Lead Field Systems Engineer - Aircraft Systems

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 world’s 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 Rwanda’s national blood delivery network and Ghana’s COVID-19 vaccine distribution, to providing on-demand 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. Join Zipline and help us to make good on our promise to build an equitable and more resilient global supply chain for billions of people.

About You and The Role

Do you love leading a team to solve time-sensitive, mission-critical technical problems with little direction, a high degree of ownership, and the freedom to make it happen? Field systems engineers sit between the Engineering and Operations organizations and are critical to ensuring the equipment we design is usable, maintainable, and available for operations and lasts as long as possible. Patients are counting on it today--there is no time for coming up short.

Our flight and fulfillment operators drive Zipline, and their ability to use our hardware and software systems to serve our customers around the world, seven days a week is paramount to Zipline’s success. As a Lead Field Systems Engineer, your job is to lead a team which helps them do this as easily and efficiently as possible. Your team will work hand-in-hand with design engineering to develop systems with operability and maintainability in mind. You will be responsible for creating the technical procedures to enable operators around the world to use and maintain those systems, supporting the systems after fielding by managing engineering and documentation changes, and integrating key insights into next-generation development. This requires a deep understanding of Zipline’s technical and operational systems and the ability to easily translate between those two worlds. If leading a diverse, dedicated team, working in a highly cross-functional environment, solving complex problems, and driving continuous improvement appeal to you, read on.

This is an in-person role based out of our HQ in South San Francisco.

What You'll Do

• Lead a team of field systems engineers to provide full-life-cycle maintenance engineering and technical support to field operations
• Work alongside design engineering, reliability engineering, manufacturing, and quality engineering to develop systems with supportability in mind
• Develop field-facing technical procedures to address deficiencies, mitigate safety risks, implement new repair and rework procedures, and support engineering design changes to our flight systems
• Monitor in-service feedback and triage emergent technical issues
• Lead root cause, corrective action, and preventative action (RCCA/PA) analyses and own the development and execution of action plans, including near-term procedural mitigations and longer-term engineering changes
• Lead meetings with flight operations and maintenance teams from around the world to discuss the top technical issues and share knowledge and best practices
• Work hand-in-hand with engineering teams on the top technical issues occurring in the field, and provide design inputs for next-generation products from an operability and supportability perspective
• Work collaboratively to set and optimize inspection intervals, life limits, and repair standards
• Develop and manage complex rollout plans of new hardware and software to the field
• Become the go-to subject matter expert on troubleshooting and repairing flight systems -- you and your team will be the first ones our global flight operations teams call upon when they have a complex technical issue that is impacting life-saving deliveries

What You'll Bring

• You have a strong background in aerospace, mechanical, or electrical engineering (or a similar field); can learn technical information quickly; and can translate between operational needs and technical solutions in a variety of disciplines
• You have experience in a regulated industry (such as aviation, nuclear, or health) developing maintenance programs and providing hands-on electrical or mechanical field support -- these are all highly desirable
• You have at least three years of team leadership or program/project management experience
• You have experience working with change management and engineering design processes
• You have a record of solving technical problems in a fast-paced environment
• You have experience with developing, validating, and implementing operating and maintenance procedures
• You are motivated by helping people and unblocking operations
• You are able to perform basic data analysis; experience with languages like Python, SQL, or MATLAB is highly desirable
• You can communicate effectively (verbally and in writing) and build strong relationships with internal regulatory, manufacturing, material planning, quality, logistics, operations, and engineering teams
• You have the grit, resourcefulness, and resilience to thrive in novel, uncertain and constantly-changing business and regulatory environments
• You believe deeply that access matters and that we can and will provide access to essential medical supplies for every person on the planet
• You are willing to work some nights/weekends and travel roughly 10-15% of the time, including to international field sites as needed
• You are eligible to work in the US

What Else You Need to Know

The starting cash range for this role is $135,000 - $175,000. 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 candidate's experience, qualifications, skills, working location, and projected impact. The total compensation package for this role may also include: equity compensation; discretionary annual or performance bonuses; sales incentives; benefits such as medical, dental and vision insurance; paid time off; and more.

Zipline is an equal opportunity employer and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, ancestry, national origin, religion or religious creed, mental or physical disability, medical condition, genetic information, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, marital status, military or veteran status, citizenship, or other characteristics protected by state, federal or local law or our other policies. 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!