Lead Production Equipment & Tooling Design Engineer

Zipline•South San Francisco, CA

4h•Onsite

About The Position

Zipline is seeking a Lead Production Equipment & Tooling Design Engineer to design fixtures, workstations, assembly tooling, and production equipment for large-scale manufacturing of Zipline products. This role involves both technical ownership and people leadership, with approximately 75% individual contribution and 25% leadership. The engineer will collaborate with Manufacturing Engineering, Design Engineering, Quality, and Technicians to create tools and equipment that enhance assembly safety, speed, repeatability, and maintainability. Typical projects include alignment fixtures, press and torque tooling, ergonomic workstations, poka-yoke devices, handling tools, and end-of-line test equipment for electro-mechanical assemblies. The role requires owning projects from concept to production release, including requirement definition, CAD design, drawing release, fabrication support, debugging, and post-launch improvements. Additionally, the lead will mentor engineers, review designs, and uphold engineering standards for tooling and production equipment development.

Requirements

5+ years of experience designing manufacturing equipment, tooling, or fixtures in a production environment.
Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or a related field.
Strong mechanical design skills, including GD&T, tolerance stack-up, mechanism design, and material/process selection.
Proficiency in 3D CAD; Siemens NX preferred.
Experience designing and releasing custom tooling for repeatable assembly of electro-mechanical products.
Hands-on experience supporting fabrication, build, debug, and commissioning of production equipment.
Familiarity with common factory hardware such as pneumatics, sensors, actuators, linear motion, and machine guarding.
Understanding of DFM/DFA, ergonomics, poka-yoke, and operator-centered tooling design.
Experience working cross-functionally with design, quality, technicians, and vendors in a fast-paced environment.
Strong judgment, ownership, and willingness to spend time on the manufacturing floor solving problems.

Responsibilities

Design fixtures, workstations, assembly tooling, and production equipment for manufacturing Zipline products at scale.
Lead a small group of equipment and tooling design engineers, guiding priorities, quality, and execution.
Remain hands-on in the design and development work.
Work closely with Manufacturing Engineering, Design Engineering, Quality, and Technicians to create tools and equipment.
Own projects from concept through production release: defining requirements, building CAD, releasing drawings, supporting fabrication, debugging equipment on the line, and improving designs after launch.
Develop the team by reviewing designs, mentoring engineers, and driving strong engineering standards.