Director of Industry Standards

Zipline•South San Francisco, CA

3d•$160,000 - $220,000•Onsite

About The Position

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 autonomous logistics system, delivering critical supplies quickly and reliably. As commercial UAS delivery scales, the standards adopted now will shape how autonomous aircraft are designed, evaluated, integrated into airspace, and operated safely. As Director of Industry Standards, you will own Zipline’s standards strategy at the intersection of engineering, aviation regulatory strategy, global policy, and IP. You will turn operational experience into credible technical positions, shape external consensus, and give internal leaders clear decisions that protect safe, scalable commercial deployment.

Requirements

8+ years of experience in aviation, standards development, regulatory affairs, autonomy, or aerospace.
Aviation expertise developed at an aircraft manufacturer, component manufacturer, operator, aviation service provider, air navigation service provider, or relevant government agency.
Demonstrated leadership or substantive participation in consensus standards bodies, technical committees, consortia, trade associations, or comparable forums.
Working knowledge of how standards are developed, adopted, referenced by regulators, and applied to certification, market access, procurement, and commercial strategy.
Technical fluency to evaluate engineering positions and translate technical or regulatory complexity into clear recommendations.
Evidence of influencing cross-functional decisions without direct authority and building alignment with regulators, industry peers, certification organizations, and technical experts.
Based in South San Francisco, California, with ability to travel as required for standards meetings, regulatory engagements, industry convenings, and Zipline operational sites.

Responsibilities

Set and lead Zipline’s standards strategy across aviation, autonomy, and scaled commercial UAS delivery.
Prioritize standards bodies, committees, working groups, consortia, and coalitions; define objectives, participation level, and accountable internal owners for each.
Represent Zipline in forums such as ASTM, RTCA, and other relevant organizations developing foundational UAS standards.
Convert Zipline’s safety practices, technical capabilities, and operational learnings into standards proposals and evidence-based technical contributions.
Establish governance for approving company positions, technical contributions, disclosures, and standards-related IP risk.
Translate standards and regulatory developments into roadmap, certification, market-entry, and commercial decisions for Engineering, Aviation Regulatory, Legal, and Commercial teams.
Brief executive leadership on portfolio priorities, tradeoffs, external positions, risks, and decisions requiring alignment.