Zipline · 11 hours ago
Senior Simulation Software Engineer
South San Francisco, California, USA
Full-time
Onsite
Mid, Senior Level
$180K/yr - $225K/yr
4+ years expZipline is scaling the world's largest autonomous drone delivery network, and they are seeking a Senior Simulation Software Engineer to build and evolve the core infrastructure that validates their robotics fleet software. This role focuses on creating high-performance digital twins for testing safety-critical flight logic and vehicle coordination.
DeliveryDronesElectric VehicleHome Health CareLogisticsRoboticsSupply Chain Management
Responsibilities
Own the universal simulation test automation framework utilized by teams across the organization, including Autonomy, Embedded Systems, Cloud, Ground Software, and Test Engineering, making you a company-wide enabler for rapid iteration
Architect the core synchronization and control system that drives the simulation's time flow, input generation, and complex scenario orchestration, allowing rigorous validation of full-stack autonomy and emergency workflows
Develop a robust, scalable environment for testing real-world failure modes, complex multi-robot fleet behaviors, and system edge cases at scale, eliminating reliance on physical aircraft or hardware for regression testing
Lead the integration of advanced image sensor and visual autonomy simulation capabilities for verification of closed-loop perception and control software
Build and maintain integration layers that connect simulated vehicle components with fake cloud servers and ground station software, creating a true end-to-end system digital twin
Lead the transition of our in-house simulation system to Rust, a critical, high-impact initiative focused on dramatically improving speed, maintainability, and long-term scalability of our robotics development cycle
Qualification
Required
4+ years of professional software engineering experience in C++ or Rust (Rust experience is a strong plus)
Deep experience architecting, building, or maintaining complex robotics, aerospace, or distributed systems simulations/digital twins
Expertise in concepts like time synchronization, inter-process communication, and determinism within a systems-level or real-time context
Applied knowledge of physical modeling and dynamics (mechanics and motion) to support high-fidelity system modeling
A passion for building enabling infrastructure and tools that allow Zipline engineers to simulate faster, test earlier, and deploy safer
Preferred
Experience scaling simulation in CI, HIL (Hardware-in-the-Loop), or formal verification methods
Experience with visual autonomy systems for navigation or DAA
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
$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