Forward Deployed AI Engineer, Land Use and Government Affairs

Zipline•South San Francisco, CA

1d•$112,500 - $300,000•Hybrid

About The Position

Zipline is looking for Forward Deployed AI Engineers, Land Use and Government Affairs, who will be at the forefront of bringing GenAI into one of the most complex real-world logistics systems in the world. We operate across software, hardware, aviation, robotics, healthcare, commerce, and field operations, which means the work is practical, high-stakes, and directly tied to production outcomes. This role is similar to being a hands-on AI startup CTO inside Zipline: you report directly to the Head of Operations, work in a small team, own delivery of important projects, move quickly from problem discovery to shipped product, and partner directly with users. The impact will come less from demos and more from systems that are adopted, trusted, and used in daily operations. Forward Deployed AI Engineers work directly with Zipline teams to own GenAI strategy and implementation for high-impact operational workflows and teams. On a daily basis, you will build end-to-end AI tools, take them to production, and solve real-world problems across aviation, logistics, fulfillment, maintenance, customer operations, and commercial teams. You will work closely with operators, engineers, product teams, and business leaders to understand user needs, define the right technical approach, and implement solutions that improve how Zipline runs. You will also bring learnings from the field back into Zipline’s broader AI tooling, platforms, and best practices. In this deployment, you will focus on zoning research, land-use interpretation support, ordinance tracking, jurisdiction profiles, local engagement, meeting preparation, policy intelligence, advisor workflows, and evidence for expansion decisions.

Requirements

Experience building things that work.
Engineering mindset focused on delivering production AI systems.
Experience building with LLMs, data processing pipelines, and analytics tools.
Comfortable decomposing messy business problems into reliable technical workflows.
Past experience building GenAI solutions.
Strong understanding of the AI landscape.
Solid foundation in machine learning basics such as evaluation, training concepts, and problem decomposition.
Strong coder, with proficiency in Python, TypeScript/JavaScript, Java, C++, or similar languages.
Comfortable collaborating with technical and non-technical teammates.
Comfortable working in dynamic environments.
Comfortable iterating directly with users.

Nice To Haves

Ability and interest in traveling to Zipline sites as needed is helpful up to 50% depending on the organization you’ll be deployed into.
Experience with document intelligence, public-record research, policy analysis, legal or regulatory workflows, source-grounded systems, or human-reviewed AI is especially helpful.

Responsibilities

Build end-to-end AI tools and take them to production.
Solve real-world problems across aviation, logistics, fulfillment, maintenance, customer operations, and commercial teams.
Work closely with operators, engineers, product teams, and business leaders to understand user needs, define the right technical approach, and implement solutions.
Bring learnings from the field back into Zipline’s broader AI tooling, platforms, and best practices.
Focus on zoning research, land-use interpretation support, ordinance tracking, jurisdiction profiles, local engagement, meeting preparation, policy intelligence, advisor workflows, and evidence for expansion decisions.