Do you want to change the world? Zipline is on a mission to transform the way goods move. Our aim is to solve the world’s most urgent and complex access challenges by building, manufacturing and operating the first instant delivery and logistics system that serves all humans equally, wherever they are. From powering Rwanda’s national blood delivery network and Ghana’s COVID-19 vaccine distribution, to providing on-demand home delivery for Walmart, to enabling healthcare providers to bring care directly to U.S. homes, we are transforming the way things move for businesses, governments and consumers. The technology is complex but the idea is simple: a teleportation service that delivers what you need, when you need it. Using robotics and autonomy, we are decarbonizing delivery, decreasing road congestion, and reducing fossil fuel consumption and air pollution, while providing equitable access to billions of people and building a more resilient global supply chain.

Zipline’s long range drone platform began operations in Rwanda in 2016. With a fixed-wing design capable of flying over 200 km on a single charge, our drones enable fast, reliable delivery of critical medical supplies to remote communities. From helping new mothers in Rwanda to saving snake bite victims in Ghana, Zipline’s technology has already served millions across the African continent, delivering thousands of life saving products every single day.

Join Zipline and help us to make good on our promise to build an equitable and more resilient global supply chain for billions of people.

About You and The Role

As a Senior Integration & Test Software Engineer at Zipline you will have the unique opportunity to develop and deploy high quality software that will power test systems used throughout the production, design, and operation of our long range drone platform. In this role, you will gain a deep understanding of our embedded flight code, test infrastructure, manufacturing processes, and operations.

You will own these test systems from early prototype design all the way through deployment in test or production environments. In some cases, you will also be responsible for reviving and improving test systems that have been dormant since the last product improvement phase. You will also spearhead improvement initiatives, lead root cause investigations, interface with cross-functional stakeholders, and drive schedules and deliverables with a focus on quality, reliability, and safety.

Most importantly, your work will directly contribute to the continued evolution of our long-range drone system and enable critical improvements across reliability, capability and accessibility of our technology. Your testers will be critical in ensuring our systems are as reliable as they can be before they are shipped all over the world to perform vital, life-saving deliveries.

Success in this role requires a strong sense of ownership, outstanding technical foundations, excellent communication skills, and the ability to translate between hardware, software, manufacturing, and operations. If you thrive at the intersection of software and real-world impact, and enjoy bringing clarity and progress to complex systems, you’ll feel right at home!

What You'll Do

• Become the technical owner of test systems across manufacturing and engineering disciplines for our long-range drone platform (e.g. SIL, HIL, EOLT etc.)
• Architect, develop, deploy, troubleshoot, and improve testing software and assets used to validate components from avionics boards, sensors, motors, batteries, and other mechatronic assemblies.
• Develop and elevate testing standards and protocols to ensure the highest levels of quality and testing rigor to facilitate efficient and safe engineering and manufacturing changes.
• Develop a deep understanding of components under test, becoming a subject matter expert in the component’s behavior under a range of environmental, performance, and system conditions.
• Collaborate with other internal teams to organize and define our approach to data handling for all test assets. Develop automation scripts and visualization tools to streamline design and optimize production testing.
• Interface with cross-functional teams and external vendors to deploy reliable high quality test systems.

What You'll Bring

• Demonstrable history of assuming ownership of cross-disciplinary engineering problems, and driving them from inception to solution in an open-ended environment.
• Proficiency in Python and C/C++
• Experience working with and managing Linux systems
• Experience working with embedded systems
• Experience building automation systems for use in safety-critical and factory applications.
• Experience working with Git / CI and software development and validation processes in a medium to large scale organization.
• Experience developing software that interfaces directly with hardware including navigating datasheets and validating hands-on with representative hardware.
• Experience developing test plans, test requirements, and test criteria for hardware products.
• Experience using and deep understanding of common test instrumentation and data acquisition hardware.
• Experience solving complex multidisciplinary problems with little supervision on schedule as an individual or as a member of an integrated team.
• Must be authorized to work in the US.
• Note: this is an onsite role at our South San Francisco office with potential for some travel opportunities.

What Else You Need to Know