Autonomy Motion Planning Manager
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Job Location:
South San Francisco, CA - USA
Monthly Salary:
$ 200000 - 260000
Posted on:
30+ days ago
Vacancies:
1 Vacancy
Job Summary
About Zipline
Motion Planning Lead Autonomy at Scale
Why This Role Matters
Zipline is building the worlds largest autonomous delivery system one thats already flying life-saving missions and is now scaling to serve millions of people in cities across the globe. The autonomy team is at the heart of that growth: were solving motion planning and collision avoidance challenges that no one else in aviation has solved at this scale.
As Motion Planning Lead youll shape the algorithms that make tens of thousands of autonomous flights per day safe efficient and reliable. This is an opportunity to set the standard for aerial autonomy in a role where your work directly influences the trajectory of the company and the industry.
What Youll Take On from Day 1
Scale at hyperspeed: push autonomy software from thousands to 10000 flights a day across multiple metros.
Next-gen platforms: prototype test and refine autonomy software for new aircraft working shoulder-to-shoulder with hardware and software teams.
Collision avoidance at scale: design solutions that let us safely navigate dense dynamic urban environments.
Raise the bar on safety: achieve reliability goals that exceed the state of the art and regulatory expectations.
What Youll Do
Build and lead a world-class motion planning team and deliver one of the first commercial Detect and Avoid systems for drone delivery.
Define requirements and interfaces with our onboard acoustic and vision systems to create truly integrated autonomy.
Develop multi-agent planning and deconfliction algorithms to keep our fleet and the airspace safe as we scale.
Continuously optimize path planning to improve energy efficiency and time of flight across logistics operations.
Use SIL/HIL environments large-scale sims and real flight data to validate planning algorithms.
Mentor and grow engineers while fostering a culture of technical excellence and bold problem-solving.
What Youll Bring
At least 7 years in autonomy robotics or aerospace experience including 2 years leading technical teams in safety-critical environments.
Expertise in planning and search algorithms with industry experience in robotics autonomous driving or aerial systems.
Strong skills in Rust/C/C for production systems.
Experience developing safety-critical software for complex real-world deployments.
Hands-on experience with simulation data analysis and debugging real-world autonomy systems to handle long-tail edge cases.
Leadership presence and communication skills to align cross-functional teams and inspire talent.
Why Join Now
Impact: Your work will directly determine how millions of people access essential goods.
Scale: Be part of the team scaling one of the worlds only operating revenue-generating autonomy systems.
Market upside: Were at an inflection point with commercial drone delivery set to become a trillion-dollar industry and Zipline is leading the way.
Team: Work with some of the best minds in autonomy robotics and aerospace in an environment that demands rigor creativity and speed.
What Else You Need to Know
Required Experience:
Manager
Key Skills
- Forecasting
- Facilities Management
- SAP
- Supply Chain Experience
- Business Management
- Analysis Skills
- Microsoft Powerpoint
- SAP APO
- Production Planning
- Project Management
- Strategic Planning
- ERP Systems
About Company
Zipline is the world's largest autonomous delivery system, specializing in on-demand drone delivery and instant logistics.
