New Products Mechanical Design Engineer

The role

The New Products team develops lightweight structures and precision mechanisms for next generation aircraft capabilities. You will own mechanical subsystem delivery from concept through production release and field deployment.

What you will do

• Own end-to-end mechanical subsystem delivery from concept through production release and field deployment
• Translate mission requirements into concrete designs, CAD, tolerance stacks, and verification plans
• Produce and release drawings, GD&T, BOMs, and supplier specifications
• Coordinate part qualification, change control, and supplier handoffs to manufacturing partners
• Drive test campaigns including design of test fixtures and leading lab and flight-test instrumentation
• Use first-principles analysis and FEA to set margins and predict loads and fatigue life
• Rapidly prototype and iterate in-shop by building assemblies and leading bench and environmental tests
• Collaborate daily with aerodynamics, structures, controls/autonomy, flight test, manufacturing, and operations teams
• Reduce subsystem mass and demonstrate target MTBF or cycle life in test
• Achieve on-time drawing release for production runs

Required qualifications

• 5+ years designing mechanical systems for aerospace, robotics, automotive, or similarly demanding hardware programs
• Direct experience moving hardware from prototype to production
• Demonstrated hands-on experience with composite or metallic structural design and/or precision mechanisms
• Proficiency in CAD (NX, SolidWorks, or equivalent)
• Proficiency in GD&T
• Proficiency in FEA workflow for structural substantiation
• Familiarity with test methods for fatigue, environmental, and life testing
• Experience producing production drawings, BOMs, supplier specs, and participating in supplier qualification and change-control processes
• Rigorous first-principles problem solving
• Data-driven validation mindset
• Willingness to work at the bench alongside technicians during iterative test cycles

Nice to have

• Python or MATLAB for data analysis
• experience with bonded composite manufacturing or automated layup
• prior responsibility for structural substantiation or certification artifacts
• prior work on safety-critical aircraft subsystems
• Patents
• commercialized products
• exceptional personal engineering projects demonstrating creativity and craftsmanship

Benefits

• equity compensation
• discretionary annual or performance bonuses
• sales incentives
• medical insurance
• dental insurance
• vision insurance
• paid time off

Before you apply

• Zipline may sponsor work authorization where applicable

About the company

Zipline is the world’s largest and most experienced drone delivery service. They design, build, and operate the world’s largest autonomous logistics system to deliver critical supplies.