Software Systems Validation Intern (Summer 2027)

Zipline•South San Francisco, CA

3d•$54•Onsite

About The Position

Zipline is the world’s largest and most experienced drone delivery service, aiming to serve all humans equally by providing access to food, medicine, and essential goods. The company designs, builds, and operates an autonomous logistics system, making deliveries globally. The Software Systems Validation team ensures that all software powering Zipline's autonomous delivery aircraft operates reliably, safely, and as intended. This involves evaluating the integration of components like navigation, perception, controls, planning, and actuation. The team collaborates with various engineering groups, utilizing simulation, hardware testing, data analysis, and system-level evaluations to support global deployments. As an intern, you will gain hands-on experience with industry-leading autonomous systems, working alongside engineers across different domains.

Requirements

Must have completed the second year of undergraduate studies in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Robotics, or a related field. Masters and PhD students are also eligible.
Coursework or project experience in robotics, controls, estimation, navigation, perception, or software development
Familiarity with testing, debugging, or validation methodologies (academic or project-based experience counts!)
Experience with data analysis using Python, SQL, or similar
Basic proficiency with a compiled language such as C/C++ or Rust
Curiosity, attention to detail, and a desire to learn how autonomous systems are validated in real-world environments

Nice To Haves

Exposure to hardware, actuators, sensors, and interfacing with software
Experience with robotics competitions, club projects, or research labs
Interest in requirements development, reliability engineering, or statistical validation

Responsibilities

Support the design and execution of test scenarios across the autonomous software stack to validate system-level requirements
Help develop and improve validation tools, workflows, and automation
Build visualizations or metrics that highlight performance trends, gaps, or regressions
Work with test infrastructure and data platform teams to run validation pipelines
Analyze results and contribute to identifying root causes of failures or unexpected behavior
Document findings and communicate insights to engineering stakeholders