Head of Embedded Software

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

We are looking for an experienced and dynamic individual to join our team as the Head of Embedded Software. In this role, you will lead the team responsible for the software stack from bare-metal through the operating system, firmware, peripheral drivers, core libraries, and the tools/test systems that enable Zipline to develop reliable safety-critical systems at high velocity. This spans from our aircraft, to ground infrastructure, and hardware testers with the goal of ensuring our drones achieve the highest standards of performance and reliability in some of the toughest environments on Earth. As team lead, you will report to the Head of Engineering.

The ideal candidate will have an outstanding technical background, and enjoys leading and growing engineers as they continue to revolutionize the supply chain and logistic industry.

What You'll Do

• Lead, mentor and grow several teams of talented embedded engineers and leaders, providing a clear vision and ambitious goals, all while maintaining a stringent focus on technical excellence.
• Cultivate a high performance team culture that champions a bias to action and strives for radically simple designs.
• Provide technical leadership in system level design by bringing expertise in either Linux, Microcontrollers, or Real-Time Operating Systems.
• Collaborate across teams and disciplines to architect safety-critical systems, which include flight computers, radios, safety systems, communication buses, battery management and motor control systems.
• Establish and enforce best practices for embedded software development, code review, and documentation.
• Set the technical and product vision for the embedded team.
• Work closely with engineering leaders across disciplines around the design of our avionics, our software development lifecycle, our test strategy, to ultimately build a cohesive product.

What You'll Bring

• Demonstrated success as a “lead-of-leads” where you have inspired, managed and grown high-performing engineering teams to deliver embedded software for world first safety-critical products.
• Deep technical expertise in embedded software engineering, with a track record of making impactful architectural-level contributions. We use Rust and C++ onboard, and python for tooling.
• Effective communication and collaboration skills to explain and motivate technical vision, technical challenges, and solutions to fellow engineers and non-engineers alike.

What Else You Need to Know

The starting cash range for this role is $200,000 - $300,000. 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!