Mechanical Engineering Internship, Zipline
Summer 2026
$38 - 42/ hour
May offers relocation support
3-5 days a week in office (South San Francisco, CA)
Transforming the way goods move
Be an early applicant
Transforming the way goods move
1001+ employees
Be an early applicant
$38 - 42/ hour
May offers relocation support
3-5 days a week in office (South San Francisco, CA)
1001+ employees
Company mission
To build the world's first logistics system that serves all people equally.
Role
Who you are
- If you thrive working with a fast-paced and driven team that focuses on only the most important goals, eliminates blockers, and executes with extreme practicality, keep reading!
- The most critical skill we’ve seen in prior entry-level candidates is robust experience designing and actually building multiple mechanical systems outside of the classroom
- This is the component of your application we’re most excited about, so please ensure that you’ve included this work in your application
- Examples of things previous interns have built include submarines, solar cars in the Australian outback, electric boats and airplanes, rockets, etc
- You must have completed at least the second year of your Undergraduate studies. Masters and PhD students are also eligible
- You’ll bring solid mechanical engineering fundamentals for structural analysis, sizing parts, and integrating components into a design with minimal help
- You’ll bring automation experience from working with actuators and Raspberry Pi’s (or similar)
- You’re well versed in CAD, and have designed multiple projects with it
- You’ve worked on complex projects that require mechanical, electrical, and software design
- You're quick to change direction when you realize you’ve made a mistake OR could achieve the same goal in a simpler way
- You bias to action and communicate consistently with your team to ensure everyone is focused on meeting the project goals on time
- You're excited to build on your design skills with brainstorms, design reviews, and failure mode analysis
- You can anticipate, plan and schedule your own work
- You bring a “can do” attitude, because we have a lot of vital work to get done and only work with people who are invested in solving critical problems
What the job involves
- Does aggressively tackling cross disciplinary projects from early conceptual stages through to full field deployment sound like the way you want to spend your time?
- Do you eliminate circular discussions by running a test or use your hands-on skills to build a prototype instead of scheduling another meeting?
- At Zipline, your work is intended for the field, where customers are counting on it every day, so there is no time for ambiguous communication or unrealistic expectations
- We need dedicated engineers to burn down risk and improve reliability in our system like their life depends on it– because others' lives do
- Mechanical Engineers at Zipline go deep in their area of ownership, become experts in the problem domain, define requirements for their systems, rapidly develop creative and simple solutions, and prove with testing that their system meets the rigors and edge-cases of real-world deployment
- We are composed of teams that are responsible for everything from the earliest designs of a new system, to creating test and validation strategies, root-causing issues with existing systems, and much more
- Take product and engineering requirements to develop concepts and evaluate tradeoffs for each
- Use 2D and 3D CAD tools to design parts and assemblies based on sound engineering principles
- Use resources creatively to design, build, and test prototypes to gather quick learnings
- Work cross-functionally with other Zipline teams and suppliers to review designs
- Design, build, and run electro-mechanical testers that you develop to prove reliability of critical components
- Evaluate designs and components on a material, element, and fully integrated product level
- Root cause failures and develop a test to replicate the failure mode
- Document your work so that others can easily understand key decisions made
- Examples of previous intern projects include designing, building, testing, and running:
- Flexible blind-mate ducting connection between an aircraft and a ground-based cooling station, allowing for aircraft battery temperature regulation during charging and pre-flight preparation
- A service strategy for removing a docked aircraft from a ground station using a custom designed hand cart, complete with an ergonomic study for a range of technician heights and strengths
- A communications tower with integrated antennas and lightning protection meant to relay vital telemetry information from the drone to the operators during flight
- Characterization of proposed and delivered materials, and properties (static strength, durability, and dynamic response) of configured structures
- A wing cycle tester to identify and eliminate risk for each wing iteration and prove reliability with cycles
Application process
- We will host our Summer 2026 interns from May or June to August
- Candidates are limited to three (3) applications within a 30-day period
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 essential for Walmart customers, Ziplines'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 sight 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 9 rounds)
Nov 2025
$150m
GRANT
Apr 2023
$330m
SERIES F
Total funding: $963.7m
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 53 more jobs at Zipline