Fleet Configuration & Change Manager

About You and The Role

Are you passionate about pioneering the deployment of real-world robotics? Ensuring that Zipline continues to push the envelope of innovation by rapidly deploying, learning, and iterating on autonomous aircraft? Do you have a supreme attention to detail, with a penchant for efficient process design and management? The Fleet Configuration & Change Manager sits at the intersection of hardware and business operations: ensuring Zipline’s operational fleet remains process-capable that engineering innovations get deployed to the field in a manner that optimizes the impact to the business.

This is a cross-functional role that interfaces with hardware engineering, reliability, maintenance operations, and business strategy. You will be responsible for strategically planning the makeup of the autonomous aircraft fleet, and evaluating tradeoffs for the business with respect to hardware releases, retrofit campaigns, and fleet allocation. You will manage the variations across the fleet and ensure that new hardware configurations are deployed in a controlled and organized manner.

What You'll Do

The Fleet Configuration & Change manager determines which existing assets in the P2 Fleet (ziplines, pods, docks, and dropboxes) should receive hardware upgrades, which should not, the appropriate timescales for each. and how these configurations should be allocated across sites, partners, and business needs.

• Hardware change evaluation:

  • Review proposed hardware changes to Zipline’s fleet prior to manufacturing cut-in for feasibility and operational process readiness
  • Evaluate the costs & benefits of deploying proposed hardware changes to the operating fleet; define fleet allocation plans and retrofit campaigns with these insights

• Operational readiness management:

  • Project-manage the operations team’s review of new hardware adjustments – the Commercial Operations Readiness Review - to confirm field-readiness; channel negative feedback to the responsible engineers.
  • Build the system to manage Operations’ review of all incoming tickets / concepts from Engineering; program manage the timely feedback and decision on proposals.
  • Program-manage the fixtures and tools and testers required to execute and support a hardware change and ensure clear ownership of any changes required to the tooling, parts, and workflows of operations.

• Retrofit execution: Plan and sequence retrofits as necessary; ensure readiness for parts supply, labor resourcing and training, and progress tracking.

• Fleet configuration management: Track and manage asset configuration allocations across commercial and partner locations.

What You'll Bring

Necessary qualifications

• Several years leading complex hardware change deployment, fleet configuration, maintenance planning, NPI, sustaining engineering, or technical operations programs.
• Working knowledge of engineering change control: BOMs, part and revision control, effectivity, ECOs, compatibility, production cut-ins, and retrofit embodiment.
• Strong quantitative judgment: lifecycle cost, capacity impact, reliability benefit, maintenance burden, inventory exposure, and scenario analysis.
• Track record of success building and implementing new operating processes: intake, prioritization, decision gates, reviews, communications, and escalation paths.
• Exceptional data and record discipline. In this role, configuration accuracy is operationally and potentially regulatorily consequential.
• Clear written and verbal communication with both engineers and business leaders.
• Willingness and ability to spend time with field technicians, operators, production teams, and deployed sites to deeply understand fleet allocation impacts.

Desired qualifications

• Familiarity with reliability engineering, maintainability, spares planning, technical publications, training readiness, and regulatory change incorporation.
• SQL, spreadsheet modeling, BI, or other analytical skills sufficient to independently evaluate fleet scenarios.

What Else You Need To Know

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!