Technical Program Manager Intern (Spring 2027)

Zipline•South San Francisco, CA

2d•Onsite

About The Position

Zipline is the world’s largest and most experienced drone delivery service, on a mission 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 somewhere in the world every 30 seconds, and has completed millions of deliveries. Their system strengthens supply chains, reduces congestion, and gives people time back. With more than 140 million commercial autonomous miles safely flown, Zipline is redefining access to healthcare, consumer products, and food across the globe. The company operates at a global scale and is looking for practical problem solvers who thrive on real-world challenges and rapid growth. The team is motivated by building systems that have a direct, meaningful impact on people’s lives and by scaling the future of logistics. They are seeking people who sculpt from first principles, enjoy facing adversity, and can do the impossible at record breaking speeds. The Program Management team is responsible for ensuring that Zipline achieves its company goals on time and on budget. PMs are embedded across 6 hardware teams and work directly with engineers of many disciplines to design, build, and test drones and ground infrastructure. Program managers define their team’s priorities and drive execution of key milestones in a constantly changing environment.

Requirements

Must have at least completed the second year of your undergraduate studies or equivalent in Mechanical or Mechatronics Engineering. Masters and PhD students are also eligible.
Strong technical background
Excellent communication skills and the ability to explain challenges and solutions to fellow engineers and non-engineers alike.
Enthusiasm for collaborating in a fast paced and 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 US
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 5 days a week

Responsibilities

Understand and mitigate technical and program risks to keep Zipline’s future programs on track.
Drive decision making and trade off studies.
Define program timelines, milestones and critical path.
Manage and support cross-functional teams across electrical and mechanical engineering, design validation, and embedded software domains to build and execute a plan to develop 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 closely with cross-functional groups to track incoming parts and quality.
Manage upcoming hardware changes to meet company targets.