Technical Program Manager Intern (Summer 2027)

Zipline•South San Francisco, CA

5d•Onsite

About The Position

Zipline’s Program Management team ensures company goals are achieved on time and on budget. Program Managers work within hardware teams and alongside engineers across disciplines to design, build, and test drones and ground infrastructure. They set team priorities and drive execution of key milestones in a changing environment. The Technical Program Manager Intern will help manage technical and program risks, support decision-making and trade studies, define timelines and critical paths, coordinate cross-functional hardware development, and drive prototype and test activities. The role also involves reporting updates to leadership, coordinating test-campaign infrastructure and hardware samples, facilitating meetings, tracking parts and quality, and managing hardware changes to meet company targets. This is a full-time, in-person summer internship based at Zipline’s South San Francisco or Dallas office. The posting specifies that the intern must be able to work in person at the South San Francisco office five days per week. The internship period is May/June through August/September 2027, and the hourly rate is $40. Additional benefits may include relocation support, a housing stipend, overtime pay, paid sick time, and other benefits where applicable and subject to local requirements.

Requirements

Must have completed at least the second year of undergraduate studies, or equivalent, in Mechanical or Mechatronics Engineering; Master’s and Ph.D. students are also eligible.
Strong technical background.
Excellent communication skills and ability to explain challenges and solutions to engineers and non-engineers.
Enthusiasm for collaboration in a fast-paced, highly cross-functional environment.
Ability to pick up technical concepts rapidly.
Ability to drive clarity amidst chaos and ambiguity.
Extreme ownership and a bias for action.
Must be eligible to work in the United States.
Demonstrated skill in aligning priorities, coordinating timelines, and leading complex scope, resource, and schedule trades.
Must be able to work in person at Zipline’s South San Francisco office five days a week.

Responsibilities

Understand and mitigate technical and program risks to keep future programs on track.
Drive decision-making and trade-off studies.
Define program timelines, milestones, and critical paths.
Manage and support cross-functional teams across electrical and mechanical engineering, design validation, and embedded software to develop and execute plans for new hardware.
Drive prototype and test activities to validate next-generation hardware designs.
Report program updates to leadership.
Manage new infrastructure builds for test campaigns and track hardware sample allocations.
Organize and facilitate meetings with cross-functional teams.
Work with cross-functional groups to track incoming parts and quality.
Manage upcoming hardware changes to meet company targets.