Engineering Test Technician, Zipline
Ground Systems
The starting hourly rate for this role is $41-$52
3-5 days a week in office
Transforming the way goods move
Be an early applicant
Transforming the way goods move
1001+ employees
Be an early applicant
The starting hourly rate for this role is $41-$52
3-5 days a week in office
1001+ employees
Company mission
To build the world's first logistics system that serves all people equally.
Role
Who you are
- 2–5+ years of experience in engineering test, electronics, manufacturing test, new product introduction, or a related hands-on hardware role
- Hands-on experience building, testing, and troubleshooting electrical hardware systems, prototypes, or test equipment
- Proficiency with soldering, wire harness fabrication, crimping, connector assembly, wire termination, and PCB rework
- Experience using oscilloscopes, multimeters, power supplies, data acquisition systems, and other electrical laboratory equipment
- Ability to read and interpret electrical schematics, wiring diagrams, assembly drawings, and test procedures
- Experience collecting test data, executing technical procedures, and documenting results clearly
- Basic familiarity with Linux-based systems and automated test environments
- Strong troubleshooting, problem-solving, attention to detail, and commitment to quality
- Ability to work independently with limited instruction while collaborating effectively across engineering teams
- Clear written and verbal communication skills and a willingness to learn new tools, technologies, and test methods
Desirable
- Experience with automated test equipment, data acquisition systems, or Python scripting for test automation and troubleshooting
- Experience in aerospace, robotics, autonomous systems, electric vehicles, or other complex electromechanical products
- Experience supporting new product introduction, engineering validation, or qualification programs
- Experience with environmental testing, including thermal, vibration, or ingress protection testing
- Familiarity with CAD, fixture design, rapid prototyping, reliability testing, or structured root cause analysis
- Experience creating or improving standard operating procedures, work instructions, and engineering documentation
What the job involves
- The Ground Systems team designs, builds, tests, and maintains the infrastructure that supports Zipline’s autonomous delivery systems. This includes charging and docking equipment, battery handling systems, electrical power distribution, communications hardware, embedded controls, package handling equipment, environmental monitoring systems, and the test infrastructure used to validate them
- As an Engineering Test Technician, you will be a hands-on member of the engineering team responsible for building, testing, troubleshooting, and improving electrical hardware and test systems. You will work closely with Electrical, Mechanical, Embedded Software, Systems, Manufacturing, and Operations teams to support products from early prototypes through validation, qualification, manufacturing, and field deployment
- Assemble and modify electrical prototypes, wire harnesses, test fixtures, breakout boards, and engineering builds
- Perform soldering, wire termination, crimping, heat shrinking, connector assembly, and PCB rework to engineering standards
- Verify wiring, harness integrity, continuity, and build quality before testing
- Follow build documentation and communicate discrepancies, design concerns, and improvement opportunities to engineering teams
- Create, maintain, and operate electrical and electromechanical test setups based on engineering requirements
- Configure and use oscilloscopes, multimeters, power supplies, data acquisition systems, environmental chambers, and data logging tools
- Execute functional, environmental, reliability, qualification, and field-simulation testing
- Collect, organize, and document test results in a structured and repeatable manner
- Diagnose electrical, mechanical, and system-level failures in prototypes, test fixtures, and deployed hardware
- Debug wiring issues, communication failures, sensor anomalies, power distribution problems, and data acquisition systems
- Partner with engineering teams to isolate root causes, support corrective actions, and clearly communicate findings and recommendations. Zipline | Engineering Test Technician – Ground Systems (Electrical Systems)
- Support automated test execution and data acquisition using engineering tools, scripts, Linux-based systems, sensors, and test equipment
- Validate and organize test data for engineering review, perform first-order analysis, and identify anomalies or unexpected behavior
- Generate clear summaries of test results, risks, failures, and recommended next steps
- Create and improve test procedures, work instructions, and standard operating procedures
- Maintain accurate records of builds, tests, failures, and corrective actions
- Maintain laboratory equipment, fixtures, tooling, and test infrastructure, including calibration and safe operating status
- Identify and implement opportunities to improve test efficiency, reliability, safety, quality, and repeatability
- Support inventory management for components, consumables, and test hardware
- Success in this role means building accurate and safe hardware, creating reliable and repeatable test setups, identifying failures early, producing actionable test data, and communicating clearly with cross-functional partners while continuously improving how the work is done
Our take
Zipline is reinventing how the world moves goods - one flight at a time. What started as a bold idea to deliver life-saving medical supplies by drones has grown into the world's first logistics network designed to serve everyone, everywhere. From rushing blood and vaccines to remote clinics, to dropping off everyday essentials for Walmart customers, Zipline's autonomous drones are proving that fast, reliable delivery doesn't have to be limited by roads or geography.
Zipline has an edge over potential future competitors, as the company has thousands of hours and over 35 million miles of flight to prove the system is safe and effective. It’s also one of the first companies to receive a full commercial operating certificate, putting Zipline in a strong position to continuously branch out to other markets.
The unicorn company operates globally and has signed its first government contract with Rwanda to provide up to 2 million drone deliveries by 2029. Beyond government partnerships, Zipline has its sights set on everyday consumers, preparing to launch commercial deliveries straight to individuals' houses. With its Walmart collaboration expanding and even Chipotle orders taking to the skies in Texas, Zipline isn't just redefining delivery - it's aiming to reach every corner of commerce, with a future that looks as bright as its ambitions.
Kirsty
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Insights
34% employee growth in 12 months
Company
Funding (last 2 of 12 rounds)
Mar 2026
$200m
SERIES H
Jan 2026
$600m
SERIES H
Total funding: $2.1bn
Company HQ
South San Francisco, CA
Leadership
Keller Rinaudo Cliffton
(Co-Founder & CEO)Having studied Economics and Biotechnology at Harvard, they worked for almost 11 months as a self-employed rock climber. They combined their academic and practical experience to co-found Zipline in July 2011.
Salary benchmarks
We don't have enough data yet to provide salary benchmarks for this role.
Submit your salary to help other candidates with crowdsourced salary estimates.
Share this job
View 95 more jobs at Zipline