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.
The Launch & Scale team builds the operating system that brings new sites, metros, and partners online and helps the network scale reliably. We turn complex dependencies into clear launch plans, readiness mechanisms, tools, and operating rhythms. We partner across infrastructure, permitting, flight operations, maintenance, commercial, partner readiness, and field operations. Our work stays close to real launches so that field lessons become repeatable systems rather than one-off fixes. As an intern, you will report to the Director, Launch & Site Operations and work closely with Launch Managers and cross-functional teams that bring the network online.
The RoleAs the Launch & Scale Intern, you will contribute to a high-impact project that improves how Zipline plans, executes, and learns from launches. You will support Launch Managers by bringing structure to dependencies, analyzing readiness and performance, and helping teams turn field lessons into repeatable tools. You may spend time close to active launches, but you will work with experienced teammates rather than serve as the accountable launch owner. You will also own a clearly scoped project—such as a dashboard, process improvement, playbook, or lightweight automation—from problem definition through pilot and handoff. Along the way, you will receive coaching from the Director, Launch & Site Operations and collaborate with operators, engineers, commercial teammates, and field teams.
What You'll Do
- Support integrated launch plans for assigned workstreams by organizing milestones, dependencies, owners, risks, and open decisions.
- Analyze launch and site-operations data to identify bottlenecks, inconsistencies, and opportunities to improve speed, quality, or repeatability.
- Prepare materials for readiness reviews and operating forums, including concise status summaries, action logs, and decision briefs.
- Work with Launch Managers and functional teams to follow up on commitments, reconcile conflicting information, and surface blockers early.
- Build or improve practical tools such as dashboards, playbooks, templates, checklists, or lightweight automations.
- Participate in selected onsite launch activities, capture field observations, and translate lessons into process improvements.
- Own a scoped internship project from problem definition through pilot, measurement, and an accepted handoff to the team.
- Currently pursuing a bachelor’s or graduate degree in operations, engineering, business, supply chain, data and analytics, or a related field.
- Structured problem-solving skills and curiosity about how complex physical or technical systems work.
- Comfort with quantitative analysis, including spreadsheets and at least one data or automation tool such as SQL, Python, or a business-intelligence platform.
- Clear written and verbal communication, with the ability to make complex information easy to understand.
- Evidence of following through on a project involving multiple contributors through coursework, work, research, or extracurricular experience.
- Comfort operating in ambiguity, asking good questions, incorporating feedback, and staying reliable on details.
- Ability to work onsite in South San Francisco and willingness to travel occasionally within the United States to support launches.
This internship is a full-time position, in-person at our South San Francisco office. We will host our Summer 2027 interns from (May/June - August/September). Zipline is unable to sponsor work visas for applicants to this position.
The hourly rate for this internship is $34 per hour. Additional benefits may include relocation support, a housing stipend, overtime pay, paid sick time, and other benefits, where applicable and subject to local requirements.
Candidates are limited to three (3) applications within a 30-day period.
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.
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.
For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey. Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiring process or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in a confidential file.
As set forth in Zipline ’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.
Skills Required
- Currently pursuing a bachelor's or graduate degree in operations, engineering, business, supply chain, data and analytics, or a related field.
- Structured problem-solving skills and curiosity about complex physical or technical systems.
- Comfort with quantitative analysis, including spreadsheets and at least one data or automation tool such as SQL, Python, or a business-intelligence platform.
- Clear written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to explain complex information clearly.
- Evidence of completing a project involving multiple contributors through coursework, work, research, or extracurricular experience.
- Comfort operating in ambiguity, asking questions, incorporating feedback, and maintaining attention to detail.
- Ability to work onsite in South San Francisco.
- Willingness to travel occasionally within the United States to support launches.
Zipline Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Zipline and has not been reviewed or approved by Zipline.
-
Healthcare Strength — Healthcare coverage is consistently described as comprehensive and high quality, with multiple plan choices, low out‑of‑pocket costs, and additions like HRA, One Medical, and fertility support.
-
Parental & Family Support — Parental and family leave is highlighted as generous and meaningfully used, reinforcing support for major life events.
-
Leave & Time Off Breadth — Paid time off, sick days, and holidays are portrayed as solid and broadly available, contributing to overall benefits depth.
Zipline Insights
What We Do
Zipline is the world's largest autonomous delivery network and is powered entirely by fixed-wing drones. Our fleet circles the equivalent distance of the equator every 2.5 days, and we have shipped hundreds of thousands of critical medical products across Rwanda, Ghana, and now beginning in the United States.
Why Work With Us
Zipline is the perfect intersection of super cutting-edge tech, deep social mission, and extremely compelling business case. Our small, scrappy, customer-obsessed, humble, and mission-driven team has set the bar for what is possible in the drone logistics industry globally, and has designed some incredibly elegant technology in the process.
Gallery
.png){kind=logo}
