Lead Manufacturing Engineer

Zipline • South San Francisco, CA

10d • $160,000 - $190,000 • Onsite

About The Position

The Lead Manufacturing Engineer turns complex electro-mechanical products into safe, reliable, repeatable production lines for Zipline’s aircraft, docks, and logistics hardware. The role owns assigned final assembly and feeder sub-assembly lines from process definition and tooling through validation, production release, and sustainment. The work combines aerospace-quality manufacturing with reliable field operations and rapid production growth, with a goal of scaling output from tens to thousands of units per week over the next 1–3 years. The initial priority is bringing a complex electro-mechanical sub-assembly in-house and validating its production line within months.

The role is part of the manufacturing engineering team, with its exact focus shaped by the candidate’s strengths and team needs. It is based at Zipline’s South San Francisco manufacturing facility and requires regular on-site presence. Rare travel between sites may be required during ramp and sustainment, and nights or weekends may be needed to support critical production ramps or outages.

Requirements

• 7+ years of hands-on manufacturing engineering experience with complex electromechanical assembly lines, including experience scaling volume by an order of magnitude.
• A BS in Mechanical Engineering or a related field.
• Practical mastery of PFMEA, control plans, SPC, Cp/Cpk, first-article processes, and production validation.
• Experience designing and validating fixtures, jigs, and tooling using 3D CAD.
• Experience using MES/ERP and tools such as Minitab, JMP, or Excel to improve yield and process capability.
• End-to-end project ownership, including planning, budgeting, procurement, commissioning, and sustainment with minimal oversight.
• Sound DFM judgment, clear communication, attention to detail, and accountability for safe production and measurable results.

Nice To Haves

• Experience with Siemens NX.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate capacity, layouts, equipment, and readiness with Design Engineering, Quality, Supply Chain, Maintenance, and Operations; deliver a validated pilot line and stabilize production.
• Own assigned assembly lines and feeder subassemblies from process definition, tooling, and pilot builds through validation, release, and sustainment.
• Define and validate assembly sequences, PFMEAs, control plans, SPC, capability studies, first-article processes, and release criteria.
• Design, procure, install, and commission fixtures, gauges, tooling, workstations, and ergonomic operator flows.
• Improve first-pass yield, throughput, takt time, equipment reliability, downtime, and cost of poor quality against agreed targets.
• Lead design-for-manufacturing decisions that balance assembly time, inspection, cost, safety, and field reliability.
• Investigate production issues and escapes, validate root causes, and implement corrective and preventive actions.
• Create SOPs, work instructions, and training materials; train and qualify technicians and line leads.

Benefits

• Equity compensation may be included in the total compensation package.
• Discretionary annual or performance bonuses may be included in the total compensation package.
• Sales incentives may be included in the total compensation package.
• Medical insurance.
• Dental insurance.
• Vision insurance.
• Paid time off.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior