Senior Flight Test Engineer

Zipline•South San Francisco, CA

16h•Onsite

About The Position

Zipline is looking for a Senior Flight Test Engineer to lead comprehensive flight test campaigns and integrate automated testing infrastructure into our flight test program. Your work will help enable Zipline to continuously test, learn, and deploy improvements to our global delivery service. In this role, you will develop a deep understanding of Zipline’s end-to-end logistics system and work closely with cross-functional partners to generate rapid insights into changes across hardware, software, and operations. Your work will serve as the final line of defense before software and hardware are deployed globally to perform critical real-world deliveries. You’ll own system-level flight test campaigns from planning through execution and analysis. This role is ideal for someone who enjoys translating complex engineering questions into effective test programs and using data and automation to accelerate learning.

Requirements

5+ years designing, developing or validating autonomous, robotic, systems (UAS experience preferred).
Experience maintaining and enforcing safety in a fast-paced and rapidly evolving environment.
Strong experience analyzing and interpreting test data.
Experience bringing up and debugging hardware and software systems for automated platforms.
A systems-level mindset, with the ability to balance risks and priorities across structures, aerodynamics, embedded systems, and software teams.
Strong judgment on when to move quickly with pragmatic solutions and when to invest in long-term infrastructure or tooling.
Willingness to travel domestically and internationally for flight testing (approximately 2–6 weeks per year).
Comfort working outdoors and supporting flight test activities in varying weather conditions.

Responsibilities

Develop and execute flight test campaigns to validate aircraft performance, delivery operations, docking systems, and fleet orchestration.
Ensure flight testing is used for the highest-value learning opportunities, and recommend alternative test approaches when more efficient methods exist.
Collaborate with electrical, mechanical, and software teams to define system-level flight test objectives and success criteria.
Assess hardware and software readiness for testing and make sound judgments on risk posture and flight readiness.
Identify and remove technical and programmatic roadblocks that slow down flight testing.
Own or coordinate key aspects of flight operations, including preflight preparation, flight execution, and incident reporting.
Analyze flight test data to identify anomalies, trends, and opportunities for rapid iteration.
Track test progress and introduce new tools, processes, and workflows that enable safe and efficient testing.
Develop and integrate software tooling and automated test infrastructure to improve test precision, insight, capacity, and velocity.