Senior Motor Technology Development Engineer

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

Job summary

Zipline seeks a Senior Motor Development Engineer in California to advance the next generation of autonomous drone motors. You will turn novel motor concepts into repeatable, production-ready processes, and work across design, manufacturing, test, controls, and supply chain to build scalable motors.

The role demands hands-on fabrication, fixture design, debugging winding processes, and close collaboration with suppliers to ensure robust, scalable manufacturing.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering or related field.
• 5+ years in electromechanical product development or production equipment.
• Experience taking concepts to prototype, validation, and production release.
• Strong hands-on skills with fixtures, tooling, measurement systems, and production hardware.
• Familiarity with stator winding/manufacturing processes or motor assembly equipment is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Lead development and industrialization of stator winding and motor assembly processes from prototype to production readiness.
• Develop manufacturing methods for wire forming, winding, insertion, termination, impregnation, adhesive application, and related operations.
• Design, prototype, debug, and validate tooling, fixtures, gauges, and production equipment.
• Translate design intent into manufacturable process specs, equipment requirements, and acceptance criteria.
• Plan hands-on experiments, DOE studies, and process trials to evaluate new materials and winding methods.
• Build and test prototype motors and stators; investigate defects using root-cause methods.
• Establish process windows and inspection methods to support repeatable manufacturing.
• Collaborate with electrical, thermal, controls, test, quality, and operations teams on DFM and process integration.
• Work with suppliers to drive equipment development, vendor reviews, and factory acceptance testing.

Skills

Hands-on mechanical skills

CAD

Structured problem solving

DOE

Measurement systems

Education

Bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering

Tools

CAD software

Measurement equipment

Factory automation

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

Zipline is looking for a Senior Motor Development Engineer to help develop the next generation of electric motor technologies that enable our autonomous delivery systems. This is a hands‑on mechanical engineering role focused on turning new motor concepts, especially stator winding concepts, into repeatable, production‑ready processes.

You will work across design, manufacturing, test, controls, and supply chain to develop the tooling, equipment, process methods, and technical documentation needed to build motors reliably at scale. The work will span early prototypes, process experimentation, equipment development, supplier engagement, and production readiness. The ideal candidate is equally comfortable designing a fixture, troubleshooting a winding process on the shop floor, analyzing data from a build, and driving a supplier toward a robust solution.

What You’ll Do

• Lead the development and industrialization of stator winding and other novel motor assembly processes for new motor technologies, from early prototypes through production readiness.
• Develop practical manufacturing methods for processes such as wire forming, winding, insertion, termination, impregnation, adhesive application, and related motor assembly operations.
• Design, prototype, debug, and validate tooling, fixtures, gauges, and semi‑automated or automated production equipment.
• Translate motor design intent and performance requirements into manufacturable process specifications, equipment requirements, and acceptance criteria.
• Plan and execute hands‑on experiments, design‑of‑experiments studies, and process trials to evaluate new materials, tooling concepts, equipment architectures, and winding methods.
• Build and test prototype motors and stators; investigate defects and performance variation using structured root‑cause methods.
• Establish process windows, key process parameters, inspection methods, and test requirements that support repeatable manufacturing.
• Partner with electrical, electromagnetic, thermal, controls, test, quality, and operations engineers to resolve design‑for‑manufacturing and process integration issues.
• Drive equipment and process development with external suppliers, including writing requirements, reviewing designs, managing build progress, supporting factory acceptance testing, and closing technical issues.
• Create and maintain manufacturing documentation, including process flows, work instructions, control plans, PFMEAs, equipment specifications, validation plans, and process qualification reports.
• Support technology down‑selects by evaluating manufacturability, scalability, cost, reliability, and production risk.
• Transfer mature processes and equipment to manufacturing partners or internal production teams, and support ramp‑up through capability improvement and corrective action.

What You’ll Bring

• Bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering, manufacturing engineering, mechatronics, or a related field.
• 5+ years of experience developing electromechanical products, manufacturing processes, or production equipment; experience at the senior level is preferred.
• Demonstrated experience taking a process or piece of equipment from concept through prototype, validation, and production release.
• Strong hands‑on mechanical skills and comfort working directly with tools, fixtures, prototype equipment, measurement systems, and production hardware.
• Experience developing or improving motor, generator, actuator, or other electromagnetic component manufacturing processes.
• Practical knowledge of stator winding or coil manufacturing. Experience with random‑wound, concentrated, distributed, hairpin, or other winding architectures is valuable.
• Ability to design and detail mechanical components and tooling using CAD, with a working understanding of tolerancing, GD&T, materials, and fabrication methods.
• Experience with mechatronic equipment, including sensors, actuators, motion systems, pneumatics, basic electrical systems, and troubleshooting of automated processes.
• Experience using structured problem‑solving methods, process capability analysis, DOE, measurement‑system analysis, and statistical or data‑driven process improvement.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to work effectively with both internal technical teams and external suppliers.
• Willingness to spend significant time in the lab, prototype area, and manufacturing environment.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience designing or commissioning winding, coil‑forming, wire‑handling, insertion, stripping, crimping, welding, impregnation, or stator assembly equipment.
• Experience with magnet wire, enamel insulation systems, slot liners, wedges, varnish or resin systems, lacing materials, and related motor manufacturing materials.
• Experience developing automated or semi‑automated equipment from a blank‑sheet concept, including vendor selection and factory acceptance testing.
• Familiarity with PLC‑controlled machinery, industrial motion control, machine vision, force or torque monitoring, and production data collection.
• Experience with motor electrical and mechanical validation, including winding resistance, hipot or insulation testing, surge testing, dimensional inspection, balancing, and functional testing.
• Experience with design for manufacturing and assembly, PFMEA, process validation, capability studies, and production ramp‑up.
• Experience working with contract manufacturers, equipment integrators, or overseas suppliers.
• Proficiency with CAD and drawing‑release systems; experience with machining, sheet metal, additive manufacturing, or other rapid‑prototyping methods.
• Experience in aerospace, automotive, robotics, drones, or another high‑performance electromechanical product environment.

What Else You Need to Know

This role involves regular hands‑on work in engineering labs, prototype build areas, and manufacturing environments. It may include occasional travel to suppliers or manufacturing partners to support equipment builds, process trials, and production readiness activities.

Voluntary Self‑Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self‑identification survey. Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiring process or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in a confidential file.

As set forth in Zipline ’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.