Senior Mechanical Hardware Reliability Engineer

Zipline•South San Francisco, CA

1d•$137,000 - $190,000

About The Position

Zipline is seeking a Senior Mechanical Hardware Reliability Engineer to own the reliability of critical mechanical and electromechanical systems across its autonomous delivery platform. The role may focus on systems such as the next-generation delivery Dropbox or delivery pod, with other mechanical systems possible depending on the candidate’s experience. The engineer will define reliability needs at system and component levels, identify important failure modes, influence architecture and design, and determine how to validate hardware for deployment. For systems where reliability depends on unit economics, availability, and maintenance burden as well as safety, the engineer will establish appropriate reliability targets and release criteria. The role combines mechanical engineering fundamentals, hands-on failure investigation, Design-for-Reliability, Physics-of-Failure, and statistical methods. The engineer is expected to exercise substantial technical ownership and judgment, independently identify high-impact investigations, and collaborate across design, test, manufacturing, quality, and operations to deliver hardware capable of long service lives at scale.

Requirements

B.S. or M.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Materials Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
At least 5 years of relevant engineering experience developing and validating safety-critical electromechanical systems through delivery to customers.
Strong mechanical engineering fundamentals and ability to reason from first principles about hardware behavior and failure.
Experience owning technically complex hardware at subsystem or system level and independently driving ambiguous problems from risk identification through resolution.
Experience applying reliability methods such as DFMEA, accelerated-life testing, environmental testing, failure analysis, or life modeling.
Ability to identify dominant risks in complex systems, prioritize limited engineering and test resources, and determine when sufficient evidence supports a design or release decision.
Strong technical communication skills, including explaining complex issues clearly, synthesizing ambiguous information into coherent problem statements, writing concise decision-oriented technical documentation, and driving cross-functional alignment on reliability trade-offs and technical decisions.
Demonstrated ownership and practical problem-solving ability, including driving technically complex issues through resolution.
Ability to independently develop technical depth and move between system-level reliability questions and detailed component-level investigations.

Nice To Haves

Experience with mechanisms, robotics, long-life mechanical systems, highly utilized products, or hardware designed for minimal maintenance.
Experience spanning both mechanical and electrical aspects of electromechanical systems.

Responsibilities

Own reliability strategy for mission-critical mechanical subsystems or systems, applying Design-for-Reliability and Physics-of-Failure principles.
Define system reliability targets, life requirements, release criteria, design-level requirements, verification plans, and objective pass/fail criteria based on safety, availability, unit economics, operational burden, and program maturity.
Lead system- and component-level FMEAs to identify and prioritize reliability risks and influence architecture and design decisions.
Develop accelerated-life and environmental test campaigns to demonstrate long-term performance, including determining revalidation needs as designs evolve.
Lead complex test failures and field issues from triage through root cause, risk assessment, and corrective action; recommend hardware readiness and release based on technical evidence.
Sign off on test verification results and assess hardware readiness for flight from a reliability standpoint.
Define operational life limits and service intervals using test data, field returns, and statistical models.
Provide technical direction in ambiguous situations, balancing reliability risk against schedule, resources, cost, and operational impact.
Improve reliability methods, tools, standards, and decision-making processes as the company scales.