Senior/Staff Electrical Engineer - Long Range Platform
About The Position
Zipline is seeking a Senior/Staff Electrical Engineer for its long-range drone platform engineering team. The team designs the aircraft and the ground systems that enable launch and recovery. The role focuses on designing real hardware for aircraft that operate in demanding environments and scale globally. The engineer will own electrical subsystems end-to-end, from architecture development and schematic design through bring-up, validation, production, and field support. Working within an existing airborne architecture, the engineer will lead meaningful subsystem improvements and enable new capabilities while maintaining the stability of a live production system. The role also involves developing hardware for the next-generation platform architecture, in areas such as microprocessors, high-speed communication, GNSS, brushless DC motor drives, power supplies, and batteries. Close collaboration with firmware, mechanical, systems, manufacturing, reliability, embedded, and operations teams is essential.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering or a related field, with a strong foundation in first-principles engineering.
- At least 4 years of experience designing complex PCBAs, including circuit analysis, schematic capture, PCB layout, packaging, integration, production, and board-level validation.
- Experience in at least some of the following: mixed-signal design, high-speed design, lithium-ion battery pack design, BLDC motor drives, embedded communications buses, or higher-speed communications.
- Enthusiasm for a fast-paced, hands-on, collaborative, cross-functional environment.
- Desire to spend time in the engineering lab and experience with common lab equipment, such as oscilloscopes, DMMs, TDRs, LCR meters, and network analyzers.
- Clear communication skills and ability to explain technical challenges to engineers and non-engineers.
- Must be eligible to work in the United States.
- Must be able to work at Zipline’s South San Francisco office.
Responsibilities
- Own electrical design for volume production throughout the design cycle, including requirements, prototyping, schematic capture, PCB layout, and validation.
- Make design decisions independently and lead trade studies, assess competing priorities, and provide direction for reducing risk.
- Collaborate with cross-functional engineers throughout concept, design, validation, production, and deployment.
- Develop system requirements and specifications during concept development.
- Perform schematic capture, PCB layout, and system integration during design.
- Conduct functional and reliability testing during validation.
- Support DFM, design drawings, manufacturing, end-of-line testing, and certification during production.
- Troubleshoot field issues, develop rapid mitigations, and incorporate lessons into future design revisions.
- Travel occasionally to support supplier and manufacturer visits, product deployments, and field validation.
Benefits
- Medical insurance
- Dental insurance
- Vision insurance
- Paid time off
- Equity compensation may be included
- Discretionary annual or performance bonuses may be included
- Sales incentives may be included
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
