Electrical Engineer, Production Test

Zipline•South San Francisco, CA

7d•$125,000 - $145,000•Onsite

About The Position

Zipline is hiring an Electrical Engineer, Production Test to own electrical, functional, and automated test systems that verify aircraft, docks, delivery pods, and subassembly hardware. The role delivers and sustains production test systems for high-throughput manufacturing and product iteration, with an emphasis on safety, traceability, yield, and time-to-deploy. Production testing supports fleet uptime, field reliability, and customer deliveries for Zipline’s safety-critical autonomous aircraft and logistics systems. The position is part of the manufacturing engineering team. Its specific focus will depend on the candidate’s strengths and team needs. It is based at Zipline’s South San Francisco manufacturing site, is onsite-first, and requires regular presence on the factory floor. Travel to other Zipline sites or vendor locations may be needed for launches and validations. The engineer works cross-functionally with Electrical Design, Firmware, Quality, Operations, technicians, and vendors to deliver and validate production testers, resolve production escalations, and improve manufacturing performance. The starting cash range is $125,000–$145,000. Final cash compensation depends on factors including experience, qualifications, skills, work location, and projected impact. Total compensation may also include equity, discretionary annual or performance bonuses, sales incentives, and benefits such as medical, dental, and vision insurance and paid time off.

Requirements

At least 2 years building production test systems, automated test equipment, or end-of-line testers for electromechanical or mechatronic products, with demonstrated ownership of multiple shipped tester programs.
Bachelor’s degree in Electrical, Mechatronics, Mechanical, or Computer Engineering, or equivalent experience.
Practical skills in instrumentation, signal measurement, power delivery, harnessing, connectorization, sensor/actuator interfaces, and PCBA debug, with hands-on shop-floor experience.
Strong test automation experience; Python is preferred. Experience with LabVIEW, TestStand, or embedded test frameworks, and integrating DAQ, oscilloscopes, DMMs, power supplies, and electronic loads.
Proficiency with embedded/product interfaces such as CAN, UART, Ethernet, I2C, SPI, and USB, and with strategies for validating communications and firmware-hardware interactions.
Track record of measurable production improvements, such as first-pass yield, cycle time, false-fail reduction, tester utilization, or GR&R, and ownership of metrics reporting.
Experience working on manufacturing floors during launches and escalations; willingness to spend significant onsite time supporting shifts, debugging, and qualifying equipment.
Comfort with frequent cross-functional coordination and leading vendor builds, FAT/SAT, and production qualification activities.
Rigorous attention to safety and traceability, decisive technical judgment under production pressure, practical hands-on test/debug capability, and insistence on measurable outcomes.

Nice To Haves

5–7 years of relevant experience preferred.
Python test automation experience is preferred.

Responsibilities

Develop instrumentation, harnesses, connectors, data acquisition (DAQ), power delivery, and electrical test interfaces, emphasizing signal integrity, power integrity, and safe measurement.
Debug PCBA-level failures and product communications; establish electrical and functional pass/fail limits with design and quality partners; and maintain calibration and tester correlation.
Own production tester and calibration-station design, delivery, and sustainment, from requirements through build, installation, validation, and continuous improvement for aircraft, docks, pods, and subassemblies.
Define tester acceptance criteria, including test coverage, pass/fail limits, golden-unit strategy, GR&R, capability targets, and production-release criteria with Electrical Design, Firmware, Quality, and Operations.
Architect and implement electrical and functional testers using harnessing, DAQ, sensors and actuators, power systems, safety interlocks, and mechanical fixtures to meet cycle-time and throughput targets.
Implement test automation and data pipelines using Python, LabVIEW/TestStand, or equivalent, enabling reproducible high-throughput test flows, data logging, MES/MFG integration, and production dashboards.
Improve first-pass yield, false-fail rate, tester uptime and utilization, and per-unit cycle time; set targets and report progress monthly.
Troubleshoot production escalations on the floor, including PCBA electrical failures, tester instability, fixture issues, software bugs, and product/tester correlation failures.
Lead cross-functional launches by coordinating requirements, validation plans, training, calibration schedules, spares strategy, and change control with manufacturing engineering, quality, technicians, operations, and external vendors.
Identify and deploy scalable tester architectures and automation that reduce operator steps and touch time and standardize interfaces across production lines.
Produce and maintain test procedures, maintenance and calibration plans, validation records, and change-control artifacts needed for production readiness and traceability.