Zip Motion Planning Intern (Summer 2027)

Zipline•South San Francisco, CA

2d•Onsite

About The Position

Zipline is the world’s largest and most experienced drone delivery service, aiming to serve all humans equally by providing access to food, medicine, and essential goods. They design, build, and operate an autonomous logistics system, making deliveries globally. The company emphasizes practical problem-solving, real-world challenges, and rapid growth, with a team motivated by building systems that have a meaningful impact. The Motion Planning team is crucial for Zipline's autonomous delivery service, responsible for decision-making and trajectory generation to ensure accurate and timely deliveries in dynamic environments. The team focuses on performance, range, robustness, reliability, safety, and scale, especially as Zipline plans to hyper-scale operations in dense U.S. metros. This internship offers the opportunity to contribute to the development of next-generation algorithmic designs and system improvements.

Requirements

Working toward a BS, MS, or PhD in engineering, computer science, or robotics.
Experience with C++ or Rust
Familiarity with planning and search algorithms or trajectory optimization
Familiarity solving problems involving real-world physics and dynamics
Solid engineering intuition for keeping things simple and solving the right problems

Responsibilities

Develop and evaluate motion planning algorithms for autonomous aircraft, exploring approaches such as search, sampling, and optimization.
Build simulation and analysis tools to compare planner behavior and investigate challenging scenarios.
Use simulation and flight data to identify long-tail issues, validate safety metrics, and guide improvements.
Transition experimental solutions to scalable, real-world applications.
Collaborate closely with team members, brainstorming and deriving creative solutions from first principles.
Share findings and insights, fostering knowledge exchange across teams.