Systems Engineer

Overview

Zipline is the world’s largest and most experienced drone delivery service. We design, build, and operate the world’s largest autonomous logistics system, delivering critical supplies quickly and reliably. Zipline operates on four continents and has completed millions of deliveries, including blood, vaccines, medical supplies, food, and retail products. Our customers include the world’s largest healthcare systems, governments, retailers, restaurants, and global businesses who rely on us to save lives, reduce emissions, and provide fast delivery from point A to point

B.

We operate at a global scale and are looking for practical problem solvers who thrive on real-world challenges and rapid growth. We value individuals who build systems with direct, meaningful impact and who can scale operations and production, improve reliability, enhance customer experience, and mature processes to support growth.

• Serve as a trusted technical expert for deploying high-reliability, autonomous systems into safety-critical environments, owning requirements, metrics, test coverage, and validation processes to ensure safe and robust systems
• Own system and subsystem requirement definition, decomposition, and traceability
• Define interfaces and drive cross-disciplinary discussions to align on budgets
• Develop frameworks and facilitate trade studies to optimize performance, safety, and cost across key system architecture or operations decisions
• Evaluate hardware and software release standards and test requirements
• Partner with design engineering, other systems engineers, and the certification team to prove flight worthiness to regulators

• BS and/or MS in Aerospace Engineering, Systems Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or related field
• 5+ years of real-world experience in safety-critical electromechanical systems (e.g., autonomous vehicles, aerospace, or industrial automation) including systems/vehicle design experience
• Ability to solve complex multidisciplinary problems on schedule independently
• Experience with modeling, systems engineering tools, and statistical analysis to analyze problems and derive solutions
• Knowledge of designing systems resilient to harsh climates, mechanical vibration, ESD, and/or high electrical noise
• Experience with fail-safe fault tolerant modes and fail-operational modes that enable operation through faults

• Proven track record setting up systems engineering processes in new projects or startup environments, including requirements processes, decomposition, and verification
• Comfort with energy budgets, flight dynamics, and statistical analysis to set risk-based thresholds for energy margins and environmental limitations
• Leadership skills to grow and develop a world-class systems engineering team

The starting cash range for this role is $160,000 - $260,000. This is a target starting range for candidates who meet minimum qualifications. Final pay depends on experience, location, and impact. Total compensation may include equity, discretionary bonuses, incentives, and benefits such as medical, dental, and vision insurance, paid time off, and more.

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