Electrical Engineer - Ground Systems

Company: Zipline
Location: South San Francisco
Posted on: April 1, 2026

Job Description:

About Zipline Zipline is the world’s largest and most experienced drone delivery service. We are on a mission to serve all humans equally by ensuring access to food, medicine and essential goods anytime, anywhere. We design, build, and operate the world’s largest autonomous logistics system, delivering critical supplies quickly and reliably. Today, Zipline operates on four continents, makes a delivery somewhere in the world every 30 seconds, and has completed millions of deliveries to date, including blood, vaccines, medical supplies, food, and retail products. Our customers include the world’s largest and most prominent healthcare systems, governments, retailers, restaurants and global businesses who rely on us to save lives, reduce emissions, increase economic opportunity, and provide delivery from point A to point B as fast as possible. The drone is only 15% of what we’ve built to enable seamless, reliable, global operations. Our system strengthens supply chains, reduces congestion, and gives people time back. With more than 140 million commercial autonomous miles safely flown, Zipline is redefining access to healthcare, consumer products, and food across the globe. We operate at a global scale and are looking for practical problem solvers who thrive on real-world challenges and rapid growth. Our team is motivated by building systems that have a direct, meaningful impact on people’s lives and by scaling the future of logistics. We are seeking people who sculpt from first principles, enjoy facing adversity, and can do the impossible at record breaking speeds. About the Role The Ground Systems team is responsible for developing the components to support the aircraft landing, charging, loading and launching. We are looking for an Electrical Engineer with a strong foundation in EE design and an excellent grasp of electronics development, processes, and tools. In this role, you will develop hardware for our next generation ground systems which involves designing electronics in at least one of the following fields: Microprocessor, high-speed communication, GNSS, brushless DC motor drive, power supply, battery charger and more. These components are at the core of enabling autonomous takeoff and landing for our fleet of next generation aircraft and seamless integration with our shipper sites that will enable Zipline’s impact to expand from 100,000 deliveries/year to 100 million across the globe. In addition, you will have the opportunity to collaborate with world class engineers across all disciplines and experience levels. Zipline values personal development highly and encourages an environment of continuous learning and mentorship. The Ground Systems team encounters many challenges when designing robust systems to provide life-saving service in some of the harshest environments on Earth. At the start of any project, our team plays a vital role in system architecture, designing for performance, reliability, and fault tolerance, while balancing mass and cost. Included in this is the design of an UL compliant system to ensure the safety of employees, customers, and bystanders. Our sophisticated autonomous fleet also requires us to build custom electro-mechanical solutions with high performance embedded computing and high speed communication. To achieve Zipline’s goal of serving anyone anywhere, all aspects of a design must also be successful in a wide range of real-world environments by being robust against environmental, ESD, and EMI threats. These are just some of the many challenges that make us excited to go to work everyday. What You’ll Do Own the electrical design for volume production through a full design cycle including requirements, prototype, schematic capture, layout, and validation. Making impactful design decisions daily, while working with a high level of independence. Lead trade studies, understand competing design priorities, and provide direction and clarity for burning down risk. Collaborate cross-functionally with reliability, mechanical, embedded, and systems engineers in all stages of development, including: Concept: System requirement, specification Design: Schematic capture, PCB layout, system integration Validation: Function and reliability test Production: DFM, design drawings, manufacturing, EOL test, certification Deployment: Troubleshoot field issues, develop rapid mitigations, roll learnings into future design revision Travel occasionally to support supplier and manufacturer visit, product deployment, and field validation What You’ll Bring Bachelor’s in Electrical Engineering or related discipline Minimum 3 years of hardware design experience including: Electronics circuit design, schematic capture, PCB layout, packaging, integration, validation and transitioning a product to production. Past success developing electronics for critical systems in fields such as energy, transportation, or medical devices. Design experience with mixed-signal PCB, high-speed digital PCB, microprocessor, ethernet, power electronics, and motor drive. Proficiency in schematic capture, PCB layout, and simulation tools (Altium, SPICE, etc.) Strong lab skills and familiarity with test equipment like oscilloscope, digital multimeter, power analyzer, LCR meter, function generator, spectrum analyzer, etc Design experience with UL safety requirements and EMC requirements preferred Design experience with embedded programming in Linux system is a plus Excellent communication and collaboration skills across engineering disciplines Must be eligible to work in the U.S. What Else You Need to Know The starting cash range for this role is $160,000 - $225,000. Please note that this is a target, starting cash range for a candidate who meets the minimum qualifications for this role. 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. Zipline is an equal opportunity employer and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, ancestry, national origin, religion or religious creed, mental or physical disability, medical condition, genetic information, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, marital status, military or veteran status, citizenship, or other characteristics protected by state, federal or local law or our other policies. We value diversity at Zipline and welcome applications from those who are traditionally underrepresented in tech. If you like the sound of this position but are not sure if you are the perfect fit, please apply!

Keywords: Zipline, West Sacramento , Electrical Engineer - Ground Systems, Engineering , South San Francisco, California