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Build Development Lead
ZiplineSouth San Francisco, California, USASenior6+ years
Apply About Zipline
Zipline is the world’s largest and most experienced drone delivery service. We are on a mission to serve all humans equally by ensuring access to food, medicine and essential goods anytime, anywhere. We design, build, and operate the world’s largest autonomous logistics system, delivering critical supplies quickly and reliably. Today, Zipline operates on four continents, makes a delivery somewhere in the world every 30 seconds, and has completed millions of deliveries to date, including blood, vaccines, medical supplies, food, and retail products.
Our customers include the world’s largest and most prominent healthcare systems, governments, retailers, restaurants and global businesses who rely on us to save lives, reduce emissions, increase economic opportunity, and provide delivery from point A to point B as fast as possible. The drone is only 15% of what we’ve built to enable seamless, reliable, global operations.
Our system strengthens supply chains, reduces congestion, and gives people time back. With more than 140 million commercial autonomous miles safely flown, Zipline is redefining access to healthcare, consumer products, and food across the globe.
We operate at a global scale and are looking for practical problem solvers who thrive on real-world challenges and rapid growth. Our team is motivated by building systems that have a direct, meaningful impact on people’s lives and by scaling the future of logistics. We are seeking people who sculpt from first principles, enjoy facing adversity, and can do the impossible at record breaking speeds.
About You and The Role
Build Development bridges engineering and scalable manufacturing for complex electromechanical hardware supporting development, validation, production, remanufacturing, and field operations. As Build Development Lead, you will own daily build direction and readiness so evolving designs become safe, repeatable hardware.
This is a hands-on technical leadership role on the build floor. You will lead technicians, resolve execution blockers, and provide Engineering and Manufacturing feedback that improves recovery quality and manufacturing readiness. Success means work starts with the required hardware, tooling, documentation, and configuration; recovered hardware is validated before release; and proven methods can transfer into repeatable execution.
What You'll Do
- Lead, coach, and develop Build Development Technicians through hands-on technical mentorship and daily execution support.
- Set daily priorities across engineering builds, validation activities, production needs, and critical hardware recoveries.
- Own build readiness by confirming hardware, tooling, documentation, staffing, and configuration are in place before work proceeds.
- Build, integrate, validate, rework, recover, and troubleshoot complex electromechanical hardware across its development and manufacturing lifecycle.
- Make day-to-day execution decisions within established processes and escalate technical, quality, or configuration issues requiring cross-functional resolution.
- Partner with Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Validation, Production, Supply Chain, and Field Operations to remove blockers and close technical issues.
- Standardize build methods, tooling, work instructions, and documentation to improve repeatability, traceability, and manufacturing readiness.
What You'll Bring
- 6+ years of hands-on experience building complex electromechanical hardware in UAV/drone, aerospace, robotics, automotive, manufacturing, or a comparable hardware environment.
- Experience leading technicians or serving as a technical lead in prototype, NPI, validation, production, or remanufacturing.
- Strong troubleshooting depth across mechanical, electrical, test, and integrated hardware systems.
- Hands-on experience with complex assemblies and system integration, including wiring, soldering, composites, machining, test equipment, or fixtures.
- Ability to interpret mechanical drawings, electrical schematics, BOMs, work instructions, and technical documentation.
- Ability to work hands-on on the build floor while balancing changing priorities across development, validation, production, and recovery work.
- Technical judgment to protect safety, craftsmanship, documentation quality, traceability, and configuration control while coaching others.
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!
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