Senior/Staff Electrical Engineer, Towers

Zipline; South San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 160,000 - 255,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Office meals

Subsidized medical, dental and vision

Monthly cellphone stipend

Wellness stipend

Job summary

Zipline in South San Francisco is seeking an on-site Electrical Systems Engineer to own the backbone of our charging towers. You will design end-to-end electrical architecture, manage BOMs, and ensure NEC/UL compliance while delivering scalable, cost-effective solutions.

The role requires hands-on field work, on-site deployments, and collaboration with cross-functional teams to meet global installation goals and safety standards. Competitive compensation and benefits are provided.

Qualifications

• Hands-on experience pulling power cables and understanding bend radii/conduit constraints.
• Professional experience designing industrial electrical systems (UL508A, UL67) or heavy infrastructure.
• Expert knowledge of NEC and UL certification processes for industrial equipment.

Responsibilities

• Design the power distribution and cable harnesses for P2 charging towers and document wire runs.
• Own BOM for the tower electrical systems and perform cost trade-offs.
• Lead AHJ sign-off processes and ensure NEC compliance and UL listing where applicable.
• Present data-backed design arguments to compare architectures based on cost and deployment efficiency.
• Support on-site deployment to translate designs into real-world installations.

Skills

Heavy lifting

Industrial power experience

Hands-on grit

Code & compliance mastery

System design - power distribution

Financial trade-offs

Tools

RapidHarness

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’s autonomous drone delivery is a marvel of precision engineering—but it only works if the power stays on. We are looking for a hands‑on, commercially‑minded Electrical Systems Engineer to own the \"backbone\" of our charging towers.

You will be responsible for the end‑to‑end electrical architecture, from the site stub‑up to the charging docks. This role requires a rare blend of technical rigor (NEC/UL compliance), physical grit (on‑site deployments), and financial strategy. You aren't just designing a system that works; you are designing a system that scales globally and fits the budget.

What You\'ll Do

• System Architecture & Harnessing: Design the power distribution and cable harnesses for P2 charging towers. You will document and manage complex wire runs between docking stations and the site stub‑up (RapidHarness or NX).
• Financial Ownership: Own the Bill of Materials (BOM) for the tower’s electrical systems. You will perform trade‑off analyses (e.g., material choices, routing efficiencies) to drive down costs without compromising safety or reliability.
• Regulatory & Sign-off: Lead the process for getting designs and sites signed off by Authorities Having Jurisdiction (AHJs). You will be the primary voice ensuring our towers meet NEC standards and are certified as UL‑listed raceways.
• Design Advocacy: Build and present reasoned, data‑backed arguments to compare design iterations. You should be able to defend why one architecture is superior to another based on cost, ease of deployment, and long‑term reliability.
• Deployment & Field Work: This isn\'t a \"desk‑only\" job. You will support on‑site work during deployments, ensuring that theoretical designs translate perfectly to real‑world installation.

What You\'ll Bring

• The \"Heavy Lifting\" Experience: You have hands‑on experience pulling 1‑inch diameter power cables and understand the physical reality of bend radii and conduit constraints.
• Industrial Power Experience: Professional experience designing industrial electrical systems (UL508a, UL67), heavy machinery wiring, or complex infrastructure projects.
• Hands‑on Grit: You aren't afraid to get your hands dirty. You have experience pulling 1‑inch diameter power cables and understand the physical constraints of bend radii and conduit fill.
• Code & Compliance Mastery: Expert‑level knowledge of the National Electrical Code (NEC) and experience navigating UL certification processes for industrial equipment.
• System Design (No PCBAs): Your expertise lies in power distribution panels, conduits, wire trough, industrial ethernet cable design, and site‑level electrical stubs rather than board‑level electronics.
• Harnessing Software: Proficiency in RapidHarness (or other) for designing and managing ruggedized, outdoor‑rated cable assemblies.
• Strategic Thinking: A proven ability to perform financial trade‑off studies. You know how to calculate the ROI of a design change and can articulate those savings to leadership.

Nice to Have

• Mechanical CAD: Ability to navigate and perform basic design tasks in Mechanical CAD to ensure electrical components fit seamlessly into the tower structure.
• Project Management: Experience managing contractors or field technicians during the \"stub‑up\" and infrastructure phase of a project.

What Else You Need To Know

The starting cash range for this role is $160,000 - $255,000 plus additional equity. In office meals, subsidized medical, dental and vision insurance as well as a monthly cellphone and wellness stipend is also provided.

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.

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.