Manufacturing Engineer, Early Career

About Zipline

Zipline is the world's largest and most experienced drone delivery service, on a mission to serve all humans equally by providing access to food, medicine and essential goods anytime, anywhere. The company designs, builds and operates the world's largest autonomous logistics system, delivering critical supplies quickly and reliably. Zipline operates on four continents, makes a delivery somewhere in the world every 30 seconds, and has completed millions of deliveries, including blood, vaccines, medical supplies, food and retail products.

Its customers include major healthcare systems, governments, retailers, restaurants and global businesses. With more than 140 million commercial autonomous miles flown, Zipline is redefining access to healthcare, consumer products and food across the globe.

About the Role

Zipline builds, manufactures and operates autonomous delivery systems. In this role, you will help turn electro-mechanical aircraft, docks and logistics hardware into safe, reliable, repeatable production processes that support field operations.

Based at Zipline's South San Francisco manufacturing facility, you will work alongside manufacturing engineers, technicians and cross-functional partners on final assembly and feeder sub-assemblies. You will own bounded engineering tasks, learn on the factory floor, and help improve quality, throughput and production readiness.

This individual-contributor role welcomes new graduates and early-career engineers. Internships, co-ops, academic or personal projects, and hands-on manufacturing experience can demonstrate your readiness; there is no experienced-hire years threshold. You will take ownership of clearly scoped tasks with technical guidance and review, and grow your ability to deliver manufacturing improvements while meeting aerospace safety and field-reliability requirements.

Rare travel between sites may be required during ramp and sustainment. Nights or weekends may be needed to support critical production ramps or outages.

What You'll Do

• Help turn assembly ideas into pilot builds, validated processes and production improvements.
• Design and improve fixtures, gauges, tooling and workstations with technical guidance and review.
• Learn how process decisions are tested through PFMEAs, control plans, capability studies, first-article inspections and validation.
• Use factory observations and production data to find opportunities to improve safety, quality, yield, throughput and downtime.
• Investigate production issues with technicians and engineers, test possible root causes, and verify corrective actions.
• Write clear work instructions and process records, and support technician and operator training.
• Contribute to design-for-manufacturing, layout, capacity and equipment work; share progress and raise safety, quality or schedule risks promptly.

What You'll Bring

• A BS in Mechanical Engineering or a related field is required.
• Hands-on experience through internships, co-ops, laboratories, student teams, academic or personal projects, or manufacturing work, with examples of your contribution and testing.
• Foundational knowledge of mechanical and electro-mechanical assembly, engineering drawings, manufacturing processes, and safe shop or laboratory practices.
• Experience using 3D CAD to design parts, fixtures, jigs, tooling or assemblies; Siemens NX experience is helpful.
• Familiarity with basic statistics, structured problem-solving and process variation, and willingness to build skills in PFMEA, control plans, SPC, Cp/Cpk, first-article inspection and production validation.
• Ability to organize and analyze engineering or production data using Excel or similar tools; exposure to Minitab, JMP or MES/ERP systems is helpful.
• A hands-on approach, attention to process details, curiosity about how products are built, and commitment to safety, quality and reliable field operation.
• Clear communication and collaboration with technicians and engineers, openness to feedback, and the judgment to seek review or escalate risks.
• Ownership of agreed tasks, documentation and follow-through, with willingness to learn planning, procurement, commissioning and production sustainment through supported assignments.

Zipline is an equal opportunity employer and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type. We value diversity and welcome applications from those who are traditionally underrepresented in tech. If you like the sound of this position but are not sure you are the perfect fit, please apply!