Manufacturing Engineer, Early Career

About You & the Role

Zipline builds, manufactures, and operates autonomous delivery systems that move essential goods. In this role, you will help turn electro-mechanical aircraft, docks, and logistics hardware into safe, reliable, repeatable production processes that support field operations.

Based at Zipline’s South San Francisco manufacturing facility, you will work alongside manufacturing engineers, technicians, and cross-functional partners on final assembly and feeder sub-assemblies. You will own bounded engineering tasks, learn on the factory floor, and help improve quality, throughput, and production readiness.

This individual-contributor role welcomes new graduates and early-career engineers. Relevant internships, co-ops, academic or personal projects, and hands-on manufacturing experience can demonstrate your readiness; there is no experienced-hire years threshold. You will take ownership of clearly scoped tasks with technical guidance and review, build factory-floor judgment, and grow your ability to deliver manufacturing improvements while meeting aerospace safety and field-reliability requirements.

Rare travel between sites may be required during ramp and sustainment. Nights or weekends may be needed to support critical production ramps or outages.

What You’ll Do

• Help turn assembly ideas into pilot builds, validated processes, and production improvements.
• Design and improve fixtures, gauges, tooling, and workstations with technical guidance and review.
• Learn how process decisions are tested through PFMEAs, control plans, capability studies, first-article inspections, and validation.
• Use factory observations and production data to identify opportunities to improve safety, quality, yield, throughput, and downtime.
• Investigate production issues with technicians and engineers, test possible root causes, and verify corrective actions.
• Write clear work instructions and process records, and support technician and operator training.
• Contribute to design-for-manufacturing, layout, capacity, and equipment work; share progress and raise safety, quality, or schedule risks promptly.

What You’ll Bring

• A BS in Mechanical Engineering or a related field is required.
• Hands-on experience through internships, co-ops, laboratories, student teams, academic or personal projects, or manufacturing work, with examples of your contribution and testing.
• Foundational knowledge of mechanical and electro-mechanical assembly, engineering drawings, manufacturing processes, and safe shop or laboratory practices.
• Experience using 3D CAD to design parts, fixtures, jigs, tooling, or assemblies; Siemens NX experience is helpful.
• Familiarity with basic statistics, structured problem-solving, and process variation, and willingness to build practical skills in PFMEA, control plans, SPC, Cp/Cpk, first-article inspection, and production validation.
• Ability to organize and analyze engineering or production data using Excel or similar tools; exposure to Minitab, JMP, or MES/ERP systems is helpful.
• A hands-on approach, attention to process details, curiosity about how products are built, and commitment to safety, quality, and reliable field operation.
• Clear communication and collaboration with technicians and engineers, openness to feedback, and the judgment to seek review or escalate risks.
• Ownership of agreed tasks, documentation, and follow-through, with willingness to learn planning, procurement, commissioning, and production sustainment through supported assignments.

What Else You Need to Know

The starting cash range for this role is $104,000 - $180,000. Please note that this is a target, starting cash range for a candidate who meets the minimum qualifications for this role. We are always open to negotiation.

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.