Senior Mechanical Design Engineer - Towers jobs in United States
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Zipline · 3 hours ago

Senior Mechanical Design Engineer - Towers

Zipline is on a mission to transform the way goods move, focusing on solving urgent access challenges through innovative logistics solutions. As a Senior Mechanical Design Engineer, you will develop and design the infrastructure for drone-based logistics, specifically large steel towers, ensuring they meet high reliability targets and can be produced efficiently.

DeliveryDronesElectric VehicleHome Health CareLogisticsRoboticsSupply Chain Management
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Responsibilities

Use engineering fundamentals to develop innovative products for our ground systems infrastructure
Design large steel towers that hold our docks
Engineer systems that will only come together days before they are needed
Own the design of the entire system and subassemblies for the next generation of our towers
Design of structural components, mechanisms, and electronics integration
Make important decisions about the product architecture
Create designs that will enable practical scale on a short timeline
Quickly iterate and downselect based on data from your analysis and test results from your prototypes
Collaborate cross functionally with electrical, software, civil, NPI and supply chain teams to bring designs to production

Qualification

Mechanical EngineeringCAD DesignStructural AnalysisMechanism DesignManufacturing MethodsProblem SolvingWelding ExperienceCommunication SkillsTeam CollaborationProject Management

Required

Proven track record owning complex subassemblies or full systems over at least 3 product programs (concept, prototype, validation, production)
Strong fundamentals: load estimation, classic mechanics, structural hand calcs to guide part sizing, FEA and clean CAD designs
Excellent problem solving - you are tenacious and scientific in your approach while able to quickly explain concepts to others
Familiarity with mechanism design and the integration of electrical components into hardware products
Practical knowledge of manufacturing methods such as welding, sheetmetal forming, extrusion, CNC machining, etc
Experience partnering with contract manufacturers to ramp up production of high volume lines
Demonstrated CAD fluency for system level ownership - 3D/2D of 20-50 parts simultaneously
Disciplined processes: Your parts are released, BOMs are maintained, SOPs created for builds, and timelines are up-to-date
You have true expertise in one area that will level up the team
Excellent communication - written, verbal, and visual. You know how to tailor to your audience with the right level of technical depth to be as effective as possible, including using basic tools in place of full CAD when it makes sense
Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering
Ability to periodically (<10%) travel to visit customers and suppliers
Must be eligible to work in the US and willing to relocate to Bay Area CA region

Preferred

NX is your primary CAD tool
Knowledge in applying appropriate FOS and margin to human safety critical application (design margin tables, structural joint calculations)
Hands-on welding experience for prototyping

Benefits

Equity compensation
Discretionary annual or performance bonuses
Sales incentives
Benefits such as medical, dental and vision insurance
Paid time off

Company

Zipline designs, manufactures, and operates drones to deliver vital medical products.

Funding

Current Stage
Late Stage
Total Funding
$971M
Key Investors
U.S. Department of StateThe Rise FundKatalyst Ventures
2025-11-25Grant· $150M
2023-04-28Series F· $330M
2021-06-30Series E· $250M

Leadership Team

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Keller Rinaudo Cliffton
Co-founder & CEO
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Keenan Wyrobek
Founder, CTO and Product Architect
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Company data provided by crunchbase