Mechanical Engineer Intern (Summer 2027)

Zipline · 2027 Internships

Where: South San Francisco, California, USA
Posted: Aug 18

Does aggressively tackling cross disciplinary projects from early conceptual stages through to full field deployment sound like the way you want to spend your time? Do you eliminate circular discussions by running a test or use your hands-on skills to build a prototype instead of scheduling another meeting? At Zipline, your work is intended for the field, where customers are counting on it every day, so there is no time for ambiguous communication or unrealistic expectations. We need dedicated engineers to burn down risk and improve reliability in our system like their life depends on it– because others' lives do.

What you'd do

Mechanical interns can own a variety of big problems integral to our system! You can expect to
Take product and engineering requirements to develop concepts and evaluate tradeoffs for each
Use 2D and 3D CAD tools to design parts and assemblies based on sound engineering principles
Use resources creatively to design, build, and test prototypes to gather quick learnings
Work cross-functionally with other Zipline teams and suppliers to review designs
Design, build, and run electro-mechanical testers that you develop to prove reliability of critical components
Evaluate designs and components on a material, element, and fully integrated product level
Root cause failures and develop a test to replicate the failure mode
Document your work so that others can easily understand key decisions made
Examples of previous intern projects include designing, building, testing, and running

About Zipline · 2027 Internships

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.