Senior Manufacturing Engineer - Scale Aircraft Assembly Lines

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

Job summary

Zipline is seeking a Senior Manufacturing Engineer to translate complex electro-mechanical products into robust, scalable production lines for aircraft, docks, and logistics hardware. You will own final assembly and feeder lines through validation, release, and sustainment, enabling growth from tens to thousands of units weekly while upholding safety and reliability.

You will lead process validation, fixture/tooling design, and cross-functional coordination with Design Engineering, Quality,

Qualifications

• 7+ years of hands-on manufacturing engineering experience designing, building, and sustaining assembly lines for complex electro-mechanical products.
• BS in Mechanical Engineering required; advanced degree a plus.
• Experience with PFMEA, control plans, SPC, Cp/Cpk, first-article processes, and production validation.
• Experience with MES/ERP and statistical tools to measure yield and process capability.
• End-to-end project ownership with minimal oversight and safety/quality focus.

Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end industrialization of assigned assembly lines and feeder sub-assemblies, from concept, tooling, and pilot builds through production release and sustainment.
• Design, procure, fabricate, install, and commission fixtures, gauges, tooling, workstations, and ergonomic operator flows at Zipline manufacturing sites.
• Define, execute, and sign off on process validation, including PFMEAs, control plans, capability studies (Cp/Cpk), first-article inspections, pilot builds, and production-release criteria.
• Plan capacity and production scaling against demand milestones, including layout, utilities, equipment, and staffing tradeoffs.
• Coordinate execution with Design Engineering, Quality, Supply Chain, Maintenance, and Ops Program Management as the primary manufacturing owner for assigned product lines.
• Support on-site production escalations, including occasional off-shift or weekend interventions during critical ramps or outages, and travel to manufacturing sites as required.

Job description

Zipline is seeking a Senior Manufacturing Engineer to translate complex electro-mechanical products into robust, scalable production lines for aircraft, docks, and logistics hardware. You will own final assembly and feeder lines through validation, release, and sustainment, enabling growth from tens to thousands of units weekly while upholding safety and reliability.

You will lead process validation, fixture/tooling design, and cross-functional coordination with Design Engineering, Quality,