Mechatronics Intern (Summer 2026)

Zipline•South San Francisco, CA

2d•$38 - $42•Onsite

About The Position

Zipline is on a mission to transform the way goods move. Our aim is to solve the world’s most urgent and complex access challenges by building the first instant logistics system that serves all humans equally. Leveraging expertise in robotics and autonomy, Zipline designs, builds, and operates a fleet of cutting edge, autonomous delivery drones. We serve tens of millions of people around the world. Joining Zipline’s Emerging Talent program as an intern is an opportunity to contribute to our promise of building a system that provides equitable access to critical healthcare supplies for millions of people. We believe that internships are more than just opportunities to learn by watching or doing low level tasks. We expect our interns to take on meaningful work that actively contributes to moving Zipline’s mission forward, while learning real-world skills that will serve them in their careers for the long term. Join us, and build the future of logistics with the best humans around! About the Powertrain Test Team The Powertrain Test Team plays a critical role in ensuring the performance, reliability, and safety of the electric drivetrain that powers Zipline’s life-saving delivery drones. As a sub-team within the broader Powertrain organization, we design and execute rigorous testing strategies across motors, propellers, batteries, and related components. Operating at the intersection of hardware and software, we validate systems under real-world conditions to ensure our drones perform flawlessly in some of the most demanding environments on Earth. Our work directly impacts Zipline’s mission to provide fast, dependable access to essential medical and commercial supplies around the globe. The Role As a Powertrain and Battery Mechatronics Intern at Zipline, you will play a hands-on role in driving the performance and reliability of the systems that power our autonomous delivery drones. From the earliest stages of design through rigorous testing and root-cause analysis, you’ll help validate critical components and uncover opportunities to improve system robustness. This role is all about burning down technical risk—quickly, practically, and with purpose—because the reliability of our system directly impacts lives. If you’re energized by solving hard problems, eliminating inefficiencies, and working with a mission-driven team that values speed, focus, and grit, this is the internship for you.

Requirements

The most critical skill we’ve seen in prior entry-level candidates is robust experience designing and actually building multiple mechatronics systems outside of the classroom. This is the component of your application we’re most excited about, so please ensure that you’ve included this work in your application. Examples of things previous interns have built include submarines, solar cars in the Australian outback, electric boats and airplanes, rockets, etc.
You’ll bring solid mechanical engineering fundamentals for sizing parts and integrating into design with minimal help
You’ll bring automation experience from working with actuators and Raspberry Pi’s (or similar)
You’re well versed in CAD, and have designed multiple projects with it
You’ve worked on complex projects that require mechanical, electrical, and software design
You're quick to change direction when you realize you’ve made a mistake OR could achieve the same goal in a simpler way
You bias to action and communicate consistently with your team to ensure everyone is focused on meeting the project goals on time
You're excited to build on your design skills with brainstorms, design reviews, and failure mode analysis
You can anticipate, plan and schedule your own work
You bring a “can do” attitude, because we have a lot of vital work to get done and only work with people who are invested in solving critical problems

Responsibilities

Design, build, and run electro-mechanical testers to prove reliability of critical components like batteries, motors and propellers.
Design tests and their setups to match engineering specifications which includes interpretation of test procedures and diagrams, instrumentation, data acquisition, test article diagnostics and front line root causing.
Use 2D and 3D CAD tools to design parts, assemblies and fixtures based on sound engineering principles
Develop concepts and evaluate tradeoffs by using a first principles approach
Use resources creatively to design, build, and test prototypes to gather quick learnings
Work cross-functionally with other Zipline teams and suppliers to review designs
Root cause failures and develop a test to replicate the failure mode
Document your work so that others can easily understand key decisions made