Hiring: Senior Mechanical Engineer, Long Range Company: Zipline Location: South San Francisco, CA Job Posted Time: 2026-09-10 10:33:46 Employment Type: Hybrid Target Skills & Keywords : Assembly, CAD About the job Experience: •4+ years industry experience designing electromechanical and structural assemblies; demonstrable ownership of complex subassemblies through full product cycles (design → qualification → production ramp). Required Skills: •Own specific Long Range mechanical subsystems (e.g., wing/fuselage primary structure, deployable delivery mechanism, landing gear and attach fittings, or integrated payload-mount assemblies) and be the primary technical lead from concept to sustained production. •Translate operational and fleet requirements (range, payload, sortie cadence, field-maintainability, service intervals, and environmental exposure) into quantitative mechanical performance targets and design architectures. •Produce and iterate detailed CAD models, tolerance stacks, GD&T, and manufacturing drawings enabling supplier quotes, DFx reviews, and inspection plans for volume production. •Run first-principles analysis and engineering simulation (FEA, buckling, fatigue, jointed-assembly loads) and validate with bench tests and flight-representative test rigs; close the loop between analysis and measured performance. •Prototype rapidly, lead hands-on build-test-iterate campaigns, and produce test plans that deliver go/no-go metrics (fatigue cycles, damage tolerance thresholds, mean-time-between-failure targets) tied to release criteria and field reliability goals. •Define and own verification matrices, failure modes & effects for assigned assemblies, and corrective actions through qualification and production ramp; drive root-cause investigations and implement design fixes with clear timelines and acceptance criteria. •Partner daily with Electrical, Software, Integration/Test, Manufacturing Engineering, Supply Chain, and Operations to resolve cross-functional tradeoffs, supplier nonconformances, and production issues; act as the escalation owner for mechanical issues impacting fleet operations. •Support field deployments and production startups as required (on-site presence during launches, supplier plant visits, or depot troubleshooting) and ensure handoff documentation, service procedures, and spares strategies are in place. Qualifications: •Deep CAD fluency (managing 20–30 part subassemblies and top-level integration), rigorous GD&T skills, and experience producing manufacturing-ready drawings and inspection criteria. •Proven track record applying FEA, hand calculations (beam, buckling, bolted joints), tolerance analysis, and test correlation to establish safety and reliability margins for flight or field-critical hardware. •Hands-on prototyping and test experience: you build fixtures, run validation campaigns, and close design loops from test data to production intent. •Direct supplier engagement experience: negotiating DFM changes, resolving quality issues, and translating supplier capabilities into producible designs. •Willingness and ability to travel to suppliers, production sites, and field depots on an as-needed basis (periodic domestic and occasional international travel). •Strong bias for taking end-to-end ownership: you will stay with issues until verified fixes are in production and fielded. •This role is based in the listed Long Range engineering location (on-site or hybrid as specified by the team). Expect regular on-site collaboration during critical phases (prototype builds, qualification weeks, production launches) and periodic travel to supplier/manufacturing sites and field depots. •Aerospace or automotive validation experience, composites design, high-efficiency electric powertrain exposure, NX proficiency, and prior experience scaling prototypes to injection molding, stamping, or extrusion processes. •What Else You Need To Know Compensation: •$145,000 - $220,000 / year Interested candidates, please apply directly through the job posting on company's career page or try via AI auto apply on this platform. Don't miss this opportunity to join a forward-thinking team!