Zipline · 10 hours ago
Head of Hardware - Long Range Platform
South San Francisco, California, USA
Full-time
Onsite
Director/Executive
10+ years expZipline is on a mission to transform the way goods move, aiming to solve urgent access challenges through innovative logistics solutions. The Head of Hardware will lead the team responsible for the long-range drone system platform, ensuring reliability, performance, and manufacturability while collaborating with various engineering disciplines.
DeliveryDronesElectric VehicleHome Health CareLogisticsRoboticsSupply Chain Management
Responsibilities
Own the end-to-end architecture of the Flight Systems, integrating mechanical, electrical, and embedded components into a cohesive, safe, and scalable platform
Define and uphold standards for safety, robustness, and maintainability; drive validation and continuous improvement using field and test data
Partner with manufacturing and supply-chain teams to ensure designs meet cost, quality, and throughput goals while remaining serviceable in the field
Stay close to the engineering work: lead design and code reviews, root-cause analyses, and critical technical decisions
Hire, mentor, and develop a multidisciplinary team spanning mechanical, electrical, and software domains; build technical depth and leadership at every level
Collaborate with Applications Software, Operations, Business and Regulatory teams to align interfaces, data, and certification efforts
Represent Flight Systems and engineering within the Platform 1 leadership team, providing clear visibility into progress, risks, and system-level trade-offs. Stay up-to-date with company priorities, risks, and major hurdles
Qualification
Required
10+ years designing, building, and scaling complex electromechanical or aerospace systems
5+ years leading multidisciplinary engineering teams
Expertise in at least two of: mechanical design, electrical/power systems, embedded firmware, systems integration, or reliability engineering
Working fluency and extensive experience across the rest of the core disciplines
Ability to balance performance, cost, risk, and manufacturability
Experience in DFM/DFA, verification & validation test campaigns, and scaling products from prototype through high volume production
Uses data and engineering expertise together to prioritize improvements and accelerate learning
Strong collaborator across hardware, software, manufacturing, and operations
Track record of hiring and developing high-performing, diverse teams with a culture of accountability and ownership
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
Valor Equity PartnersU.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
felicis.com
2025-12-26
Company data provided by crunchbase