Launch & Scale Intern (Summer 2027)
South San Francisco, CA, USA
USD 34-34 / hour
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 the Launch & Scale Team
The Launch & Scale team builds the operating system that brings new sites, metros, and partners online and helps the network scale reliably. We turn complex dependencies into clear launch plans, readiness mechanisms, tools, and operating rhythms. We partner across infrastructure, permitting, flight operations, maintenance, commercial, partner readiness, and field operations. Our work stays close to real launches so that field lessons become repeatable systems rather than one-off fixes. As an intern, you will report to the Director, Launch & Site Operations and work closely with Launch Managers and cross-functional teams that bring the network online.
The Role
As the Launch & Scale Intern, you will contribute to a high-impact project that improves how Zipline plans, executes, and learns from launches. You will support Launch Managers by bringing structure to dependencies, analyzing readiness and performance, and helping teams turn field lessons into repeatable tools. You may spend time close to active launches, but you will work with experienced teammates rather than serve as the accountable launch owner. You will also own a clearly scoped project—such as a dashboard, process improvement, playbook, or lightweight automation—from problem definition through pilot and handoff. Along the way, you will receive coaching from the Director, Launch & Site Operations and collaborate with operators, engineers, commercial teammates, and field teams.
What You'll Do
- Support integrated launch plans for assigned workstreams by organizing milestones, dependencies, owners, risks, and open decisions.
- Analyze launch and site-operations data to identify bottlenecks, inconsistencies, and opportunities to improve speed, quality, or repeatability.
- Prepare materials for readiness reviews and operating forums, including concise status summaries, action logs, and decision briefs.
- Work with Launch Managers and functional teams to follow up on commitments, reconcile conflicting information, and surface blockers early.
- Build or improve practical tools such as dashboards, playbooks, templates, checklists, or lightweight automations.
- Participate in selected onsite launch activities, capture field observations, and translate lessons into process improvements.
- Own a scoped internship project from problem definition through pilot, measurement, and an accepted handoff to the team.
What You'll Bring
- Currently pursuing a bachelor’s or graduate degree in operations, engineering, business, supply chain, data and analytics, or a related field.
- Structured problem-solving skills and curiosity about how complex physical or technical systems work.
- Comfort with quantitative analysis, including spreadsheets and at least one data or automation tool such as SQL, Python, or a business-intelligence platform.
- Clear written and verbal communication, with the ability to make complex information easy to understand.
- Evidence of following through on a project involving multiple contributors through coursework, work, research, or extracurricular experience.
- Comfort operating in ambiguity, asking good questions, incorporating feedback, and staying reliable on details.
- Ability to work onsite in South San Francisco and willingness to travel occasionally within the United States to support launches.
What Else You Should Know
This internship is a full-time position, in-person at our South San Francisco office. We will host our Summer 2027 interns from (May/June - August/September). Zipline is unable to sponsor work visas for applicants to this position.
The hourly rate for this internship is $34 per hour. Additional benefits may include relocation support, a housing stipend, overtime pay, paid sick time, and other benefits, where applicable and subject to local requirements.
Candidates are limited to three (3) applications within a 30-day period.
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.
Zipline is also committed to providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities. Please let your point of contact at Zipline know if you require any accommodations throughout your interview process.
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.
