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About You and The Role

The Avionics team is a group of hardware and software engineers responsible for designing robust systems that power our life-saving drone delivery service in some of the toughest environments on Earth. Our team designs aircraft avionics that must excel in a wide range of harsh, real-world climates and electromagnetic interference (EMI) environments. Our work also plays a vital role in system architecture, where we strive to achieve optimal performance and reliability while minimizing mass and cost.

As the Validation Manager on this team, you will play a pivotal role in the validation of Avionics flight computer assemblies and vehicle-level harnessing through a broad range of environments. You will be responsible for testing environmental performance, including thermal, UV, rain, and humidity, as well as load cases such as vibration, shock, and acceleration. Additionally, you will oversee the electromagnetic environment validation, including EMI, EMC, and self-compatibility.

Your leadership will be critical as you would be the first hire for this discipline and be responsible for growing and guiding a team in the validation of the assemblies, developing test infrastructure, and partnering with design engineers to ensure that the design units meet engineering and production validation standards. This is an exciting opportunity to build a team that is crucial in the development of life-saving technology and pushes the boundaries of what's possible.

What You'll Do

• Lead, mentor, and grow a small but mighty team of test engineers
• Coordinate team resources, project scopes, and timelines to complete deliverables aligned with program needs
• Plan and execute electrical design validation in prototypes, engineering validation, manufacturing validation, and production ramp
• Design test systems for avionics hardware manufacturing tests
• Partner with contract manufacturers to design manufacturing test systems for external volume manufacturing
• Develop test infrastructure for Avionics specific challenges, such has high speed network or camera interfaces
• Lead validation of environmental performance (thermal, UV, rain, humidity), load cases (vibration, shock, acceleration), and electromagnetic environments (EMI, EMC, including self compatibility

What You'll Bring

• Built and leveraged a team of engineers to achieve ambitious goals, with proven success
• 8+ years of experience across design, integration, or test engineering roles
• A degree in engineering, physics, or equivalent practical experience
• Experience in validating the performance of electronics in fields such as consumer electronics, automotive, aerospace, transportation, or medical devices
• Test experience validating computer function, networking interfaces, or radio interfaces as part of a formal test or qualification program
• Enthusiasm for collaborating in a fast paced, cross-functional environment
• Clear communication skills and the ability to explain technical challenges and solutions to fellow engineers and non-engineers alike
• Must be eligible to work in the US
• Must be able to work in person at Zipline’s South San Francisco office

What Else You Need to Know