Senior Manufacturing Engineer

About Zipline

Do you want to change the world Zipline is on a mission to transform the way goods move. Our aim is to solve the worlds most urgent and complex access challenges by building manufacturing and operating the first instant delivery and logistics system that serves all humans equally wherever they are. From powering Rwandas national blood delivery network and Ghanas COVID19 vaccine distribution to providing ondemand home delivery for Walmart to enabling healthcare providers to bring care directly to U.S. homes we are transforming the way things move for businesses governments and consumers. The technology is complex but the idea is simple: a teleportation service that delivers what you need when you need it. Through our technology that includes robotics and autonomy we are decarbonizing delivery decreasing road congestion and reducing fossil fuel consumption and air pollution while providing equitable access to billions of people and building a more resilient global supply chain.

About You and The Role

Does working on large integrated electromechanical systemsfrom smallscale engineering builds to fullscale production and global deploymentexcite you Do you feel driven to dive in when others say something is too difficult or impossible Are you the goto engineer when it comes to figuring out how to build and scale something thats never been done before

At Zipline our work is built for the real world. Families and patients rely on us every daytheres no room for falling short or aiming low. If youre passionate about using your engineering talent to create elegant effective manufacturing solutions read on.

Were looking for a highly experienced and dynamic Senior Manufacturing Engineer to join our team. In this role youll be responsible for designing and scaling multiple inhouse final assembly lines for our aircraft zips docks and several critical feeder subassemblies. Youll ensure these lines can meet growing demandfrom tens of units per week to hundreds over the next three yearswhile continuously driving down cost and elevating product quality. If you thrive in a fastpaced environment enjoy managing multiple new developments at once and can quickly align teams and drive toward solutions wed love to hear from you.

What Youll Do:

As a Senior Manufacturing Engineer you will play a critical role in scaling our inhouse manufacturing capabilities while developing new processes to support design changes and new internal builds. Youll apply your technical expertise to deeply understand fundamental design requirements and ensure they are consistently met in production. This role is highly crossfunctionalyoull collaborate with design engineers supplier industrial engineers operations program managers quality engineers maintenance teams and manufacturing technicians. As the ultimate owner of your manufacturing lines youll be responsible for developing and validating inhouse processes designing and modifying line layouts and overseeing fixture and equipment design and fabrication. Your first major project will involve building a new manufacturing lineincluding processes and equipmentto bring inhouse a complex electromechanical subassembly that feeds into our toplevel assemblies.

Youre a seasoned manufacturing engineer with a track record of developing manufacturing lines from prototype and early engineering builds through to fullscale (potentially highly automated) production. Youre adept at identifying failure modes that could disrupt highvolume operations and you proactively design solutions to detect or prevent issues before they arise. With a strong understanding of manufacturing constraints and capabilities you offer design suggestions that are both efficient to produce and straightforward to inspect. You approach process improvement with an unbiased mindset distinguishing between critical fixes and nicetohaves. You raise design and process concerns with humility and foster a collaborative environment where ideas are openly shared. As a trusted technical mentor you provide guidance and share best practices with junior team members reviewing their work and supporting their growth.

What Youll Do

• Develop and optimize manufacturing processes and documentation for complex electromechanical assemblies from prototype builds to fullscale production.
• Lead planning budgeting design procurement & commissioning of Assembly Lines and associated facilities & equipment at Zipline for Product Builds
• Lead process validation and verification activities including PFMEAs capability studies first article inspections and pilot builds.
• Collaborate closely with design engineers to drive designformanufacturability (DFM) ensuring product designs are optimized for reliable and costeffective assembly.
• Own tooling and fixture development from concept through fabrication installation and validation to support scalable and repeatable manufacturing.
• Identify and implement continuous improvement initiatives to improve quality reduce cycle time and lower production costs (e.g. lean manufacturing automation pokayoke).
• Troubleshoot and resolve production issues working crossfunctionally with quality design and maintenance teams to implement corrective and preventive actions.
• Support rampup of new products and manufacturing lines coordinating crossfunctional activities to ensure smooth transitions from development to production.
• Track and analyze manufacturing performance metrics including firstpass yield throughput downtime and cost of poor quality to drive datainformed decisions.
• Provide technical mentorship to junior manufacturing engineers and technicians sharing best practices and reviewing designs and process approaches.

What Youll Bring

• 7 years of experience designing and developing manufacturing lines proven track record of scaling something from the 10s of products per month to the 1000s of products per month
• Design for Manufacturability (DFM/DFA): Strong understanding of how to influence product design for costeffective scalable and reliable assembly.
• Handson experience working with products that combine mechanical systems electronics and software integration.
• Fixture and tooling design: Experience designing and validating custom fixtures jigs and tools to support repeatable ergonomic and efficient processes.
• Manufacturing process validation: Deep knowledge of PFMEA control plans process capability (Cp/Cpk) and statistical process control (SPC).
• Proficiency in 3D CAD Software (Siemens NX preferred)
• Proficient in writing SOPs work instructions and process flow documents.
• Familiar with statistical tools (e.g. Minitab JMP Excel) for analyzing yield process capability and production trends.
• MES/ERP systems: Experience with manufacturing execution systems and resource planning software to manage production data and operations.
• Skilled at identifying root causes and rapidly implementing sustainable corrective actions in a fastpaced environment.
• Proven ability to work with design quality supply chain and operations teams to deliver manufacturing outcomes.
• Comfortable guiding and reviewing work of junior engineers and technicians.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills for documenting processes presenting data and aligning teams.
• Demonstrated ability to manage complex projects with minimal oversightfrom planning through execution and sustainment.
• Worked in a super fastpaced environment that is in a constant state of evolution.

What Else You Need to Know

Zipline is an equal opportunity employer and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race color religion age sex national origin disability status genetics protected veteran status sexual orientation gender identity or expression or any other characteristic protected by federal state or local laws or our own sensibilities.

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!

If youd like to learn more about Zipline and our teams feel free to check out our Instagram one of our Reddit AMAs or our website!