Test Equipment Design Engineer

Zipline•South San Francisco, CA

20h

About The Position

Zipline builds autonomous delivery aircraft and ground systems that operate daily in varied field conditions. Reliable products begin with reliable validation. As an Electromechanical Test Equipment Design Engineer, you will own the design and development of the test systems that enable engineers to characterize, validate, qualify, and manufacture battery and power electronics hardware with confidence. The Battery & Power Electronics team is responsible for delivering power throughout the aircraft—including batteries, power distribution systems, busbars, and power connectors. You will develop custom test equipment integrating mechanical design, electrical hardware, instrumentation, controls, automation, and software to create robust, scalable systems that accelerate product development and generate accurate, repeatable engineering data. This role is open to engineers at all levels. Responsibilities and scope will scale with experience—from owning individual fixtures and subsystems to leading the architecture and strategy for complex validation infrastructure spanning multiple aircraft programs.

Requirements

Experience designing electromechanical systems, automated equipment, manufacturing equipment, robotics, or engineering test systems appropriate to your career level.
Strong mechanical design skills using NX, SolidWorks, or equivalent CAD software.
Experience integrating electrical hardware including sensors, actuators, relays, power supplies, wiring harnesses, DAQ systems, instrumentation, safety circuits, and industrial controls.
Strong engineering fundamentals including machine design, GD&T, tolerance analysis, structural analysis, electrical fundamentals, instrumentation, and system integration.
Hands-on experience assembling, wiring, debugging, commissioning, and maintaining complex electromechanical systems.
Demonstrated ability to collaborate across mechanical, electrical, software, manufacturing, and reliability teams.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to communicate technical tradeoffs and influence engineering decisions.

Nice To Haves

Experience developing automated systems using Python, LabVIEW, MATLAB, PLCs, NI TestStand, or equivalent tools is preferred.
Experience supporting environmental, vibration, thermal, fatigue, abuse, electrical, or reliability testing is preferred.

Responsibilities

Own end-to-end delivery of electromechanical test equipment from requirements → architecture → design → build → automation → validation → deployment → sustainment.
Design and develop custom electromechanical test equipment for batteries, power electronics, busbars, power distribution systems, and other flight hardware.
Design integrated systems combining mechanical structures, electrical power distribution, instrumentation, sensors, controls, safety systems, and software automation.
Develop robust fixtures, enclosures, wiring harnesses, operator interfaces, and safety systems capable of supporting repeatable, high-throughput engineering and production testing.
Specify and integrate instrumentation including thermocouples, RTDs, load cells, pressure sensors, accelerometers, current and voltage measurement, DAQ hardware, cameras, and programmable power equipment.
Partner with controls and software engineers—or independently develop automation using Python, LabVIEW, PLCs, NI TestStand, or equivalent tools—to create automated test sequences and data acquisition systems.
Design and support equipment for battery characterization, DV&P/R, environmental, vibration, thermal, fatigue, abuse, crash, fire mitigation, and electrical validation testing.
Produce CAD assemblies, detailed drawings, electrical schematics, wiring documentation, bills of materials, and manufacturing documentation for production-ready test equipment.
Commission, troubleshoot, validate, and continuously improve laboratory equipment to maximize reliability, throughput, safety, and data quality.
Lead supplier selection, qualification, and integration for externally manufactured fixtures and automated equipment, ensuring long-term maintainability and scalability.
Collaborate closely with Mechanical, Electrical, Systems, Software, Reliability, Manufacturing, Integration & Test, Supplier Quality, and Field Operations to translate engineering questions into robust validation solutions.
Contribute to engineering standards, laboratory best practices, and reusable test platforms that improve engineering velocity across programs.
Designs fixtures, subsystems, and laboratory equipment with mentorship.
Supports equipment assembly, integration, commissioning, and debugging.
Develops proficiency in instrumentation, automation, and validation methods.
Executes testing, analyzes results, and improves equipment performance.
Owns complete electromechanical test systems from concept through deployment.
Leads cross-functional development of complex validation equipment.
Mentors engineers and establishes best practices for equipment design, automation, and laboratory operations.
Drives improvements in equipment reliability, throughput, and engineering efficiency.
Defines long-term test equipment architecture and validation infrastructure strategy across multiple programs.
Establishes engineering standards for automation, instrumentation, safety, and system integration.
Leads large cross-functional initiatives that improve engineering capability, validation quality, and product development velocity.
Serves as the technical authority for major laboratory investments and complex validation systems.