Site Acquisition Manager - California

Zipline•San Diego, CA

12h•$120,000 - $160,000•Remote

About The Position

Zipline is the world’s largest and most experienced drone delivery service, aiming to serve all humans equally by ensuring access to food, medicine, and essential goods anytime, anywhere. They design, build, and operate the world’s largest autonomous logistics system, delivering critical supplies quickly and reliably. Zipline operates on four continents, makes a delivery every 30 seconds, and has completed millions of deliveries. Their system strengthens supply chains, reduces congestion, and gives people time back, with over 140 million commercial autonomous miles safely flown. The company is looking for practical problem solvers who thrive on real-world challenges and rapid growth, motivated by building systems with a direct, meaningful impact on people’s lives and scaling the future of logistics. The Site Acquisition Manager will be the tip of the spear for network expansion, focusing on site acquisition in metros across the California region. This is a pure deal role requiring an elite closer who loves the hunt, runs high-volume outreach, and turns "no" into signed agreements. The role involves owning site acquisition end-to-end: sourcing, qualification, negotiation, contracting, signature, and handoff, while keeping the top of the funnel full. The position will partner closely with cross-functional teams but the individual will be the deal owner accountable for pace, quality, and results. This role requires thriving with autonomy, moving fast with disciplined process, and treating aggressive targets as the job. The role comes with expected domestic travel up to 20% and is a high-intensity role in a fast-paced environment, with potential for extended hours, weekend work, and availability outside standard business hours to meet aggressive operational objectives and company goals.

Requirements

3+ years of site acquisition / real estate dealmaking experience (distributed infrastructure, retail rollouts, QSR, convenience, telecom, logistics, industrial, or similar).
Proven ability to source and close deals end-to-end (not just support).
Strong negotiation and contracting instincts with sophisticated counterparties.
Experience driving contracting workflows (LOI → definitive agreement) and managing multiple concurrent redlines with Legal.
Working knowledge of early feasibility considerations (zoning/land-use, access, utilities, permitting constraints) to qualify sites pre-signature.
Strong organizational rigor and CRM discipline; proficiency with a CRM system (e.g., Salesforce or equivalent) for pipeline management and forecasting.
Ability to travel up to 20% across the California region.
Authorized to work in the U.S

Nice To Haves

Experience executing multi-site rollouts and/or building standardized acquisition programs (templates, broker programs, playbooks).
Track record winning competitive sites under tight timelines.
Existing broker/owner network in key North American metros.
Experience in regulated or infrastructure-heavy environments (aviation, EV charging, telecom, logistics, industrial).

Responsibilities

Own the top of funnel (pipeline creation)
Build and maintain a robust pipeline across assigned markets using broker networks and direct-to-owner sourcing.
Run a high-activity outreach engine (cold outreach, tours, meetings, relationship development) to maintain healthy pipeline coverage.
Develop territory plans: target lists, corridor prioritization, competitive mapping, and weekly pipeline forecasts.
Close deals (LOI → signature)
Lead negotiations end-to-end: LOIs/term sheets through definitive agreements (ground leases/licenses, amendments, exhibits) in partnership with Legal.
Secure infrastructure-critical rights and protections including access, easements, construction rights, utility coordination, options/renewals, exclusivity/non-interference, assignment, insurance/indemnity, cure periods/remedies, and termination rights.
Maintain contracting velocity when Legal bandwidth is constrained by triaging redlines, batching issues, using templates/playbooks, and escalating decisions with clear options.
Qualify buildable sites early (diligence)
Drive early diligence to avoid dead ends: zoning/land-use feasibility, access/egress, utilities, title/easements, environmental red flags, and basic constructability considerations.
Create clear internal “site packages” that surface risks early and align stakeholders before pushing to signature.
Operate like an owner (process + scale)
Maintain clean CRM and deal documentation (using Salesforce or a comparable CRM, plus internal tools) with disciplined stages and accurate forecasting.
Report weekly on pipeline health, conversion, close probability, blockers, and help-needed asks.
Improve playbooks, templates, sourcing strategies, and broker programs to increase close rate and reduce cycle time—building a repeatable acquisition engine.
Anticipate and respond to shifting priorities by continuously monitoring key signals and bringing leadership clear options (tradeoffs, impact, timeline) to drive quick decisions and keep deals moving.
Own relationships post-signature
Build durable site-host relationships post-launch to protect performance, reduce fallout, and unlock future expansion.