Computational Physics Intern (Summer 2027)

Zipline • South San Francisco, CA

2d

About The Position

Zipline is the world’s largest and most experienced drone delivery service, on a mission to serve all humans equally by ensuring access to food, medicine and essential goods anytime, anywhere. They design, build, and operate 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 to date. Their system strengthens supply chains, reduces congestion, and gives people time back. Zipline is redefining access to healthcare, consumer products, and food across the globe. They are looking for practical problem solvers who thrive on real-world challenges and rapid growth. The Systems Modeling Team develops physics-based models to architect aircraft and the supporting logistics system. Using simulation, they rapidly explore designs to optimize future products and squeeze more performance out of existing products. This role involves developing computational tools to automate high-level design trades, optimizations, and sensitivity studies, improving simulation frameworks, building physics-based models for aircraft performance simulations, and analyzing test data to validate vehicle component models.

Requirements

• A drive to help people and make the world a better place
• A basic understanding of fundamental physics: Energy and power, Heat transfer, Electrical circuits, Dynamics (kinematics, forces, moments, acceleration/rotation), Fluids and aerodynamics
• Passion for tackling challenging multidisciplinary problems
• The ability to recognize tradeoffs in the design of complex computational analysis frameworks
• Expertise in Matlab, Python, Julia, Rust, or similar; for modeling, simulation, optimization, and/or data analysis
• Proficiency in numerical methods

Nice To Haves

• Basic understanding of batteries, electric motors, and/or aircraft dynamics; and typical approaches to modeling them
• Experience interpreting experimental data
• Experience with model-based systems design, ideally in an extracurricular setting

Responsibilities

• Develop computational tools to automate high-level design trades, optimizations, and sensitivity studies
• Improve the performance and flexibility of simulation frameworks
• Build physics-based models that underlie aircraft performance simulations
• Analyze test data to validate vehicle component models

What This Job Offers

• Career Level: Intern
• Education Level: No Education Listed