Electrical Engineer, Towers
Zipline · San Francisco, United States · 2mo ago
About Zipline
Zipline is the world’s largest and most experienced drone delivery service. We are on a mission to serve all humans equally by ensuring access to food, medicine and essential goods anytime, anywhere. We design, build, and operate the world’s largest autonomous logistics system, delivering critical supplies quickly and reliably. Today, Zipline operates on four continents, makes a delivery somewhere in the world every 30 seconds, and has completed millions of deliveries to date, including blood, vaccines, medical supplies, food, and retail products.
Our customers include the world’s largest and most prominent healthcare systems, governments, retailers, restaurants and global businesses who rely on us to save lives, reduce emissions, increase economic opportunity, and provide delivery from point A to point B as fast as possible. The drone is only 15% of what we’ve built to enable seamless, reliable, global operations.
Our system strengthens supply chains, reduces congestion, and gives people time back. With more than 140 million commercial autonomous miles safely flown, Zipline is redefining access to healthcare, consumer products, and food across the globe.
We operate at a global scale and are looking for practical problem solvers who thrive on real-world challenges and rapid growth. Our team is motivated by building systems that have a direct, meaningful impact on people’s lives and by scaling the future of logistics. We are seeking people who sculpt from first principles, enjoy facing adversity, and can do the impossible at record breaking speeds.
About You and The Role
Zipline’s autonomous drone delivery is a marvel of precision engineering—but it only works if the power stays on. We are looking for a hands-on, commercially-minded Electrical Systems Engineer to own the "backbone" of our charging towers.
You will be responsible for the end-to-end electrical architecture, from the site stub-up to the charging docks. This role requires a rare blend of technical rigor (NEC/UL compliance), physical grit (on-site deployments), and financial strategy. You aren't just designing a system that works; you are designing a system that scales globally and fits the budget.
What You'll Do
- System Architecture & Harnessing: Design the power distribution and cable harnesses for P2 charging towers. You will document and manage complex wire runs between docking stations and the site stub-up (RapidHarness or NX).
- Financial Ownership: Own the Bill of Materials (BOM) for the tower’s electrical systems. You will perform trade-off analyses (e.g., material choices, routing efficiencies) to drive down costs without compromising safety or reliability.
- Regulatory & Sign-off: Lead the process for getting designs and sites signed off by Authorities Having Jurisdiction (AHJs). You will be the primary voice ensuring our towers meet NEC standards and are certified as UL-listed raceways.
- Design Advocacy: Build and present reasoned, data-backed arguments to compare design iterations. You should be able to defend why one architecture is superior to another based on cost, ease of deployment, and long-term reliability.
- Deployment & Field Work: This isn’t a "desk-only" job. You will support on-site work during deployments, ensuring that theoretical designs translate perfectly to real-world installation.
What You'll Bring
- The "Heavy Lifting" Experience: You have hands-on experience pulling 1-inch diameter power cables and understand the physical reality of bend radii and conduit constraints.
- Industrial Power Experience: Professional experience designing industrial electrical systems (UL508a, UL67), heavy machinery wiring, or complex infrastructure projects.
- Hands-on Grit: You aren't afraid to get your hands dirty. You have experience pulling 1-inch diameter power cables and understand the physical constraints of bend radii and conduit fill.
- Code & Compliance Mastery: Expert-level knowledge of the National Electrical Code (NEC) and experience navigating UL certification processes for industrial equipment.
- System Design (No PCBAs): Your expertise lies in power distribution panels, conduits, wire trough, industrial ethernet cable design, and site-level electrical stubs rather than board-level electronics.
- Harnessing Software: Proficiency in RapidHarness (or other) for designing and managing ruggedized, outdoor-rated cable assemblies.
- Strategic Thinking: A proven ability to perform financial trade-off studies. You know how to calculate the ROI of a design change and can articulate those savings to leadership.
Nice to Have
- Mechanical CAD: Ability to navigate and perform basic design tasks in Mechanical CAD to ensure electrical components fit seamlessly into the tower structure.
- Project Management: Experience managing contractors or field technicians during the "stub-up" and infrastructure phase of a project.
What Else You Need To Know
The starting cash range for this role is $160,000 - $235,000. Please note that this is a target, starting cash range for a candidate who meets the minimum qualifications for this role. The final cash pay for this role will depend on a variety of factors, including a specific candidate's experience, qualifications, skills, working location, and projected impact. The total compensation package for this role may also include: equity compensation; discretionary annual or performance bonuses; sales incentives; benefits such as medical, dental and vision insurance; paid time off; and more.
Zipline is an equal opportunity employer and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws or our own sensibilities.
We value diversity at Zipline and welcome applications from those who are traditionally underrepresented in tech. If you like the sound of this position but are not sure if you are the perfect fit, please apply!
Voluntary Self-Identification
For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey. Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiring process or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in a confidential file.
As set forth in Zipline ’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.