Supplier Industrialization Engineer

Zipline • South San Francisco, CA

4d • Onsite

About The Position

You are a highly technical Supplier Industrialization Engineer helping strengthen the mechanical supply chain for Zipline’s autonomous, safety-critical aviation platform. You will own the technical readiness and ongoing performance of suppliers producing machined parts, plastics, composites, motors, rotating components, and mechanical or electromechanical assemblies. Your work directly affects aircraft reliability, flight readiness, regulatory compliance, program schedule, and our ability to provide customers with consistent, high-uptime delivery operations. This role sits at the intersection of Engineering, Manufacturing, Quality, Supply Chain, and external suppliers. You will translate product requirements into stable manufacturing, inspection, and qualification processes while driving technical risks and supplier issues to closure.

Requirements

• 5+ years of experience in supplier industrialization, supplier quality, manufacturing engineering, mechanical design, NPI, or a related hardware role.
• Demonstrated ownership of supplier qualification or production readiness for a meaningful portfolio of parts, suppliers, or programs.
• Hands-on depth in at least two relevant manufacturing domains, such as machining, plastics, composites, motors, rotating assemblies, or mechanical assembly.
• Experience transitioning safety- or reliability-critical hardware from prototype into stable production.
• Strong knowledge of manufacturing processes, tooling, fixtures, inspection, measurement systems, and process control.
• Ability to read and challenge drawings, GD&T, tolerance schemes, specifications, and manufacturing documentation.
• Experience with qualification plans, inspection plans, PFMEAs, capability studies, control plans, and corrective actions.
• Strong technical judgment and the ability to work through incomplete or conflicting information.
• Ability to manage complex information and communicate clear, decision-ready recommendations to Engineering, Manufacturing, Quality, Supply Chain, and suppliers.
• Willingness to travel regularly and remain engaged until corrective actions are verified in production.

Nice To Haves

• Deep expertise in precision machining, injection molding, composites, motors, or mechanical assembly.
• Strong GD&T and tolerance-analysis skills.
• Experience with NX, SolidWorks, CATIA, or Creo.
• Experience with APQP, PPAP, FAI, SPC, gauge R&R, and supplier audits.
• Experience with motors, bearings, shafts, gears, seals, bonding, welding, coatings, or other special processes.
• Experience in aerospace, automotive, robotics, medical devices, or another regulated or reliability-sensitive industry.
• Experience supporting supplier recovery, second sourcing, or production transfer.

Responsibilities

• Own technical supplier readiness for an assigned portfolio of mechanical parts and assemblies from sourcing through qualification, production ramp, and sustaining.
• Assess supplier capability, support selection and onboarding, and lead technical audits, validation builds, and production-readiness reviews.
• Review drawings, GD&T, tolerances, materials, finishes, special processes, and acceptance criteria for manufacturability and inspectability.
• Partner with Design Engineering to incorporate supplier feedback, resolve deviations, and improve drawings and specifications.
• Define risk-based qualification, inspection, control, and acceptance plans, including FAI, PPAP, capability studies, gauge R&R, and process validation.
• Evaluate supplier tooling, fixtures, process flow, work instructions, inspection methods, capacity, and production controls.
• Lead containment, root-cause analysis, and permanent corrective action for supplier quality issues.
• Work with Supply Chain on recovery plans, second sourcing, material or process changes, and mitigations needed to protect schedule and budget.
• Maintain clear status, risks, decisions, owners, and deadlines across multiple supplier workstreams.
• Travel to supplier and Zipline sites to support qualification, production ramp, audits, and urgent issue resolution.

Benefits

• Zipline is an equal opportunity employer and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws or our own sensibilities.
• We value diversity at Zipline and welcome applications from those who are traditionally underrepresented in tech. If you like the sound of this position but are not sure if you are the perfect fit, please apply!

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed