Autonomy Software Engineering Intern (Spring 2026)

About Zipline

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 the first instant logistics system that serves all humans equally. Leveraging expertise in robotics and autonomy Zipline designs builds and operates a fleet of cutting edge autonomous delivery drones. We serve tens of millions of people around the world.

Joining Ziplines Emerging Talent program as an intern is an opportunity to contribute to our promise of building a system that provides equitable access to critical healthcare supplies for millions of people. We believe that internships are more than just opportunities to learn by watching or doing low level tasks. We expect our interns to take on meaningful work that actively contributes to moving Ziplines mission forward while learning real-world skills that will serve them in their careers for the long term.

Join us and build the future of logistics with the best humans around!

About the Software Integration Team

Are you a deeply technical software engineer drawn to the complexity of real-world autonomy systems Do you thrive at the intersection of robotics embedded software and systems integration where your code directly influences high-stakes physical outcomes At Zipline we operate the worlds largest autonomous delivery networkand were building the tools and infrastructure to scale that system safely globally and intelligently.

Our team is responsible for decision making component of the aircraft. We write the software that executes missions control behaviors on the aircraft such as lowering the zip for a delivery or providing safety critical functionality like responding to a fault and flying back home as soon as possible. We work with cloud motion planning perception controls and firmware teams.

The Role

Were looking for a Autonomy SoftwareEngineer Intern to join our team building integrated autonomy features and push them across the finish line into production. This role is not about building web apps or backend dashboardsits about working at the frontier of autonomous flight: bridging mission logic real-time systems autonomy behaviors and validation frameworks.

Youll work across planning perception and controls subsystems shaping how autonomous features like emergency landings route adaptations and dynamic delivery constraints behave in flight. Your work will integrate embedded aircraft software with simulation infrastructure telemetry systems and flight operations to ensure features launch with robust performance measurable safety and high availability.

What Youll Do

• Work on integration of complex autonomy features spanning embedded flight software real-time behavior logic and mission-critical runtime systems.
• Implement core vehicle software in Rust with a focus on performance safety and observability in safety-critical environments.
• Develop tooling to support validation including software-in-the-loop (SIL) and hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) testing for rapid iteration and safe experimentation.
• Partner with systems engineering and autonomy teams to definereal-world success metrics and build the interfaces and logging infrastructure to track them.

What Youll Bring

• Experience developing software in robotics aerospace autonomous vehicles or other safety-critical embedded systems.
• Experience in Rust C or C
• Strong systems-thinking mindset with an interest to integrate cross-disciplinary software under tight constraints (e.g. timing safety power).
• Hands-on experience with robotics testing including simulation.
• Ability and interest to work cross-functionally across different domains (hardware software cloud)
• A go-getter attitude - motivation to get things and find the answers to make it happen

What Else You Should Know

Our internships are full-time positions in-person at our South San Francisco or Dallas office. We will host our Spring 2026 interns from January to April.

Candidates are limited to three (3) applications within a 30-day period.

The starting cash range for this internship is $44 - 48/ hour. 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 candidates experience qualifications skills and working location. The total compensation package for each role may also include: a housing stipend; overtime pay; relocation support; paid sick time; and more.

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!

Zipline is also committed to providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities. Please let your point of contact at Zipline know if you require any accommodations throughout your interview process.