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Zipline

Senior Embedded Software Validation Engineer - Avionics SW

South San Francisco, California, USA
Salary
$160,000 - $190,000
Level
Senior

Not stated in the posting: work type, visa.

Open. First seen 3 October 2026.

Apply on www.zipline.com →

About the role

Zipline's standard text

About Zipline

Zipline is the world’s largest and most experienced drone delivery service. We are on a mission to serve all humans equally by ensuring access to food, medicine and essential goods anytime, anywhere. We design, build, and operate the world’s largest autonomous logistics system, delivering critical supplies quickly and reliably. Today, Zipline operates on four continents, makes a delivery somewhere in the world every 30 seconds, and has completed millions of deliveries to date, including blood, vaccines, medical supplies, food, and retail products.

Our customers include the world’s largest and most prominent healthcare systems, governments, retailers, restaurants and global businesses who rely on us to save lives, reduce emissions, increase economic opportunity, and provide delivery from point A to point B as fast as possible. The drone is only 15% of what we’ve built to enable seamless, reliable, global operations.

Our 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.

We operate at a global scale and are looking for practical problem solvers who thrive on real-world challenges and rapid growth. Our team is motivated by building systems that have a direct, meaningful impact on people’s lives and by scaling the future of logistics. We are seeking people who sculpt from first principles, enjoy facing adversity, and can do the impossible at record breaking speeds.

About You and The Role

Zipline’s autonomous drone delivery system relies on software that behaves safely and predictably. The avionics software team owns the flight computer operating system and platform services, as well as reliable management of the avionics sensor suite. As a Senior Embedded Software Validation Engineer, you will lead validation strategy and execution for avionics components, including the flight computer and its related peripherals, to ensure that software executes reliably and deterministically.

Your work will help gather the evidence that exposes capability gains, gaps, regressions, and safety risks, and will serve as the foundation for confidently shipping software releases.

What You'll Do

  • Develop component-level validation strategy for software correctness, reliability, and performance on an Embedded Linux node.
  • Design, implement, and execute nominal, stress, and edge-case scenarios from simulation through full-system flight testing.
  • Develop and maintain hardware test infrastructure to meet the above objectives
  • Build metrics, visualizations, real-time performance and safety monitors, and automated tools that reveal capability changes and regressions.
  • Set validation evidence and exit criteria that inform release, deployment, and operating-domain expansion decisions.
  • Debug failures across simulation, hardware, firmware, embedded software, and application software; clearly document findings and escalate unresolved safety or performance risks.
  • Partner with test infrastructure teams to increase automated validation coverage, efficiency, and precision while improving confidence in rapid development velocity.

What You'll Bring

  • Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science/Engineering, Software Engineering, or a related field.
  • 5+ years of software development, software systems engineering, or software validation experience with robotic systems.
  • Strong experience in one or more relevant domains: Embedded Linux, PREEMPT_RT, firmware / RTOS, safety-critical systems, 802.11, Ethernet.
  • Experience developing validation strategies for autonomous robotics.
  • Experience root-causing failures in complex autonomous systems.
  • Proficiency with Rust or other programming languages used in safety-critical applications such as MISRA C, or C++.
  • Familiarity with other programming and query languages such as Python and SQL.
  • Experience deriving software safety or performance requirements from functional safety requirements or similar requirements decompositions.

What Else You Need To Know

The starting cash ranges for this role is $160,000 - $250,000. 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. This position may be hired at one of three levels based on the candidate’s experience, skills, and demonstrated scope:

  • Software Engineer II: $160,000 - $190,000
  • Senior Software Engineer: $190,000 - $220,000
  • Staff Software Engineer: $220,000 - $250,000
Zipline's standard text

Zipline is an equal opportunity employer and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws or our own sensibilities.

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!

Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey. Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiring process or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in a confidential file.

As set forth in Zipline ’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

What this role asks for

Particular to this role

C · Node.js · RTOS · SQL

Rare in Zipline's other 201 open postings.

Standard for embedded / hardware roles

C++ · Embedded Systems · Python

Common in embedded / hardware postings at any company.

53% of this description is written for the role. The rest is Zipline's standard text, folded away below.

Read against Zipline's other open postings on this site.

The team: Flight SW HIRES STEADILY

This role is one of 16 open in Flight SW. 3 were posted in the last 30 days and the oldest in July: a team that hires all year rather than one being built.

WHAT THE TEAM WORKS WITH, ACROSS ITS POSTINGS

Rust (13 of 16), C++ (10 of 16), Linux (10 of 16), Embedded Systems (9 of 16), Python (8 of 16), AWS (5 of 16), C (5 of 16)

OTHER ROLES ON THIS TEAM

From the team and dates on Zipline's own job board.

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