Senior Mechanical Engineer (Long Range)

Zipline; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Zipline is seeking an owner-oriented Mechanical Engineer for its Long Range Platform team to design, validate, and deliver critical airframe and electromechanical hardware for long-distance autonomous delivery aircraft.

The role intersects field logistics, fleet operations, and mass production to reduce weight, improve reliability, and raise sortie rates while maintaining safety margins and cost-per-delivery.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical or Aerospace engineering or related field.
• 4+ years of industry experience in electromechanical/structural assemblies.
• Experience with FEA, hand calculations, and test correlation.
• Ability to travel domestically and internationally as needed.
• Strong end-to-end ownership and cross-functional collaboration.

Responsibilities

• Own long-range mechanical subsystems from concept to sustained production.
• Design, validate, and deliver airframe and hardware for autonomous aircraft.
• Lead hands-on build-test-iterate campaigns and generate test plans.
• Perform FEA, buckling, and fatigue analyses; validate with bench tests.
• Collaborate daily with Electrical, Software, and Manufacturing teams.
• Translate requirements into mechanical targets and architecture.
• Provide supplier integration, DFx reviews, and production ramp support.
• Travel to suppliers, production sites, and field depots as needed.

Skills

FEA analysis

Tolerance analysis

GD&T

CAD modeling

Prototype testing

Supplier collaboration

Root-cause investigation

Hands-on build-test

End-to-end ownership

Travel readiness

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical or Aerospace engineering

Tools

NX

3D CAD

Manufacturing drawings

Job description

• You are an owner-oriented Mechanical Engineer joining Zipline’s Long Range Platform team to design, validate, and deliver critical airframe and electromechanical hardware used in long-distance autonomous delivery aircraft
• This role sits at the intersection of field logistics, fleet operations, and mass production: your work will reduce aircraft weight, increase structural and mechanism reliability in harsh field conditions, and enable higher sortie rates for customers who depend on predictable, high-uptime deliveries
• You will operate with end-to-end hardware responsibility—from requirement definition and architecture trade-offs through prototype validation, supplier integration, production ramp, and in-field sustainment—and you will make decisions that directly affect fleet availability, safety margins, and cost-per-delivery
• Own specific Long Range mechanical subsystems (e.g., wing/fuselage primary structure, deployable delivery mechanism, landing gear and attach fittings, or integrated payload-mount assemblies) and be the primary technical lead from concept to sustained production
• Translate operational and fleet requirements (range, payload, sortie cadence, field-maintainability, service intervals, and environmental exposure) into quantitative mechanical performance targets and design architectures
• Produce and iterate detailed CAD models, tolerance stacks, GD&T, and manufacturing drawings enabling supplier quotes, DFx reviews, and inspection plans for volume production
• Run first-principles analysis and engineering simulation (FEA, buckling, fatigue, jointed-assembly loads) and validate with bench tests and flight-representative test rigs; close the loop between analysis and measured performance
• Prototype rapidly, lead hands-on build-test-iterate campaigns, and produce test plans that deliver go/no-go metrics (fatigue cycles, damage tolerance thresholds, mean-time-between-failure targets) tied to release criteria and field reliability goals
• Define and own verification matrices, failure modes & effects for assigned assemblies, and corrective actions through qualification and production ramp; drive root-cause investigations and implement design fixes with clear timelines and acceptance criteria
• Partner daily with Electrical, Software, Integration/Test, Manufacturing Engineering, Supply Chain, and Operations to resolve cross-functional tradeoffs, supplier nonconformances, and production issues; act as the escalation owner for mechanical issues impacting fleet operations
• Support field deployments and production startups as required (on-site presence during launches, supplier plant visits, or depot troubleshooting) and ensure handoff documentation, service procedures, and spares strategies are in place

Hands-on prototyping and test experience: you build fixtures, run validation campaigns, and close design loops from test data to production intentExperience with structural components, mechanisms, fastener systems, composites or metallic airframe-scale assemblies, and designing for serviceability in field conditionsProven track record applying FEA, hand calculations (beam, buckling, bolted joints), tolerance analysis, and test correlation to establish safety and reliability margins for flight or field‑critical hardware4+ years industry experience designing electromechanical and structural assemblies; demonstrable ownership of complex subassemblies through full product cycles (design → qualification → production ramp)Willingness and ability to travel to suppliers, production sites, and field depots on an as-needed basis (periodic domestic and occasional international travel)Strong bias for taking end-to-end ownership: you will stay with issues until verified fixes are in production and fieldedDeep CAD fluency (managing 20–30 part subassemblies and top-level integration), rigorous GD&T skills, and experience producing manufacturing‑ready drawings and inspection criteriaDirect supplier engagement experience: negotiating DFM changes, resolving quality issues, and translating supplier capabilities into producible designsWe value diversity at Zipline and welcome applications from those who are traditionally underrepresented in tech. Aerospace or automotive validation experience, composites design, high-efficiency electric powertrain exposure, NX proficiency, and prior experience scaling prototypes to injection molding, stamping, or extrusion processes