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.
Zipline’s autonomous drone delivery is a marvel of precision engineering—but it only works if the power stays on. We are looking for a hands-on, commercially-minded Electrical Systems Engineer to own the "backbone" of our charging towers.
You will be responsible for the end-to-end electrical architecture, from the site stub-up to the charging docks. This role requires a rare blend of technical rigor (NEC/UL compliance), physical grit (on-site deployments), and financial strategy. You aren't just designing a system that works; you are designing a system that scales globally and fits the budget.
What You'll Do- System Architecture & Harnessing: Design the power distribution and cable harnesses for P2 charging towers. You will document and manage complex wire runs between docking stations and the site stub-up (RapidHarness or NX).
- Financial Ownership: Own the Bill of Materials (BOM) for the tower’s electrical systems. You will perform trade-off analyses (e.g., material choices, routing efficiencies) to drive down costs without compromising safety or reliability.
- Regulatory & Sign-off: Lead the process for getting designs and sites signed off by Authorities Having Jurisdiction (AHJs). You will be the primary voice ensuring our towers meet NEC standards and are certified as UL-listed raceways.
- Design Advocacy: Build and present reasoned, data-backed arguments to compare design iterations. You should be able to defend why one architecture is superior to another based on cost, ease of deployment, and long-term reliability.
- Deployment & Field Work: This isn’t a "desk-only" job. You will support on-site work during deployments, ensuring that theoretical designs translate perfectly to real-world installation.
- The "Heavy Lifting" Experience: You have hands-on experience pulling 1-inch diameter power cables and understand the physical reality of bend radii and conduit constraints.
- Industrial Power Experience: Professional experience designing industrial electrical systems (UL508a, UL67), heavy machinery wiring, or complex infrastructure projects.
- Hands-on Grit: You aren't afraid to get your hands dirty. You have experience pulling 1-inch diameter power cables and understand the physical constraints of bend radii and conduit fill.
- Code & Compliance Mastery: Expert-level knowledge of the National Electrical Code (NEC) and experience navigating UL certification processes for industrial equipment.
- System Design (No PCBAs): Your expertise lies in power distribution panels, conduits, wire trough, industrial ethernet cable design, and site-level electrical stubs rather than board-level electronics.
- Harnessing Software: Proficiency in RapidHarness (or other) for designing and managing ruggedized, outdoor-rated cable assemblies.
- Strategic Thinking: A proven ability to perform financial trade-off studies. You know how to calculate the ROI of a design change and can articulate those savings to leadership.
Nice to Have
- Mechanical CAD: Ability to navigate and perform basic design tasks in Mechanical CAD to ensure electrical components fit seamlessly into the tower structure.
- Project Management: Experience managing contractors or field technicians during the "stub-up" and infrastructure phase of a project.
The starting cash range for this role is $160,000 - $255,000 plus additional equity. In office meals, subsidized medical, dental and vision insurance as well as a monthly cellphone and wellness stipend is also provided.
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!
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
- Professional experience designing industrial electrical systems, including UL508A, UL67, heavy machinery wiring, or complex infrastructure projects
- Expert-level knowledge of the National Electrical Code (NEC)
- Experience navigating UL certification processes for industrial equipment
- Hands-on experience pulling 1-inch diameter power cables and understanding bend radii and conduit constraints
- Experience designing power distribution panels, conduits, wire troughs, industrial Ethernet cables, and site-level electrical stubs
- Proficiency with RapidHarness or comparable software for ruggedized, outdoor-rated cable assemblies
- Ability to perform financial trade-off studies, calculate ROI, and communicate design savings to leadership
- Ability to navigate and perform basic design tasks in Mechanical CAD
- Experience managing contractors or field technicians during infrastructure and stub-up work
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.
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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.
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Parental & Family Support — Parental and family leave is highlighted as generous and meaningfully used, reinforcing support for major life events.
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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.
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