Senior Production Test Engineer at Flyzipline — South San Francisco, CA

### About Zipline

## About You and The Role

We are hiring a Senior Production Test Engineer to own electrical, functional, and automated test systems that verify Zipline aircraft, dock, delivery pod, and subassembly hardware at scale. Zipline operates safety-critical autonomous aircraft and logistics systems that deliver medicine and essentials across varied field conditions; production test directly affects fleet uptime, field reliability, and customer deliveries. In this role you will lead end-to-end test system delivery for factory floors that support high-throughput manufacturing and rapid product iterations. You will be expected to prioritize safety, traceability, and measurable improvements in yield and time-to-deploy while working in a fast-scaling production environment with direct consequences for aircraft reliability and delivery network performance.

## What You'll Do

• Own design, delivery, and sustainment of production testers and calibration stations from requirements through internal or vendor build, installation, validation, and continuous improvement for aircraft, dock, pod, and subassembly builds.
• Define tester acceptance criteria: test coverage, pass/fail limits, golden-unit strategy, GR&R, capability targets, and production release criteria in partnership with Electrical Design, Firmware, Quality, and Operations.
• Architect and implement electrical and functional testers including harnessing, DAQ, sensors/actuators, power systems, safety interlocks, and mechanical fixtures to meet cycle-time and throughput targets.
• Implement test automation and data pipelines (Python, LabVIEW/TestStand or equivalent) to enable reproducible, high-throughput test flows, data logging, MES/MFG integration, and production dashboards.
• Drive measurable outcomes: increase first-pass yield, reduce false-fail rate, improve tester uptime/utilization, and shorten per-unit cycle time—set targets and report progress monthly.
• Troubleshoot and resolve production escalations on the floor: debug PCBA-level electrical failures, tester instability, fixture issues, SW bugs, and product/tester correlation failures under time pressure.
• Lead cross-functional launches: coordinate requirements, validation plans, training, calibration schedules, spares strategy, and change control with Manufacturing Engineering, Quality, Technicians, Operations, and external vendors.
• Identify and deploy scalable tester architectures and automation that reduce operator steps, minimize touch time, and standardize interfaces across lines.
• Produce and maintain test documentation: test procedures, maintenance/calibration plans, validation records, and change-control artifacts required for production readiness and traceability.

## What You'll Bring

• 7+ years building production test systems, automated test equipment, or end-of-line testers for electro-mechanical or mechatronic products; demonstrated ownership of multiple shipped tester programs.
• BS in Electrical, Mechatronics, Mechanical, Computer Engineering, or equivalent experience.
• Deep practical skills in instrumentation, signal measurement, power delivery, harnessing, connectorization, sensor/actuator interfaces, and PCBA debug with hands-on shop-floor experience.
• Strong test automation experience: Python preferred; experience with LabVIEW, TestStand, or embedded test frameworks and integrating DAQ, scopes, DMMs, power supplies, and electronic loads.
• Proficiency with embedded/product interfaces (CAN, UART, Ethernet, I2C, SPI, USB) and strategies for validating communications and firmware-hardware interactions.
• Track record of delivering measurable production improvements (first-pass yield, cycle time, false-fail reduction, tester utilization, GR&R) and owning metrics reporting.
• Experience working directly on manufacturing floors during launches and escalations; willing to spend significant onsite time supporting shifts, debugging, and qualifying equipment.
• Comfortable with frequent cross-functional coordination and leading vendor builds, FAT/SAT, and production qualification activities.
• Must-have traits: rigorous attention to safety and traceability, decisive technical judgment under production pressure, practical hands-on test/debug capability, and insistence on measurable outcomes.
• Location & logistics: role is based at Zipline’s manufacturing site in the listed location (onsite-first with regular floor presence); travel to other Zipline sites or vendor locations may be required for launches and validations.
• (first-year success indicators you will own: deliver and validate X major tester programs; reduce false-fail rate by a targeted percentage; achieve specified first-pass yield and cycle-time improvements for supported lines.)

## What Else You Need to Know

The starting cash range for this role is $125,000 - $170,000. 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.

### Voluntary Self-Identification