Senior/Staff Power Electronics Hardware Reliability Engineer

📋 Job Overview

Zipline is building autonomous aircraft and ground infrastructure that must operate safely and reliably across demanding environments, high utilization, and long service lives with minimal maintenance. As a Senior or Staff Electrical Hardware Reliability Engineer focused on power electronics, you will serve as the reliability technical lead for some of Zipline’s most critical high-power electrical systems.

🏢 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.

🎯 The Role

As a Senior or Staff Electrical Hardware Reliability Engineer focused on power electronics, you will serve as the reliability technical lead for some of Zipline’s most critical high-power electrical systems. Your initial focus will be our drone charging systems, which convert AC grid power into multiple low-voltage DC outputs used to charge Zipline aircraft and power our docking station. Depending on your background and evolving program needs, your scope may also include the broader dock electrical system and aircraft power electronics, including power distribution, battery, busbars, and related assemblies.

✅ Key Responsibilities

• Own the reliability strategy for high-voltage power electronics and power-conversion systems, beginning with Zipline’s grid-connected power converters.
• Identify and prioritize the dominant reliability risks for high voltage power electronics, considering electrical, thermal, mechanical, environmental, and operational stresses.
• Lead DFMEA efforts with cross-functional teams to identify early risks and drive mitigation.
• Evaluate power-electronics architectures, schematics, PCB layouts, component selections, packaging concepts, thermal-management approaches, insulation systems, connectors, and high-current interconnects from a reliability perspective.
• Develop physics-based Accelerated Life Testing (ALT) and environmental test campaigns to validate long-term hardware performance.
• Author clear, technically rigorous test plans and specifications, and provide reliability sign-off on test results and hardware readiness.
• Lead failure analysis and structured root cause investigations, from component to system-level.
• Define operational life limits and service intervals using a combination of test data, field returns, and statistical models.
• Advocate cross-functionally for reliability: maintain an appropriately high reliability bar based on risk assessment and stage of program
• Improve Zipline’s reliability methods, tools, standards, and decision-making processes as the company scales.

📌 Required Qualifications

• B.S. or M.S. in Electrical Engineering or a related technical discipline.
• At least 5 years of relevant engineering experience, with 8–10+ years strongly preferred for Staff-level scope.
• A strong electrical engineering foundation and the ability to reason from first principles about hardware behavior and failure.
• Deep experience developing and validating safety-critical high-voltage and high-power electrical systems such as grid-connected converters, industrial power supplies, EV charging systems, inverters, high band gap semiconductors, renewable-energy systems, aerospace power systems, or similar equipment.
• Solid understanding of schematic design and PCB layout for power circuits.
• Strong technical communication skills, including the ability to explain complex technical issues clearly, synthesize ambiguous information into a coherent problem statement, write concise, decision-oriented technical documentation, and drive cross-functional alignment on reliability trade-offs and technical decisions around design, supply-chain, quality, manufacturing, finance, and operations.
• Demonstrated ownership and practical problem-solving ability, including driving technically complex issues through resolution.
• Ability to learn quickly, independently develop new technical depth, and adapt as program needs evolve.

🎁 Benefits

The starting cash range for this role is $140,000-$230,000. The total compensation package for this role may also include: equity compensation; discretionary annual or performance bonuses; sales incentives; benefits such as medical, dental and vision insurance; paid time off; and more.

🛂 Visa & Eligibility

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.