Engineering Test Technician (SMI)

Zipline•South San Francisco, CA

12h•Onsite

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 every 30 seconds, and has completed millions of deliveries to date. The hardware test environment is a multi-disciplinary team responsible for building and maintaining Zipline’s engineering prototype fleet. As a Test Technician, you will play a key role in validating new designs, building and maintaining tester equipment, and providing rapid feedback to engineering teams. This is a highly hands-on role that requires a strong background in assembly, troubleshooting, and instrumentation, along with the ability to clearly communicate issues and propose improvements that increase reliability and efficiency.

Requirements

Over 3 years of industry experience
Experience with prototyping, assembly, or manufacturing of electro-mechanical systems.
Hands-on skills in instrumentation (sensors, DAQ, wiring, calibration) and troubleshooting test setups.
A high level of craftsmanship, attention to detail, and ability to deliver quickly under time pressure.
Strong communication skills, with the ability to clearly explain technical challenges and tradeoffs.
A mix of skills such as soldering, harnessing, machining, technical documentation, or data analysis.
Ability to lift and move up to 30 lbs
Comfort working with tools, chemicals, and hardware in a lab/manufacturing environment (including respirator use when required)
Flexibility to support multiple shift schedules or overtime during high-demand periods

Nice To Haves

Familiarity with test automation or scripting (Python, C++, or similar).
Ability to create or modify simple CAD models.

Responsibilities

Build and test prototype hardware across a wide range of maturity levels, providing manufacturability and efficiency feedback to engineering teams.
Assemble, commission, and maintain tester equipment used to validate new hardware.
Instrument test articles with sensors and data acquisition systems, ensuring accuracy and repeatability of results.
Collaborate closely with hardware teams to identify issues, troubleshoot failures, and develop solutions.
Proactively flag risks, inefficiencies, or opportunities for process improvements, and help implement changes.
Design and prototype fixtures to support builds, tests, and maintenance tasks.
Manage multiple hardware builds through various stages of mechanical and electrical testing.