Electrical Engineering Internship, Zipline
Fall 2025
The starting cash range for this role is $38 - 42 / hour
More information about location
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 cash range for this role is $38 - 42 / hour
More information about location
3-5 days a week in office
1001+ employees
Company mission
To open up access to emergency medical care to everyone in the world.
Role
Who you are
- We need people who are comfortable working in different domains, thrive when working on a problem as part of a small group, and are able to communicate technical concepts clearly to a wide variety of stakeholders--software and mechanical engineers, hardware test and manufacturing, and operations and field support, to name a few
- The part of your application we're most interested in is "prior engineering experience," somewhat broadly defined. We would like the following three things to be true:
- Must have at least completed the second year of your Undergraduate studies. Masters and PhD students are also eligible
- You've designed and tested a custom circuit board (it doesn't need to have worked - we'd love to hear about it!)
- You've worked on a project in or out of school that moved under its own power (plane, car, boat, quadcopter, rocket, balloon, rocket on a balloon, submarine, rover, etc. - we're not picky)
- You've collaborated on the above two things as part of a group - school club, competition team, as part of a job/internship, or just with friends
- In your application, we'd love to see either a sample of work you're proud of or a short note about your prior experience and how it relates to the three points above
What the job involves
- At Zipline, the Avionics Team is at the heart of our autonomous flight systems, responsible for designing, building, and testing the electronic and software systems that enable our drones to navigate, communicate, and deliver critical supplies with precision and reliability
- From custom circuit board design, EOL tester development, and sensor integration to real-time flight control and communication systems, the team ensures our platforms operate safely and effectively in some of the most challenging environments in the world
- The team works cross-functionally with mechanical, test, embedded, software, and systems engineering teams to create scalable, high-performance avionics that power life-saving missions every day
- Leading the way in drone delivery often means exceeding the capabilities of what's available off the shelf, and as a result we are engineering the majority of our system in-house
- Doubling down on the reliability of our systems is critical to delivering to our next billion customers--people whose lives will be meaningfully affected by smarter, more equitable access
- We are deliberately expanding our electrical design and test capabilities and adding to the ranks of our experienced team to achieve these goals
- We need dedicated engineers to burn down risk and improve reliability in our system like their life depends on it, because others' lives do
- Electronics are where software meets the physical world, and so our electrical engineering team has a wide array of engineering skills and works with a variety of different teams
- Our small team can get a lot done because our team members are strong individual contributors with a good grasp of electrical engineering fundamentals and the ability to define requirements for their systems, rapidly develop creative and simple solutions, and prove with testing that their work meets the rigors and edge-cases of real-world deployment
- You'll have your own projects but we haven't been saving an "intern project" - you'll be a full member of our team, and like with our other engineers, we'll work with you to find projects that align with your goals and interests and the team's and company's priorities
- Examples of previous projects for interns include:
- Prototyping new versions of our battery charging electronics to meet harsher environmental requirements in new countries where we're launching our service
- Architecting ground support electronics to assist the air vehicle with take-off and landing
- Developing and deploying test equipment such as EOL’s for design validation and production
- Supporting design validation campaigns to ensure that our avionics products meet design and reliability requirements
- Root cause investigation for our products from test, flight, or field issues
Application process
- We will host our Fall 2025 interns from September to December
Our take
Zipline is transforming the way goods move by creating the first logistics system that serves all humans equally via a drone delivery service. As the first emergency drone logistics operation, Zipline is fundamentally changing how we transport emergency medical supplies and has expanded into commercial deliveries. It's partnered with several major companies, including Walmart.
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. It is also aiming to start commercial deliveries to individual households in the near future. With big companies such as Amazon and Walmart examining “instant” delivery options, Zipline has a proven track record and the equipment and logistics in place to provide such services. 2023 funding pushed Zipline's valuation to a staggering $4.2 billion, indicating a bright future.
Kirsty
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Insights
34% employee growth in 12 months
Company
Funding (last 2 of 8 rounds)
Apr 2023
$330m
SERIES F
Jul 2021
$250m
SERIES E
Total funding: $813.7m
Company benefits
- Generous parental leave
- Generous vacation policy
- Monthly wellness stipend
- Monthly team events
- Healthcare, vision, and dental
- Healthy, delicious meals and snacks
- Dog-friendly offices
Company HQ
South San Francisco, CA
Leadership
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 33 more jobs at Zipline