Autonomy Flight Test Specialist

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 We’re looking for an Autonomy Fight Test Specialist to help us gather real-world data that drives our next generation of systems. This is a field-first role. You’ll travel around the country, work alongside aviation professionals, and operate our aerial data collection rigs. From start to finish you’ll own all aspects of the data gathering process. You’ll often operate independently, so being able to think on your feet and make good calls without a lot of oversight is key. A big part of the job is completing the task at hand in real world conditions—figuring things out quickly, staying adaptable, and ensuring we safely come back with the data we need. Beyond technical skills, we value a proactive, hands-on approach and strong real-world problem solving. Successful candidates are highly resourceful, hands-on operators who enjoy solving practical problems in dynamic real-world environments. What You’ll Do Own aerial data collection missions end to end in support of Zipline’s Detect and Avoid system development Travel across the U.S. to collect real-world flight data from helicopters, fixed-wing aircraft, and specialty aviation platforms Operate Zipline’s data collection rigs in dynamic flight environments while maintaining strong safety awareness Independently manage mission prep, equipment setup, troubleshooting, data capture, and post-flight wrap-up Build effective working relationships with pilots, flight crews, vendors, and cross-functional teams to execute safe and efficient flight operations Debug hardware, software, sensor, and data collection rig issues in the field to keep missions moving Own field logistics, including packing, transport, setup, teardown, aircraft integration support, and gear accountability Ensure collected data is complete, reliable, and useful for training and validating autonomy systems Identify ways to improve tools, rigs, workflows, and future flight campaigns What You’ll Bring Experience in aviation or similarly operational environments (e.g., pilot, student pilot, aircraft mechanic, UAS operator, field robotics, military, or other hands-on technical operations roles) Willingness to travel frequently (up to ~75%), including multi-week deployments, irregular schedules, weekends, and early-morning or night operations Strong mechanical and technical aptitude—comfortable working with tools, hardware systems, aircraft-adjacent eq