Zipline · 2 weeks ago
Senior Software Engineer - Field Systems
South San Francisco, CA
Full-time
Onsite
Senior Level, Lead/Staff
$160K/yr - $200K/yr
8+ years expZipline is on a mission to transform the way goods move, solving urgent access challenges through innovative logistics solutions. The Senior Software Engineer in Field Systems will optimize the performance and reliability of long-range drone systems, collaborating with cross-functional teams to ensure operational efficiency and system robustness.
DeliveryDronesElectric VehicleHome Health CareLogisticsRoboticsSupply Chain Management
Responsibilities
Optimize and improve a complex, real-world system used daily by operators—delivering timely solutions while ensuring all changes are thoroughly validated for safety and reliability
Travel to our international operations centers to understand how the system works in the real world
Become the go-to expert on the existing flight software stack, along with its development, testing, and deployment tools
Support triage and risk assessment of emergent technical issues, balancing urgency with sound engineering judgment
Lead new projects to drive operations efficiency and increase system robustness
Drive data-driven analysis of system behavior using tools like Databricks to diagnose issues, evaluate performance, and quantify the impact of improvements
Build and maintain strong working relationships across the organization—from operations and systems engineering to software leads and regulatory partners
Identify, document, and drive improvements to the software development and deployment lifecycle for the long-range drone platform
Collaborate across teams—global operations, engineering, and leadership—to shape the strategic software roadmap for the platform
Design, coordinate, and execute high-impact testing campaigns that validate new features, improvements, or fixes in real-world conditions
Qualification
Required
8+ years of professional experience in embedded software development, integration & test, mechatronics/robotics engineering, or similar, for hardware products in a safety-critical field, e.g. aerospace, robotics, medical devices, autonomous vehicles
Proficiency in one or more “strongly typed” language: Rust, C++, C
Familiarity with software development practices, including version control (e.g. Git), testing, and CI/CD pipelines
Ability to analyze field performance data, and develop data analysis tools in languages like Python, SQL, MATLAB
You are willing to work some nights/weekends and travel, including to international sites as needed
You are eligible to work in the US
Preferred
Demonstrable history of assuming ownership of complex engineering problems, and driving them from inception to solution
Experience leading engineering projects with multi-disciplinary teams to solve technical problems in a fast-paced environment
Excellent written and verbal communication skills
Demonstrated engineering intuition, ability to think critically, and be comfortable with ambiguity
Creative problem solver that can make design and development decisions with limited or imperfect data
Strong sense of accountability and integrity, and are not afraid to challenge the status quo
Self-motivated with strong learning, multi-tasking, organizational, and documentation skills
Benefits
Equity compensation
Discretionary annual or performance bonuses
Sales incentives
Benefits such as medical, dental and vision insurance
Paid time off
And more.
Company
Zipline
Zipline designs, manufactures, and operates drones to deliver vital medical products.
1001-5000 employees
H1B Sponsorship
Zipline has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships. Please note that this does not
guarantee sponsorship for this specific role. Below presents additional info for your
reference. (Data Powered by US Department of Labor)
Distribution of Different Job Fields Receiving Sponsorship
Represents job field similar to this job
Trends of Total Sponsorships
2025 (54)
2024 (39)
2023 (29)
2022 (20)
2021 (16)
2020 (3)
Funding
Current Stage
Late StageTotal Funding
$971MKey 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
Keller Rinaudo Cliffton
Co-founder & CEO
Keenan Wyrobek
Founder, CTO and Product Architect
Recent News
felicis.com
2025-12-26
Company data provided by crunchbase