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.
As a Flight Operator, you are responsible for the safe, timely, and precise launch and recovery of delivery drones. You play a key role in maintaining operational excellence, ensuring seamless coordination across teams, and contributing to a strong safety and performance culture.
Launch & Recovery Execution: Prepare Zips, perform launch and recovery procedures, and ensure alignment with SOPs.
Operational Quality, Safety & Escalation: Conduct pre- and post-flight safety checks, identify risks, and immediately escalate off-nominals through ticketing and shift team notification. Participate in incident response procedures to support retrieval, root cause analysis and resolution.
Zip Monitoring & Reporting: Monitor in-flight operations via Fleetdeck and report off nominals as needed.
Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work closely with the Warehouse team to ensure payload readiness, the Controller team for flight clearance, and the Customer Care Center (CCC) to align on real-time customer priorities and issue escalations.
Continuous Improvement: Actively contribute to operational improvement by identifying inefficiencies, sharing feedback, and participating in team retrospectives and solution workshops.
Culture & Engagement: Support a strong team culture by participating in training, knowledge sharing, and peer coaching. Embody Zipline’s values in every shift and contribute to building an empowered, high-trust environment.
Diploma in Mechanical/Electrical/Electronics/Aerospace Engineering/Drone Engineering Technology or National Service Personnel or Vocational Training personnel with technical background/ or willingness to learn despite background.
Excitement about working in the field and are not afraid to get your hands dirty.
Ability to stay focused, humble, and safety-conscious during assigned shifts.
Ability to work in a fast-paced environment and enjoy work that keeps you on your feet.
Ability to maintain focus during extended daily operations.
Must be willing and able to work nights/weekends on shifts.
Must be willing and able to work for a period not less than 40 hours/week.
This is a full-time position based at the DC and must be willing to relocate to any of our distribution centers.
Please note: This role is on a two-year fixed-term contract.
Zipline is an equal opportunity employer and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, ancestry, national origin, religion or religious creed, mental or physical disability, medical condition, genetic information, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, marital status, military or veteran status, citizenship, or other characteristics protected by state, federal or local law or our other policies.
We value diversity at Zipline and welcome applications from those who are traditionally underrepresented in tech. If you like the sound of this position, 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.
Ready to apply?
This goes straight to flyzipline. We never see your resume, and there is no account to create.
Systems Engineer, Air Vehicle Systems
andurilindustries · Costa Mesa, California, United States
Staff Systems Engineer, Air Vehicle Systems
andurilindustries · Costa Mesa, California, United States
Senior Systems Engineer, Air Vehicle Systems
andurilindustries · Costa Mesa, California, United States
Senior Software Engineer - Maritime Integrated Solutions
andurilindustries · Costa Mesa, California, United States
Direct link to flyzipline's own careers page. No fee, ever.
Never pay for a job
Every apply button here goes to the employer's own careers page. We never ask for money, and we never collect your resume or ID. How to spot a scam
More jobs like this one
One email a week with new contract roles. Unsubscribe in one click.
We use your email for job alerts only. No selling, no sharing.