Senior Engineering Technician - System Test

Namely; South San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 95,000 - 135,000; Full time

Job summary

Zipline is seeking a Sr. Test Technician for the System Test team in South San Francisco. You will develop and run large-scale environmental test campaigns for Zipline’s hardware lines, including wind tunnels and thermal chambers, while maintaining and upgrading test assets and documenting procedures.

Strong electromechanical skills and Linux experience are valued. The role combines autonomous decision-making with cross‑team collaboration, overseeing complex tests from development to deployment

Responsibilities

• Operate System Test aircraft and ground-system equipment, and manage large-scale test campaigns.
• Troubleshoot, maintain, and upgrade aircraft and other Zipline hardware assets.
• Troubleshoot and maintain complex test assets (wind tunnels, walk-in thermal chambers, ingress rigs).
• Develop and maintain checklists and documentation for system tests especially for issue triaging.
• Manage multiple priorities and shepherd aircraft through different programmatic stages.
• Troubleshoot real test failures, working with engineering teams to diagnose first-of-their-kind failures.
• Help design and commission large-scale test capabilities at Zipline: Multiple full-vehicle wind tunnels, Walk-in thermal chambers, High Temperature High Humidity chambers, Monsoon Ingress Test Cell, Freeze-thaw test chambers, Lightning and other tests
• Complex instrumentation and data acquisition for R&D vehicle tests (strain, acceleration, temperature, acoustics)
• Develop best practices for aircraft maintenance, utilizing Zipline software systems to support System Test, and advocating for features needed for System Test use-cases.
• Develop documentation to be able to ‘operationalize’ ground-based system test.
• Align with engineering on the best course of action to achieve system test goals, especially for new technical findings.
• Be comfortable working with latest software developments and controlling experimental aircraft through command line interfaces.

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

System Test is a ultra-fast-pace team responsible for pathfinding new hardware and delivering on environmental and durability campaigns for zipline’s major hardware categories. The direct team is small and lightweight, and interacts with most departments at Zipline.

The System Test team is responsible for designing, building, and running large-scale system test assets like custom wind tunnels, thermal chambers, monsoon rain chambers, and executing the ‘fail fast’ and ‘long-term reliability’ campaigns for all major hardware lines.

As a Sr. Test Technician on the team, you will both work in the development of new environmental test capabilities, and the handling of aircraft and hardware through testing. This involves deep knowledge of Zipline processes and software, and intuitive understanding of debugging aircraft. Strong hardware intuition and electrical skills are essential.

Your role is extremely high autonomy and decision-making, and will interface with all the hardware departments relying on these tests. The team is often the first to find major hardware capabilities and issues, therefore you are often on the front-line for complex problem solving.

What You'll Do

• Independently operate System Test aircraft and ground-system equipment, and manage large-scale test campaigns:
• Troubleshoot, maintain, and upgrade aircraft and other Zipline hardware assets
• Troubleshoot and maintain complex test assets (wind tunnels, walk-in thermal chambers, ingress rigs).
• Develop and maintain checklists and documentation for system tests especially for issue triaging.
• Manage multiple priorities and shepherd aircraft through different programmatic stages.
• Troubleshoot real test failures, working with engineering teams to diagnose first-of-their-kind failures.
• Help design and commission large-scale test capabilities at Zipline: Multiple full-vehicle wind tunnels, Walk-in thermal chambers, High Temperature High Humidity chambers, Monsoon Ingress Test Cell, Freeze-thaw test chambers, Lightning and other tests
• Complex instrumentation and data acquisition for R&D vehicle tests (strain, acceleration, temperature, acoustics)
• Develop best practices for aircraft maintenance, utilizing Zipline software systems to support System Test, and advocating for features needed for System Test use-cases.
• Develop documentation to be able to ‘operationalize’ ground-based system test.
• Align with engineering on the best course of action to achieve system test goals, especially for new technical findings.
• Be comfortable working with latest software developments and controlling experimental aircraft through command line interfaces.

This Role is Right For You If:

• You enjoy working in an ultra-fast paced team, that has you working with latest experimental hardware and software.
• You have experience in commercial aviation or aviation maintenance
• You enjoy troubleshooting and are comfortable with electromechanical build and repair projects.
• You thrive in an autonomous, unpredictable, and dynamic environment where you identify what needs to happen and get it done with very little oversight.
• You have the vigilance and focus to conduct high-power testing in a safe manner and with a focus on optimizing on a daily basis.
• You have excellent communication skills, and are a go-getter that can unblock yourself.
• You have great writing skills and don't let failures or progress go undocumented.
• You have experience with Linux based operating systems (command line experience is a strong plus).

What Else You Need To Know

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!