Senior Software Systems Validation Engineer (South San Francisco)

About ZiplineZipline 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 You and The Role Zipline’s autonomous drone delivery system relies on software that behaves safely and predictably across sensor drivers, perception, navigation, guidance and control, motion planning, power management, actuator control and fleet autonomy. As a Senior Software Systems Validation Engineer, you will lead end-to-end evaluation from simulation through full-system flight testing.You will bridge Systems Engineering and Software Development, owning validation strategy and the evidence that exposes capability gains, gaps, regressions, and safety risks. Your work will inform engineering decisions for large-scale deployment and operating-domain expansion across aircraft performance, delivery operations, docking systems, and fleet orchestration.What You'll Do • Define system-level validation strategy for software performance, reliability, and safety.• Design, implement, and execute nominal, adversarial, stress, and edge-case scenarios from simulation through full-system flight testing.• Build metrics, visualizations, real-time performance and safety monitors, and automated tools that reveal capability changes and regressions.• Set validation evidence and exit criteria that inform release, deployment, and operating-domain expansion decisions.• Debug failures across simulation, hardware, firmware, embedded software, and application software; clearly document findings and escalate unresolved safety or performance risks.• Partner with test infrastructure and data platform teams to increase automated validation coverage, efficiency, and precision while maintaining development and deployment velocity.What You'll Bring• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Systems Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related field.• 3+ years of software development, software systems engineering, or software validation experience with robotic systems.• Strong experience in one or more relevant domains: embedded Linux, perception, motion planning, navigation, control, estimation, dynamics, connected systems, or power management.• Experience developing nominal, adversarial, stress, and edge-case validation for autonomous robotics.• Experience root-causing failures in complex autonomous systems and working with large datasets in production pipelines.• Proficiency with Python and SQL, plus programming languages used in safety-critical applications such as MISRA C, Rust, or C++.• Experience applying risk-assessment tools and techniques and deriving software safety or performance requirements from functional safety requirements or similar requirements decompositions.What Else You Need To KnowThe starting cash range for this role is $150,000-$250,000. 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. This position may be hired at one of two levels based on the candidate’s experience, skills, and demonstrated scope:System Validation Software Engineer II: $150,000–$190,000Senior System Validation Software Engineer: $190,000–$250,000Level and base salary will be determined through the interview process. Factors may include relevant experience, technical proficiency, expected responsibilities, location, and internal equity.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.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!