Production Test Engineer

Zipline•South San Francisco, CA

2d•$125,000 - $170,000•Onsite

About The Position

Zipline is hiring a Senior Production Test Engineer to own electrical, functional, and automated test systems used to verify aircraft, docks, delivery pods, and subassembly hardware at scale. The role leads end-to-end delivery of production test systems for high-throughput factory floors, with a focus on safety, traceability, yield, and time-to-deploy. The work has direct consequences for aircraft reliability, fleet uptime, and customer deliveries. The engineer will design, deliver, and sustain production testers and calibration stations from requirements through build, installation, validation, and continuous improvement. They will develop test automation and data pipelines, support manufacturing launches and production escalations, and coordinate with engineering, quality, operations, technicians, and vendors. The role is based at Zipline’s manufacturing site and is onsite-first, with regular floor presence and possible travel to other Zipline sites or vendor locations. The starting cash range is $125,000–$170,000. Total compensation may also include equity, discretionary annual or performance bonuses, sales incentives, and benefits such as medical, dental, vision insurance, and paid time off. Zipline is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes applicants from traditionally underrepresented groups in technology.

Requirements

At least 7 years of experience building production test systems, automated test equipment, or end-of-line testers for electro-mechanical or mechatronic products.
Demonstrated ownership of multiple shipped tester programs.
Bachelor’s degree in Electrical, Mechatronics, Mechanical, or Computer Engineering, or equivalent experience.
Practical skills in instrumentation, signal measurement, power delivery, harnessing, connectorization, sensor/actuator interfaces, and PCBA debugging, with hands-on shop-floor experience.
Strong test automation experience; Python is preferred, with experience in LabVIEW, TestStand, or embedded test frameworks.
Experience integrating DAQ, oscilloscopes, DMMs, power supplies, and electronic loads.
Proficiency with embedded/product interfaces including CAN, UART, Ethernet, I2C, SPI, and USB, and strategies for validating communications and firmware-hardware interactions.
Track record of measurable production improvements, such as first-pass yield, cycle time, false-fail reduction, tester utilization, or GR&R, and ownership of metrics reporting.
Experience working on manufacturing floors during launches and escalations, and willingness to spend significant onsite time supporting shifts, debugging, and qualifying equipment.
Comfort with frequent cross-functional coordination and leading vendor builds, FAT/SAT, and production qualification activities.
Rigorous attention to safety and traceability, decisive technical judgment under production pressure, practical hands-on test/debug capability, and insistence on measurable outcomes.

Responsibilities

Own the design, delivery, and sustainment of production testers and calibration stations for aircraft, docks, pods, and subassemblies, from requirements through build, installation, validation, and continuous improvement.
Define tester acceptance criteria, including test coverage, pass/fail limits, golden-unit strategy, GR&R, capability targets, and production release criteria, in partnership with Electrical Design, Firmware, Quality, and Operations.
Architect and implement electrical and functional testers, including harnessing, DAQ, sensors and actuators, power systems, safety interlocks, and mechanical fixtures, to meet cycle-time and throughput targets.
Implement test automation and data pipelines using Python, LabVIEW/TestStand, or equivalent, enabling reproducible, high-throughput test flows, data logging, MES/MFG integration, and production dashboards.
Set targets and report monthly progress on first-pass yield, false-fail rate, tester uptime and utilization, and per-unit cycle time.
Troubleshoot production escalations on the manufacturing floor, including PCBA-level electrical failures, tester instability, fixture issues, software bugs, and product/tester correlation failures.
Lead cross-functional launches by coordinating requirements, validation plans, training, calibration schedules, spares strategy, and change control with Manufacturing Engineering, Quality, Technicians, Operations, and external vendors.
Identify and deploy scalable tester architectures and automation that reduce operator steps and touch time and standardize interfaces across production lines.
Produce and maintain test procedures, maintenance and calibration plans, validation records, and change-control artifacts needed for production readiness and traceability.
Support manufacturing launches, escalations, debugging, and equipment qualification through significant onsite floor presence; travel to other Zipline sites or vendor locations may be required.