Senior Motor Dyno Engineer

The role

You will design, build, commission, and own electric-motor dynamometer systems. These systems are used for motor development, supplier quality, and reliability validation.

What you will do

• Define requirements and architectures for motor dynamometers.
• Design, build, commission, and maintain dyno systems.
• Select and integrate motors, load machines, inverters, and sensors.
• Develop mechanical interfaces, shafting, couplings, and structural systems.
• Design electro-mechanical systems including power distribution and safety interlocks.
• Develop automated test sequences and data acquisition tools using Python.
• Establish a common user interface and software architecture across the ecosystem.
• Generate motor maps and test datasets to validate models.
• Develop supplier-deployable inspection dynos with repeatable procedures.
• Provide technical guidance to suppliers, engineers, and technicians.

Required qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, mechatronics, controls engineering, or a related field.
• Experience designing, commissioning, or operating electric-motor, powertrain, or rotating-equipment dynamometers.
• Demonstrated ownership of complex test systems from requirements through sustained operation.
• Strong electromechanical integration skills across hardware, electrical systems, instrumentation, controls, and software.
• Experience selecting and integrating torque transducers, encoders, power analyzers, thermocouples, RTDs, vibration sensors, and data-acquisition systems.
• Proficiency in Python for test automation, instrument control, data processing, analysis, and visualization.
• Experience with industrial communication protocols such as CAN, EtherCAT, Ethernet/IP, Modbus, serial, or SCPI.
• Strong understanding of electric motors, inverters, torque-speed operation, efficiency measurement, thermal behavior, and common motor failure modes.
• Experience with closed-loop speed, torque, current, or power control of motor-test systems.
• Knowledge of test measurement accuracy, calibration, repeatability, uncertainty, and measurement-system analysis.
• Experience designing safe test systems involving rotating equipment, high voltage, high current, stored energy, and thermal hazards.
• Ability to work in a hands-on development environment and support test systems on the lab floor.

Nice to have

• Master’s degree in mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, mechatronics, controls, or a related discipline.
• Experience developing dynos for aerospace, electric aviation, automotive traction, robotics, or other high-performance electric-drive applications.
• Experience with National Instruments hardware, LabVIEW, MATLAB, Simulink, dSPACE, Speedgoat, or real-time control systems.
• Experience with high-accuracy motor characterization, including efficiency mapping, loss separation, back-EMF measurement, cogging torque, torque ripple, and thermal characterization.
• Experience with motor NVH characterization and diagnostics.
• Familiarity with signal-processing workflows for rotating machinery.
• Experience with reliability engineering, accelerated life testing, Weibull analysis, and damage accumulation.
• Familiarity with vibration, noise, rotor dynamics, bearing analysis, and high-speed rotating equipment.
• Experience translating duty-cycle or field-load data into representative laboratory tests.
• Experience developing production or supplier quality test equipment.

Benefits

• Equity compensation
• Discretionary annual or performance bonuses
• Sales incentives
• Medical insurance
• Dental insurance
• Vision insurance
• Paid time off

About the company

Zipline is the world’s largest and most experienced drone delivery service. They design, build, and operate an autonomous logistics system to deliver food, medicine, and essential goods.