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Service Engineer I

South San Francisco, California, USA

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 the Role

As a Service Engineer I on Zipline’s Service Operations team, you will provide first-level technical support for grounded aircraft, droids, docks, and related operational systems. Your primary responsibility is to help return assets to service quickly, safely, and consistently by following approved troubleshooting guides, diagnostic workflows, and escalation procedures.

This role is designed for technically curious operators who are calm under pressure, disciplined in following procedures, and strong at communicating across teams. This role is not expected to independently resolve highly complex or novel technical issues without support. Instead, success as a Service Engineer I comes from executing documented troubleshooting steps, capturing clear information, coordinating with the right teams, and escalating issues when additional Service Engineer II, Engineering, Maintenance, or Support Operations support is required.

You will work closely with Service Engineer II teammates, Software Engineering, Hardware Engineering, Technical Writing, Maintenance, and Support Operations teams to improve troubleshooting documentation, identify process gaps, and help get aircraft and other operational assets back to airworthiness.

This is a 24/7 operational support role that directly contributes to Zipline’s ability to serve customers around the world.

What You’ll Do

As a Service Engineer I, you will support grounded aircraft, droids, docks, and related operational systems by following approved troubleshooting guides and diagnostic procedures.

You will:

  • Support asset recovery and airworthiness
  • Use approved troubleshooting guides, checklists, diagnostic tools, and escalation paths to help return grounded assets to service safely and efficiently.
  • Execute first-level troubleshooting
  • Work through step-by-step troubleshooting workflows created by Software Engineering, Hardware Engineering, Maintenance, and Technical Writing teams. Ensure required steps are completed and documented before escalating issues.
  • Triage incoming issues
  • Review tickets, alerts, logs, and operational reports to understand the issue, determine severity, and prioritize work based on safety, customer impact, and operational need.
  • Escalate clearly and effectively
  • Identify when an issue requires support from Service Engineer II, Engineering, Maintenance, or Support Operations. Provide clear context, completed troubleshooting steps, relevant logs, and recommended next actions during escalation.
  • Coordinate with maintenance teams
  • Create work orders and support smooth handoffs when physical inspection, repair, replacement, or maintenance activity is required.
  • Document troubleshooting activity
  • Accurately record actions taken, outcomes, unresolved symptoms, and lessons learned in the appropriate systems. Ensure documentation supports operational traceability, shift handoffs, and regulatory requirements.
  • Improve troubleshooting guides
  • Provide feedback to Technical Writing, Engineering, and Maintenance teams when guides are unclear, outdated, incomplete, or difficult to execute in real operational conditions.

Support 24/7 operations

  • Participate in shift-based operations, including nights, weekends, holidays, handovers, and incident response workflows as needed to maintain continuous coverage.
  • Use Zipline operational tools
  • Work in systems such as Zerp, Fleet Apps, incident.io, ticketing tools, diagnostic dashboards, and other internal platforms used to monitor, troubleshoot, and return assets to service.
  • Contribute to continuous improvement
  • Identify recurring issues, documentation gaps, tooling friction, and opportunities to make first-level troubleshooting faster, clearer, and more repeatable.

What You’ll Bring

  • Strong execution and follow-through
    • You are comfortable working from procedures, checklists, and troubleshooting guides, and you can reliably complete documented steps in high-pressure operational environments.
  • Technical curiosity
    • You are interested in learning how complex systems work, including aircraft, robotics, hardware, software, docks, and fleet operations. You do not need to be an expert in all of these areas, but you should be eager to learn.
  • Operational discipline
    • You understand the importance of safety, quality, compliance, and documentation when working in a regulated or high-stakes environment.
  • Clear communication
    • You can explain what happened, what you tried, what changed, and what help is needed. You are comfortable coordinating with Service Engineer II teammates, Engineering, Maintenance, Technical Writing, and Operations teams.
  • Basic troubleshooting ability
    • You have experience investigating technical or operational issues using guides, logs, dashboards, tools, or documented workflows.
  • Comfort with ambiguity
    • You can stay calm when an issue is unclear, follow the available process, ask good questions, and escalate appropriately.
  • Documentation mindset
    • You understand that accurate notes, ticket updates, and handoff details are essential for operational continuity, safety, compliance, and continuous improvement.
  • Team-first approach
    • You work well across shifts, functions, and time zones. You understand that strong handoffs and shared context are critical in a 24/7 operation.

Preferred Qualifications

Experience in one or more of the following areas is helpful, but not required:

  • 2+ years experience with systems thinking - Bachelors degree or higher. 
  • Technical support, service operations, maintenance coordination, aviation operations, robotics operations, hardware support, fleet operations, manufacturing support, field operations, or customer operations.
  • Experience working with ticketing systems, incident management tools, ERP systems, fleet management tools, or operational dashboards.
  • Experience following technical documentation, standard operating procedures, maintenance instructions, or troubleshooting guides.
  • Exposure to aircraft, drones, robotics, electromechanical systems, logistics systems, or complex operational environments.
  • Experience working in a 24/7 shift-based operations environment.
  • Experience providing feedback to improve technical documentation, training materials, standard operating procedures, or troubleshooting guides.
  • Basic familiarity with logs, telemetry, dashboards, or diagnostic tools.

What Else You Need to Know

The starting cash range for this role is $75,000 - $95,000. Please note that this is a target starting cash range for a candidate who meets the minimum qualifications for the role. Final cash compensation will depend on a variety of factors, including experience, qualifications, skills, working location, and projected impact. The total compensation package for this role may also include equity compensation, overtime pay, discretionary annual or performance bonuses, sales incentives, medical, dental, and vision insurance, paid time off, and more.

This role requires working in 24/7 shift operations, including nights, weekends, and holidays, as part of our continuous coverage model. You may participate in on-call rotations and must be available for rapid response when critical assets are grounded. This position operates in a fast-paced, safety-focused, and highly operational environment. Your work directly supports customer deliveries, asset availability, and Zipline’s ability to operate reliably at global scale. This role may require sitting or standing for extended periods while reviewing tickets, monitoring dashboards, conducting troubleshooting, documenting activity, and coordinating with cross-functional teams.

Occasional travel may be required for training, certification, or site support activities, approximately 10%. You must be eligible to work in the United States.

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 any other characteristic protected by state, federal, or local law or our 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 but are not sure whether you are the perfect fit, we encourage you to apply.

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