Manufacturing Engineer, Early Career

Zipline•South San Francisco, CA

6d•$104,000 - $180,000•Onsite

About The Position

Zipline is hiring an early-career Manufacturing Engineer to help turn electro-mechanical aircraft, docks, and logistics hardware into safe, reliable, repeatable production processes supporting field operations. The position is based at Zipline’s South San Francisco manufacturing facility and works alongside manufacturing engineers, technicians, and cross-functional partners on final assembly and feeder sub-assemblies. The role is an individual-contributor position suited to new graduates and early-career engineers, with clearly scoped tasks, technical guidance and review, and opportunities to develop factory-floor judgment and manufacturing improvement skills while meeting aerospace safety and field-reliability requirements. Relevant internships, co-ops, academic or personal projects, and hands-on manufacturing experience can demonstrate readiness; no experienced-hire years threshold is specified. 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

A BS in Mechanical Engineering or a related field is required.
Hands-on experience through internships, co-ops, laboratories, student teams, academic or personal projects, or manufacturing work, with examples of contribution and testing.
Foundational knowledge of mechanical and electro-mechanical assembly, engineering drawings, manufacturing processes, and safe shop or laboratory practices.
Experience using 3D CAD to design parts, fixtures, jigs, tooling, or assemblies.
Familiarity with basic statistics, structured problem-solving, and process variation; willingness to build practical skills in PFMEA, control plans, SPC, Cp/Cpk, first-article inspection, and production validation.
Ability to organize and analyze engineering or production data using Excel or similar tools.
Hands-on approach, attention to process details, curiosity about how products are built, and commitment to safety, quality, and reliable field operation.
Clear communication and collaboration with technicians and engineers, openness to feedback, and judgment to seek review or escalate risks.
Ownership of agreed tasks, documentation, and follow-through.
Willingness to travel between sites rarely during ramp and sustainment, and to work nights or weekends when needed for critical production ramps or outages.

Nice To Haves

Siemens NX experience is helpful.
Exposure to Minitab, JMP, or MES/ERP systems is helpful.

Responsibilities

Help turn assembly ideas into pilot builds, validated processes, and production improvements.
Design and improve fixtures, gauges, tooling, and workstations with technical guidance and review.
Learn how process decisions are tested through PFMEAs, control plans, capability studies, first-article inspections, and validation.
Use factory observations and production data to identify opportunities to improve safety, quality, yield, throughput, and downtime.
Investigate production issues with technicians and engineers, test possible root causes, and verify corrective actions.
Write clear work instructions and process records, and support technician and operator training.
Contribute to design-for-manufacturing, layout, capacity, and equipment work; share progress and raise safety, quality, or schedule risks promptly.
Take ownership of agreed tasks, documentation, and follow-through, and learn planning, procurement, commissioning, and production sustainment through supported assignments.