Flight Test Site Lead

Zipline is the worlds 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 worlds 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 worlds 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 weve 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 peoples 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.

Ziplines flight test facility turns new aircraft capabilities into safe repeatable operations. As Site Lead you will run the day-to-day facility operation and lead the Flight Test Operator Ground Test and Visual Observer teams as aircraft move from engineering development into flight test.

You will own site readiness execution staffing safety and team performance. You will make site-level readiness staffing and stop-work decisions; escalate test-plan changes and unresolved safety engineering or program tradeoffs. Success is a safe ready site that executes planned test work with improving throughput repeatability and reliability; safety governs tradeoffs.

• Set daily site priorities lead operational briefings and readiness checks and direct safe execution of flight and ground test activities.
• Make site-level readiness staffing allocation and stop-work decisions; escalate test-plan changes and unresolved safety engineering or program tradeoffs.
• Manage and develop Flight Test Operators Ground Test personnel and Visual Observers through hiring onboarding coaching feedback and performance management.
• Coordinate facilities equipment layout and operational needs with internal partners and vendors to maintain a ready flight test site.
• Partner with engineering safety maintenance and manufacturing to plan and execute complex test campaigns.
• Track safety readiness throughput repeatability and reliability metrics to improve procedures tooling workflows and resource allocation.
• Represent Flight Test Operations during facility visits explaining Ziplines aircraft test approach and operating practices to technical and non-technical audiences.

• Experience leading teams responsible for daily execution in aviation aerospace drone operations robotics military operations or another safety-critical operational environment.
• Experience directing operational work and making sound decisions under pressure when safety readiness and execution priorities compete.
• Demonstrated people leadership including coaching mentoring performance feedback and performance management.
• Ability to balance daily execution with staffing resource allocation and longer-term operational planning.
• Proven ability to improve processes and deliver cross-functional operational initiatives with engineering or technical partners.
• Clear written and verbal communication for operational coordination escalation and stakeholder communication.
• Experience in flight test experimental flight operations prototype development autonomous aircraft robotic systems facility development or aviation and drone operations;FAA Part 107 or pilot certification is a plus.

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!

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.