Senior Mechanical Design Engineer - Ground Towers

Zipline; South San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 130,000 - 186,000; Full time

Job summary

Zipline is seeking a Senior Mechanical Design Engineer to own the design of ground systems towers, mechanisms, and electronics integration. You will work on welded steel towers, driving architecture decisions and ensuring robust, scalable solutions for next-generation docks.

You will collaborate across electrical, software, civil, NPI, and supply chain teams to translate data from tests into production-ready designs, with a focus on reliability and manufacturability.

Qualifications

• Experience owning complex subassemblies or full systems through multi-phase programs.
• Strong fundamentals: load estimation, mechanics, hand calculations, FEA and CAD.
• Excellent problem solving with clear explanation of concepts.
• Experience integrating electrical components into hardware.
• Experience with welding, sheet metal forming, extrusion and CNC machining.
• Experience partnering with contract manufacturers for high-volume production.
• Demonstrated CAD fluency for system-level ownership (20–50 parts).
• Disciplined BOMs, SOPs, and up-to-date timelines.
• Expertise in one area that will elevate the team.
• Excellent written and verbal communication.

Responsibilities

• Develop innovative products for ground systems infrastructure focused on welded steel towers.
• Own the design of the entire system and subassemblies, guiding architecture decisions.
• Iterate and downselect using data from analysis and test results.
• Collaborate across electrical, software, civil, NPI and supply chain to move designs to production.

Skills

Subassembly ownership

CAD proficiency

Problem solving

Electrical integration experience

Manufacturing processes

Contract manufacturer collaboration

CAD fluency for system-level ownership

Communication

Structural hand calcs

FEA

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering

Tools

NX

Job description

Zipline is seeking a Senior Mechanical Design Engineer to own the design of ground systems towers, mechanisms, and electronics integration. You will work on welded steel towers, driving architecture decisions and ensuring robust, scalable solutions for next-generation docks.

You will collaborate across electrical, software, civil, NPI, and supply chain teams to translate data from tests into production-ready designs, with a focus on reliability and manufacturability.