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New Product Introduction (NPI) Technical Program Manager

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 You and The Role

You are joining Zipline as an NPI Technical Program Manager based in South San Francisco, CA. In this owner-level role you will own launch readiness and product lifecycle execution for new aircraft and major hardware design changes that directly affect field availability, safety, and fleet capabilities. You will operate at the intersection of Design Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Supply Chain, Quality, Reliability, Field Engineering, Maintenance, and Fleet Operations to ensure products are ready to build, release, scale, service, and sustain at scale. Your work directly determines whether new hardware enters service with the reliability, maintainability, and supply continuity required to meet Zipline’s delivery commitments to customers and to avoid costly retrofits or fleet disruptions.

What You'll Do

  • Single-thread ownership of NPI launch readiness from early builds through phased rollout, production ramp, retrofit campaigns, and post-launch stabilization for aircraft and associated assemblies.
  • Define and hold the release-readiness gate criteria (design verification, manufacturing process capability, supplier capacity, service procedures, spares plan, and training) and make go/no-go launch recommendations to program leadership; when authorized, own final launch decisions for assigned releases.
  • Create and maintain integrated launch plans that link engineering milestones, validation test plans, build schedules, supplier lead times, material readiness, field deployment windows, and phased rollout logistics across sites.
  • Track and report schedule, cost, quality, and risk metrics weekly to stakeholders with clear escalation paths; measure success with targets such as >X% production yield, <Y% early field failure rate, and meeting defined fleet-availability thresholds for each release (targets set with program leadership).
  • Evaluate engineering changes for downstream impact across production, supply chain, service, fleet operations, and customers; recommend whether to proceed, delay, phase, retrofit, substitute, or redesign.
  • Maintain detailed issue-tracking for builds and releases (component failures, process inefficiencies, material shortages, quality escapes, test failures, serviceability gaps, and readiness blockers) and drive cross-functional resolution to measurable closure criteria.
  • Make technical judgment calls on launch readiness, compatibility, retrofit strategy, risk buys, serviceability, and supply continuity based on product architecture, validation data, field risk, supplier lead times, and operational constraints.
  • Perform compatibility analysis of part design changes to determine supersession, interchangeability, and service impact.
  • Own demand and retrofit planning for new product releases and design changes, incorporating trial schedules, validation activities, material readiness, field deployment constraints, and phased rollout timing.
  • Partner with Design Engineering to implement product changes that reduce part proliferation, supply chain complexity, and lifecycle risk.
  • Collaborate with Field Service Engineering and Engineering Technicians to test new designs for improved serviceability, field repair effectiveness, and fleet support.
  • Perform end-of-life and obsolescence analyses to protect supply continuity and recommend redesigns or alternate sourcing when appropriate.

What You'll Bring

  • Required: Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical, Electrical, Systems, Aerospace, or related engineering discipline
  • 3+ years of NPI, TPM, hardware development, manufacturing operations, or product lifecycle work launching complex electromechanical or aerospace systems.
  • Demonstrable record owning NPI launches that progressed from prototype to scaled production and field deployment with measurable reliability and ramp outcomes. Experience with retrofit programs and managing supplier continuity under schedule pressure.
  • Deep technical judgment across product architecture, validation data interpretation, compatibility/interchangeability decisions, and tradeoffs between schedule, risk, and cost. Comfortable making and defending high-stakes go/no-go decisions.
  • Practical experience with PLM/ECN workflows, ECOs, build reviews, validation test plans, failure-mode analysis (FMEA/root cause), and issue-tracking systems. Comfortable reading mechanical/electrical drawings and BOMs.
  • Direct exposure to suppliers and factory floors; able to run on-site readiness audits and manage supplier mitigation plans. 
  • Operates effectively under high ambiguity and intensity: prioritizes escalations, sets clear acceptance criteria, and delivers measurable outcomes under tight schedules. Strong written and verbal communication for cross-functional leadership and executive updates.
  • Must-haves: demonstrated experience with complex hardware systems (robotics, aerospace, automotive, medical devices, or electromechanical products) and a history of reducing part proliferation, improving serviceability, or preventing large-scale retrofits.
  • Location & logistics: based in South San Francisco, CA with on-site presence required

What Else You Need to Know

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!

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