System Test Automation Intern

Responsibilities

• Assist with Hardware-in-the-Loop and flight tests validating interactions among Zipline’s Zip, Droid, and Dock systems.
• Build and refine automated pipelines that test software before flight deployment.
• Design and improve tools for stress-testing off-nominal system behavior.
• Analyze and troubleshoot hardware and software issues found during testing.
• Help design and execute system-level validation plans with multidisciplinary engineering teams.
• Develop and enhance scripts and tools supporting automated testing workflows.
• Contribute to reliability and quality improvements for complex safety-critical systems.

Requirements

• Completed the second year of undergraduate studies; Master’s and PhD students are also eligible.
• Strong understanding of engineering design fundamentals and ability to triage technical issues and identify root causes.
• Experience writing Rust or Python scripts to automate tasks or tests through coursework or personal projects.
• Hands-on experience writing Python tests using Pytest or Unittest.
• Familiarity with creating and executing software or hardware test and validation plans.
• Hands-on problem-solving experience, including debugging and triaging technical issues.
• General understanding of electrical systems including motors, sensors, cameras, and onboard computers.
• Experience working in a Linux environment and using command-line tools.
• Familiarity with Git, bazel, and Jira.
• Basic understanding of networking concepts such as RPC or sockets.
• Experience with CI tools such as GitHub Actions or Buildkite.
• Strong attention to detail and organizational skills for documenting test results and tracking issues.

Benefits

• Full-time internship in person at the South San Francisco office.
• Summer 2027 internship running from May/June through August/September.
• Opportunity to gain hands-on experience with system validation, automated testing, and safety-critical engineering systems.