Autonomy Platform Software Engineer, Zipline
$160-210k
4 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
$160-210k
4 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
- You bring deep Linux expertise (kernel, userspace, performance tuning), experience shipping robotic applications to real customers, and strong software architecture chops in strongly-typed languages (Rust/C++; Python for tooling)
- You communicate clearly, make legible, auditable safety decisions, and bridge HW↔SW while leading cross-functional stakeholders to closure on complex trade-offs
- 3+ years of experience in delivering robotic applications to real-world customers
- Strong expertise in low level OS/linux/jetson
- Strong software engineering skills, with proficiency in at least one strongly typed language; we use Rust and C++ onboard, and Python for tooling
- Strong system mindset; able to see how the full system comes together
- Deep expertise in embedded Linux development, including experience with kernel modifications, userspace programming, and performance tuning
- Strong software architecture skills, with experience designing and shipping solutions for complex real-world use cases
- Strong communication and documentation; you make complex safety decisions legible and auditable
- Able to bridge the gap between HW and SW, to ensure a robust system
- Technical leadership to bring multiple stakeholders together to drive complex decisions forward
What the job involves
- You’re a systems-minded SWE who lives at the boundary of autonomy, embedded Linux, and hardware
- Reporting to the Head of Droid Autonomy, you’ll own the delivery runtime end to end
- You’ll bring up compute and sensors on Jetson/Linux, design flight/runtime orchestration—mission state machines, behavior gating, safe-state transitions—and build observability (logging, health monitoring, replay) for fast, trustworthy post-flight validation
- Integrate and own Delivery Zip runtime software: Bring up, configure, and validate new compute and sensor hardware across our autonomy stack
- Develop system-level observability: Build logging, health monitoring, and replay tooling for post-flight analysis and validation
- Drive reliability of software: Autonomy subsystem requires a highly reliable platform to build solutions on
- Develop and maintain embedded software: Write robust, low-latency Rust/C++ code on embedded Linux
- Design flight/runtime orchestration logic: Build mission state machines, behavior gating, and safe-state transitions across compute nodes under real-time constraints
- Validate safety and performance: Use SIL/HIL and real-flight telemetry to measure deterministic behavior and prove reliability before deployment
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.
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