Senior Mechanical Design Engineer - Electrical Distribution

About Zipline

Do you want to change the world? Zipline is on a mission to transform the way goods move. Our aim is to solve the world’s most urgent and complex access challenges by building, manufacturing and operating the first instant delivery and logistics system that serves all humans equally, wherever they are. From powering Rwanda’s national blood delivery network and Ghana’s COVID-19 vaccine distribution, to providing on-demand home delivery for Walmart, to enabling healthcare providers to bring care directly to U.S. homes, we are transforming the way things move for businesses, governments and consumers.

The technology is complex but the idea is simple: a teleportation service that delivers what you need, when you need it. Through our technology that includes robotics and autonomy, we are decarbonizing delivery, decreasing road congestion, and reducing fossil fuel consumption and air pollution, while providing equitable access to billions of people and building a more resilient global supply chain.

Join Zipline and help us to make good on our promise to build an equitable and more resilient global supply chain for billions of people.

About You and The Role  
Zipline was founded by engineers dedicated to making the world a better place. We are continuing to innovate in pursuit of that goal and are looking for talented engineers to design and integrate critical electronic systems for our vehicles. You will be responsible for the zero-to-one mechanical design(s) of our perception hardware, with a focus on our next generation drone's interconnects systems made up of Flex-PCBA(s), and connectors. Along the way, you will work closely with our manufacturing, electrical, and RF engineers to evaluate and deliver state-of-the-art designs. You will also work closely with the structures and powertrain teams to ensure interconnect interfaces are seamless and robust against environmental and operational requirements. At Zipline, our work is intended for the field. Patients are counting on it today--there is no time for aiming low or for coming up short. If leveraging your talent to deliver excellent hardware with a small but dedicated team at your side sounds like your cup of tea, please read on.

What You’ll do

• Fully own the architecture and integration of critical flight electronics and perception hardware into the Zipline family of vehicles 
• Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams on vehicle level optimizations and system designs
• Use hand calcs, FEA, statistics, test campaigns and computer-aided designs (CAD) to ensure all the hardware you design meets the requirements for safe, reliable flight.
• Lead design reviews, and document your work clearly, concisely and robustly
• Serve as a technical interface with suppliers, manufacturers and customers (internal and external)
• Own the positive product outcome from inception through design, prototyping, launch, and service. 

What You'll Bring (Basic Qualifications) 

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience in an engineering discipline
• Experience designing components and systems optimizing for conflicting requirements
• Demonstrated CAD fluency (any software)
• Willing to travel as needed to bring up suppliers
• Must be willing to relocate to the San Francisco Bay area working regularly out of Zipline HQ
• Minimum 5 years of experience outside of a classroom setting

Nice To Have (Preferred qualifications)

• Excellent communication - written, verbal, and visual. 
• Demonstrated ownership of hardware though the full product life cycle outside of a classroom setting
• Experience with connector development, and electrical distribution design
• Experience designing and producing systems with embedded electronics
• Experience solving ESD/EMI integration problems
• Experience with radio frequency communication hardware
• Experience designing safety-critical aerospace or automotive products
• Demonstrated excellence in the following technical disciplines
• Electrical distribution systems designed against vehicle level requirements
• Mechanical engineering, statics, and rigid body kinematics.
• Heat transfer and thermal management of power electronics
• Connector design for harsh environments (Heavy industry, aviation, aerospace)
• High volume production (100K units/ year)
• Drafting, engineering drawings and GD&T

What Else You Need to Know   

The starting cash range for this role is $150,000 - $210,000. Please note that this is a target, starting cash range for a candidate who meets the minimum qualifications for this role. The final cash pay for this role will depend on a variety of factors, including a specific candidate's experience, qualifications, skills, working location, and projected impact. The total compensation package for this role may also include: equity compensation; discretionary annual or performance bonuses; sales incentives; benefits such as medical, dental and vision insurance; paid time off; and more.

Zipline is an equal opportunity employer and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, ancestry, national origin, religion or religious creed, mental or physical disability, medical condition, genetic information, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, marital status, military or veteran status, citizenship, or other characteristics protected by state, federal or local law or our other policies.

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!