Zipline · 3 hours ago
Mechanical Engineering Intern (Summer 2026)
South San Francisco, CA
Internship
Onsite
Intern
$38/hr - $42/hr
Start in 2026 SummerZipline is on a mission to transform the way goods move, aiming to solve urgent access challenges with their autonomous delivery drones. As a Mechanical Engineering Intern, you will contribute to significant projects by designing, building, and testing mechanical systems that support the company's logistics operations.
DeliveryDronesElectric VehicleHome Health CareLogisticsRoboticsSupply Chain Management
Responsibilities
Take product and engineering requirements to develop concepts and evaluate tradeoffs for each
Use 2D and 3D CAD tools to design parts and assemblies based on sound engineering principles
Use resources creatively to design, build, and test prototypes to gather quick learnings
Work cross-functionally with other Zipline teams and suppliers to review designs
Design, build, and run electro-mechanical testers that you develop to prove reliability of critical components
Evaluate designs and components on a material, element, and fully integrated product level
Root cause failures and develop a test to replicate the failure mode
Document your work so that others can easily understand key decisions made
Designing, building, testing, and running a flexible blind-mate ducting connection between an aircraft and a ground-based cooling station
Developing a service strategy for removing a docked aircraft from a ground station using a custom designed hand cart
Creating a communications tower with integrated antennas and lightning protection meant to relay vital telemetry information from the drone to the operators during flight
Characterization of proposed and delivered materials, and properties (static strength, durability, and dynamic response) of configured structures
Building a wing cycle tester to identify and eliminate risk for each wing iteration and prove reliability with cycles
Qualification
Required
You must have completed at least the second year of your Undergraduate studies. Masters and PhD students are also eligible
You'll bring solid mechanical engineering fundamentals for structural analysis, sizing parts, and integrating components into a design with minimal help
You'll bring automation experience from working with actuators and Raspberry Pi's (or similar)
You're well versed in CAD, and have designed multiple projects with it
You've worked on complex projects that require mechanical, electrical, and software design
You're quick to change direction when you realize you've made a mistake OR could achieve the same goal in a simpler way
You bias to action and communicate consistently with your team to ensure everyone is focused on meeting the project goals on time
You're excited to build on your design skills with brainstorms, design reviews, and failure mode analysis
You can anticipate, plan and schedule your own work
You bring a 'can do' attitude, because we have a lot of vital work to get done and only work with people who are invested in solving critical problems
Benefits
Housing stipend
Overtime pay
Relocation support
Paid sick time
And more
Company
Zipline
Zipline designs, manufactures, and operates drones to deliver vital medical products.
Founded in 2011
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