Test Maintenance Lead

Zipline • Esparto, CA

6d • $115,000 - $130,000

About The Position

As the Test Maintenance Lead, you will own test maintenance execution across Zipline’s full test operations footprint, including test deployments for Truckzilla, Nest0, NestZ, Cascades, and any future test sites requiring maintenance support. You’ll be responsible for the operating model, staffing coordination, execution quality, escalation paths, and maintenance readiness for test aircraft and test-site activity.
This is a broad leadership role, not a single-site lead role. You’ll be accountable for ensuring test maintenance can support flight test velocity, return-to-service timelines, special configurations, engineering test campaigns, seasonal operations, and future test-site growth without relying on ad hoc support from commercial maintenance or constant senior-leader intervention.
Your leadership will directly impact aircraft availability, test velocity, technician productivity, and the team’s ability to turn test-site learnings into scalable maintenance standards for future commercial operations. This role requires a hands-on leader with strong technical judgment, operational discipline, people leadership, and the ability to manage execution across multiple sites and shifting priorities.

Requirements

• 5+ years of experience in aviation maintenance, fleet operations, test operations, or related technical field leadership
• Proven track record leading maintenance teams in fast-paced, high-ambiguity operational environments
• Experience managing maintenance execution across multiple sites, fleets, shifts, or operating lanes
• Strong knowledge of aircraft maintenance standards, safety expectations, documentation discipline, and audit readiness
• Demonstrated ability to manage return-to-service pipelines, backlog, inspections, modification work, and aircraft readiness
• Strong people leadership skills with a focus on coaching, technician development, accountability, and building the next layer of leadership
• Operational discipline with the ability to manage KPIs, implement SOPs, enforce standards, and improve execution quality
• Ability to coordinate across Flight Test, Engineering, site operations, program management, and senior leadership
• Strong communication and escalation judgment, especially when aircraft availability, test velocity, or site readiness is at risk
• Flexibility to support shifting test priorities, seasonal operations, site growth, and a scaling maintenance environment

Responsibilities

• Own test maintenance execution across Truckzilla, Nest0, NestZ, Cascades, and future test sites
• Build and maintain the test maintenance operating model, including coverage expectations, escalation paths, handoffs, prioritization, technician allocation, and site support structure
• Lead Test Maintenance Technicians, Assistant Leads, local/site maintenance support, and other assigned resources through daily priorities, execution standards, quality expectations, and escalation discipline
• Manage test aircraft return-to-service flow across all test operations, including blockers, parts constraints, inspection status, modification work, troubleshooting, and readiness for upcoming test events
• Serve as the primary maintenance execution owner for Flight Test, Engineering, site leadership, and MOE leadership when aircraft availability or maintenance readiness is at risk
• Coordinate maintenance support for special test configurations, life leaders, high-priority aircraft, Truckzilla operations, Cascades seasonal activity, and future test campaigns
• Maintain clear visibility into test maintenance backlog, aircraft status, return-to-service blockers, technician capacity, and upcoming demand across sites
• Partner with the Test Maintenance Program Manager to connect daily execution needs with program-level planning, cross-functional dependencies, staffing needs, and future site readiness
• Ensure test maintenance learnings are captured and translated into maintainability improvements, tooling needs, process changes, standard work, training, and commercial handoff criteria
• Develop the next layer of test maintenance leadership by identifying high-potential technicians or assistant leads and giving them structured ownership of sites, fleets, or operating lanes
• Align staffing plans with shifting test priorities, seasonal coverage needs, and future test-site growth
• Enforce shop floor standards, safety protocols, documentation discipline, and execution accountability across test maintenance environments

Benefits

• The salary range for this position is $115,000 - $130,000.

What This Job Offers

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