, deploy, and sustain turnkey SIL/HIL/EOLT rigs and automation that impact throughput, defect rates, and fleet reliability in production and field deployments.

You will lead software that orchestrates test sequences, data capture, analysis, and reporting,