Senior Software Engineer - Maps Platform

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.

WHY THIS ROLE MATTERS

We’re building the mapping infrastructure that powers every Zipline flight. Maps Platform engineers build the backbone that serves geographic data, features, and map-driven services to Zipline’s products and operators. You’ll make map data fast, accurate, and reliable for both human workflows (map editors, operator dashboards, regulatory UIs) and autonomous systems (routing, onboard systems). This role mixes backend, data, platform engineering and user interface design with pragmatic production ownership.

WHY THIS ROLE IS UNIQUE

* Own the foundation of flight intelligence. The systems you build directly power how aircraft understand and navigate the world. * Massive data challenges. You’ll design pipelines that process and serve large-scale geospatial datasets with strict requirements for accuracy, consistency, and availability. * End-to-end ownership. From raw data ingestion to production services, you’ll build systems that are critical to real-world operations. * Cross-functional impact. Your work will be used across autonomy, routing, simulation, and operations. * AI-accelerated engineering. We leverage modern AI and agentic workflows to increase engineering velocity while maintaining strong system rigor.

WHAT YOU’LL BRING

We care far more about how you approach problems than experience with any specific technology. Strong candidates typically have:

• Experience building and operating large-scale data pipelines
• A track record shipping reliable services and APIs
• Extreme ownership mindset with the ability to drive projects end-to-end
• Experience working with large datasets and designing reliable data processing

logic * Familiarity with data modeling, data quality, and validation in production systems * Comfort working with cross-functional teams and integrating systems across domains

• Strong backend or distributed systems engineering fundamentals
• Experience with geospatial systems, mapping technologies, or GIS tooling is a

plus, but not required. Our current stack includes technologies such as Go, Python, PostgreSQL/PostGIS, Kafka, and AWS, but we value engineers who can learn quickly and focus on solving the right problems. We also lean heavily into AI-assisted engineering workflows and are excited to work with engineers who use modern tools to amplify productivity while maintaining high standards for system design and data quality.

WHAT ELSE YOU NEED TO KNOW

This role is an in office role based out of our South San Francisco HQ. The starting cash range for this role is $170,000 - $210,000. Please note that this is a target, starting cash range for a candidate who meets the minimum qualifications for this role. The final cash pay for this role will depend on a variety of factors, including a specific candidate's experience, qualifications, skills, working location, and projected impact. 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. Zipline is an equal opportunity employer and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, ancestry, national origin, religion or religious creed, mental or physical disability, medical condition, genetic information, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, marital status, military or veteran status, citizenship, or other characteristics protected by state, federal or local law or our other policies. 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! Please Note We have received reports stating that certain individuals are reaching out to people under false pretenses, claiming to be Zipline employees, affiliates, agents, or representatives. They may seek to gain access to your personal information or to acquire money from you by offering fictitious employment opportunities or by claiming that they are contacting you on Zipline’s behalf. Genuine Zipline employees or representatives will never ask you for money or payment in exchange for employment opportunities or other related services. Any such offer of employment or any other service in exchange for fees that claims to be from us is deceitful and part of a fraud. If you believe you have been targeted by a fraudulent party, we ask that you immediately get in touch with us via email at View email address on click.appcast.io upon receiving a suspicious offer or claim.