Strategic Operations Manager

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 & the Role

Zipline is scaling new markets, operating systems, and launch infrastructure that only work if analytics, execution, and operating cadence stay tightly connected. We are looking for a Strategic Operations Manager who can build the mechanisms that help leadership see clearly, make decisions, and drive execution.

This is not a traditional PM role. You will move fluidly between building forecasting models, running operating reviews, coordinating cross-functional initiatives, identifying bottlenecks, and creating the systems that allow teams to scale. The mandate is simple: be a builder, not a coordinator.

What You’ll Do

You will own recurring operating rhythms and business reviews that turn leadership priorities into clear owners, dates, metrics, tradeoffs, and follow-through. You will make sure commitments are visible, decision points are crisp, and action items move from discussion to execution.

You will build and maintain planning, forecasting, and capacity models; develop dashboards and reporting that improve decision quality; diagnose operational bottlenecks; and drive cross-functional initiatives from ambiguity to execution across technical and non-technical teams.

You will create scalable systems and processes that improve organizational effectiveness as Zipline launches, scales, and operates new markets. That includes turning one-off efforts into repeatable mechanisms without adding bureaucracy.

What You’ll Bring

• 5-10 years of experience in operations, business operations, strategic planning, manufacturing, logistics, supply chain, program management, or another execution-heavy operating environment.
• Strong analytical and modeling skills, with the ability to build practical tools that leaders and operators actually use.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication; you can turn ambiguous work into clear narratives, decisions, and next steps.
• Ability to work across technical and non-technical teams, align stakeholders, and drive accountability without hiding behind process.
• A demonstrated history of creating systems that scale: operating cadences, planning models, dashboards, review mechanisms, ownership models, and follow-up loops.
• Comfort operating in ambiguity and high-growth environments where the right answer changes as the business learns.
• High execution discipline; you can build a model in the morning, facilitate an executive review in the afternoon, and drive action items to closure by the end of the day.

What Else You Need to Know

This will be an in-office role based out of our South San Francisco HQ. Must be able to travel up to 25% of the time either to our HQ or into the Field.

The starting cash range for this role is $112,500 - $300,000; please note that this is a target, starting cash range for a candidate who meets the minimum qualifications for this role. We are always open to negotiation. 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; overtime pay; 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 protected characteristics.

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!