Site Acquisition Manager- Southeast

Zipline•Tampa, FL

5d•Hybrid

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 essential goods. They design, build, and operate an autonomous logistics system, making deliveries on four continents and completing millions of critical supply deliveries. Zipline's system strengthens supply chains, reduces congestion, and saves people time. The company is seeking practical problem solvers who thrive on real-world challenges and rapid growth, motivated by building systems with a meaningful impact. As a Site Acquisition Manager, you will be the primary driver of network expansion, focusing on sourcing, qualifying, negotiating, contracting, and securing signed agreements for new sites. This is a deal-focused role requiring high-volume outreach and the ability to turn rejections into successful deals. You will manage the entire site acquisition process end-to-end, from initial sourcing to final handoff, while maintaining a full pipeline. You will collaborate with various internal teams, including Development Managers, Legal, Design/Engineering, Finance, Operations, and Marketing, but will be ultimately accountable for the pace, quality, and results of your deals. This role demands autonomy, disciplined process, and a proactive approach to meeting aggressive targets. The position involves up to 20% domestic travel and may require periods of extended hours and weekend work to meet operational objectives in a fast-paced environment.

Requirements

4+ 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 assigned region.
Authorized to work in the U.S.

Responsibilities

Own the top of the funnel (pipeline creation)
Build and maintain a robust pipeline across assigned markets using direct-to-owner sourcing.
Run a high-activity outreach engine (cold outreach, site visits, virtual 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 constructibility 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 CRM and 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.