Senior​/Aeroelasticity Engineer

Position: Senior / Staff Aeroelasticity Engineer
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 You and

The Role In this role, you will use your aeroelasticity expertise to drive hardware and product design decisions. You will be responsible for the development and definition of aerodynamic and structural load envelopes, including setting and upholding analysis requirements, processes, and standards. You will conduct aeroelastic analyses and lead tight design-test-analysis loops to keep our delivery aircraft safe, light, and scalable.

This role works closely with structures, aerodynamics, GNC, systems, and powertrain engineers to drive system level requirements and vehicle configuration decisions to achieve product level outcomes.

How to know if it's you:
Pencil and paper calculations are always your first step, you prefer simple and fast over detailed and large, and you’re excited to get hands on with hardware. On any given day you could be driving design trade studies, supporting flight tests to validate analysis, or working across disciplines to tackle complex system level challenges.

Zipline was founded by engineers dedicated to making the world a better place. We are building a new global industry and are looking for a talented engineer who takes a hands-on approach and will use analysis to drive design. The ideal candidate will be someone who excels in a fast paced, dynamic environment and is excited to own and drive simple, elegant solutions to complex problems.

What You'll DoOwn aeroelasticity and flutter strategy for Zipline’s aircraft

Own the development of full vehicle aerodynamic and structural load envelopes

Perform loads and flutter analyses, including both quasi-static and dynamic cases

Define program loads, aeroelastic, and aeroservoelastic requirements that support flight performance and vehicle safety

Build finite element models for integrated loads and flutter analyses

Conduct aeroelastic stability assessments, including divergence and control reversal checks

Collaborate across hardware, software, and vehicle operations to drive aircraft configuration and performance decisions

Evaluate static strength and fatigue life of aircraft structures using classical hand calculations and finite element analysis

Execut…