Senior Systems Test & Reliability Engineer

Zipline; South San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Zipline seeks a System Test lead to drive fast, reliable hardware testing for autonomous drones. You will own the system-test roadmap, develop tests that replicate in-flight stresses, and build health monitoring tools using Python and Rust.

You will guide DFMEA, test campaigns, and data analysis to inform rapid design decisions. The role requires strong electromechanical skills, embedded controls, and experience delivering safety-critical real-time systems.

Qualifications

• Experience leading test engineers, equipment designers, and technicians on complex hardware programs.
• Experience planning environmental, durability, and reliability campaigns that guide engineering decisions.
• Familiarity with reliability methods (MTBF, Weibull, DFMEAs).

Responsibilities

• Develop novel ways to replicate in-flight environments on the ground, including external factors and internal stresses.
• Own the vehicle actuation during system test and understand DFMEA.
• Translate mission profiles into qualification and life-test plans with stress levels and sample sizes.
• Develop health monitoring and anomaly detection software (Python, Rust) for aircraft and robotic systems, using on-board telemetry.
• Drive rapid failure-finding within system test campaigns to inform design cycles and maintenance goals.
• Build data pipelines and automated analysis tools to adapt flight-software validators for system tests.
• Contribute features to flight code enabling 'Test Mode' functionality.
• Integrate off-board sensors for continuous monitoring of vehicle and tester health during long tests.
• Characterize test assets with analytical models and instrumented campaigns to correlate tests with flight.
• Shape overall test strategy: what to test at system vs component vs flight level to increase coverage.
• Collaborate with Reliability team on long-duration vs multiple-vehicle strategies based on part variability.

Skills

Test leadership

Environmental testing

DFMEA

Embedded controls

Python

Rust

C/C++

Electrical engineering

Data analysis

Education

Bachelor's degree in EE or related

Tools

Lab equipment

Job description

Zipline seeks a System Test lead to drive fast, reliable hardware testing for autonomous drones. You will own the system-test roadmap, develop tests that replicate in-flight stresses, and build health monitoring tools using Python and Rust.

You will guide DFMEA, test campaigns, and data analysis to inform rapid design decisions. The role requires strong electromechanical skills, embedded controls, and experience delivering safety-critical real-time systems.