New Products Mechanical Design Engineer

Zipline • South San Francisco, CA

13h • Onsite

About The Position

The New Products team invents Zipline’s next generation of systems. We’re looking for exceptional mechanical designers to develop the lightweight structures and precision mechanisms that enable entirely new aircraft capabilities. You thrive in ambiguity and enjoy creating hardware that has never existed before. Whether your expertise is in composite structures, mechanisms, or both, you combine strong engineering fundamentals with a hands-on approach to rapidly turn ideas into reliable hardware. You are comfortable moving between concept generation, analysis, CAD, prototyping, testing, and manufacturing, always balancing performance, weight, reliability, manufacturability, cost, and schedule. You have a track record of solving difficult engineering problems through first-principles thinking, rapid experimentation, and sound technical judgment.

Requirements

• 5+ years designing mechanical systems for aerospace, robotics, automotive, or similarly demanding hardware programs, with direct experience moving hardware from prototype to production.
• Demonstrated hands-on experience with composite or metallic structural design and/or precision mechanisms (laminates/bonded joints, load path design, bearings, linkages, latches, or actuation systems). Provide concrete examples of subsystems you owned.
• Proficiency in CAD (NX, SolidWorks, or equivalent), GD&T, FEA workflow for structural substantiation, and familiarity with test methods for fatigue, environmental, and life testing.
• Experience producing production drawings, BOMs, supplier specs, and participating in supplier qualification and change-control processes.
• This role is onsite at our engineering lab/manufacturing campus with frequent hands-on build and test work; expect regular participation in flight-test campaigns and periodic travel (program-dependent) to launch/field sites.
• Rigorous first-principles problem solving, data-driven validation mindset, and willingness to work at the bench alongside technicians during iterative test cycles.

Nice To Haves

• Python or MATLAB for data analysis
• Experience with bonded composite manufacturing or automated layup
• Prior responsibility for structural substantiation or certification artifacts
• Prior work on safety-critical aircraft subsystems
• Patents, commercialized products, or exceptional personal engineering projects demonstrating creativity and craftsmanship.

Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end mechanical subsystem delivery for assigned scope (examples: wing/centerbody structure, landing/release mechanisms, payload bay interfaces, or actuation systems) from concept through production release and field deployment.
• Translate mission requirements (mass budget, MTBF targets, operational duty cycles, environmental exposure, and turnaround time) into concrete designs, CAD, tolerance stacks, and verification plans.
• Produce and release drawings, GD&T, BOMs, and supplier specifications; coordinate part qualification, change control, and supplier handoffs to manufacturing partners.
• Drive test campaigns: design test fixtures, lead lab and flight-test instrumentation, execute structural and mechanism validation, collect data, and close failure modes against defined acceptance criteria.
• Use first-principles analysis and FEA to set margins, predict loads and fatigue life, and iterate designs to meet quantified targets (mass, stiffness, life, and safety factors).
• Rapidly prototype and iterate in-shop: build assemblies, lead bench and environmental tests, and convert validated prototypes into producible designs with documented producibility improvements.
• Collaborate daily with aerodynamics, structures, controls/autonomy, flight test, manufacturing, and operations teams; own cross-functional tradeoffs and be the mechanical authority in design reviews.
• Deliver measurable outcomes: reduce subsystem mass within specified range, demonstrate target MTBF or cycle life in test, close validation test plans to signoff, and achieve on-time drawing release for production runs.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed