Mechanical Test Engineering Manager

Zipline•South San Francisco, CA

14h•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, making millions of deliveries globally. The company is expanding its impact from hundreds of thousands to hundreds of millions of deliveries annually, with a focus on its new system, Platform 2, a groundbreaking hybrid eVTOL drone. Zipline is hiring a Mechanical Test Engineering Manager to lead the team responsible for testing and validating the function and reliability of safety-critical hardware, particularly for Platform 2. This role involves leading a multidisciplinary team of test engineers, engaging cross-functionally to deliver performant, safe, and proven hardware from initial development to full validation. The manager will act as a player-coach, providing strategic vision and engaging in the team's designs, builds, analysis, and reviews, while evolving Zipline's hardware testing philosophy and capacity.

Requirements

Past success leading engineering teams to rapidly develop first of its kind hardware and deploy into the field with the level of rigor that a high volume or safety critical application requires.
Deep technical depth in test hardware design and interfacing with software and automation, structures, mechanisms, and how to rapidly and effectively test for performance, capability, and reliability.
Enthusiasm for building a team - finding and convincing top talent to join you in your work.
Past success managing and developing an excellent team of engineers.
Past success bringing products through the full product development life cycle.

Responsibilities

Lead a team of test engineers and specialists.
Contribute to the overall intuition of the design engineering team through close involvement in design reviews, prototyping, and testing of components and assemblies.
Design, build, operate, purchase and maintain test equipment.
Develop strategies and test campaigns to efficiently evaluate function, reliability and safety of critical components and assemblies.
Root cause failures alongside design engineers and work to create elegant solutions.
Raise the bar for the existing team by creating a vision for the future of the team based on company goals, and implementing strategies to achieve outcomes.
Scope out areas where growth is needed and make key hires that revolutionize the quality and pace of work.
Leverage technical leadership experience in relevant fields to establish a team culture that biases towards action and tests ideas to achieve radically simple and reliable designs.
Motivate your team with a clear vision and create ambitious plans for your team’s work while holding a high bar for technical quality.
Build your team by hiring world class engineers.