Zipline · 6 days ago
Senior Fixture Design Engineer
South San Francisco, CA
Full-time
Onsite
Senior Level
7+ years expZipline is on a mission to transform the way goods move, aiming to solve urgent access challenges through innovative logistics solutions. The Senior Fixture Design Engineer will lead the design and development of manufacturing fixtures and tooling, ensuring efficient production and scalability while collaborating with cross-functional teams to enhance manufacturing capabilities.
DeliveryDronesElectric VehicleHome Health CareLogisticsRoboticsSupply Chain Management
Responsibilities
Lead the end-to-end design and development of manufacturing fixtures, tooling, and equipment to support internal production lines and product design updates, ensuring reliability and scalability from 10s to 100s of units per week
Collaborate cross-functionally with design engineers, manufacturing engineers, quality, maintenance, and operations managers to ensure fixture solutions align with product and process requirements
Own the fixture development lifecycle, including concept design, CAD modeling, detailed drawings, validation, and transition to production
Support new product introductions by designing fixtures that enable efficient prototyping, pilot builds, and scalable high-volume production
Ensure useability, manufacturability, and maintainability of fixtures through thoughtful design practices and close coordination with fabrication and assembly teams
Conduct fixture validation testing to confirm alignment with performance specifications
Continuously improve existing tooling by identifying inefficiencies, implementing upgrades, and reducing cycle times, costs, and quality defects
Apply root cause analysis and problem-solving methodologies to address fixture-related production issues and proactively prevent recurrence
Document and maintain design standards, best practices, and technical specifications to ensure consistency across the organization
Mentor junior engineers and provide technical guidance, design reviews, and feedback to elevate team competency and execution quality
Qualification
Required
7+ years of experience designing and developing custom manufacturing fixtures, jigs, and tooling in a high-precision, electro-mechanical production environment
Proven track record supporting the scaling of production lines from prototype to full-rate manufacturing, including experience ramping from low to high volume (e.g., 10s to 100s of units per week)
Extensive CAD expertise (e.g., SolidWorks, NX, or equivalent) for fixture and tooling design, including proficiency with complex assemblies and detailed 2D drawings. (Siemens NX preferred)
Experience working closely with cross-functional teams (manufacturing, quality, design, maintenance, and operations) to define fixture requirements and integrate solutions seamlessly into production lines
Demonstrated ability to design for useability, manufacturability, and maintainability, with a strong understanding of fabrication processes and GD&T
Familiarity with validation and testing methods for fixtures and tooling, including alignment checks, tolerance stack-ups, and operator safety verification
Strong capability in root cause analysis and failure mode mitigation within production tooling environments
Experience managing external suppliers and fabrication vendors, including design handoff, RFQs, DFM reviews, and quality assurance during tool builds
Experience mentoring or leading junior engineers and providing technical guidance in tooling and manufacturing best practices
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
$1.92BKey Investors
Tiger Global ManagementU.S. Department of StateScottish Mortgage Investment Trust
2026-01-21Series Unknown· $600M
2025-11-25Grant· $150M
2024-06-01Series G· $350M
Leadership Team
Keller Rinaudo Cliffton
Co-founder & CEO
Keenan Wyrobek
Founder, CTO and Product Architect
Recent News
2026-01-23
felicis.com
2025-12-26
Company data provided by crunchbase