---
title: 'Mobile Test Site Project Manager at Zipline'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/mobile-test-site-project-manager-zipline-esparto-eajf10eqkn5h'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-10-18'
---

# Mobile Test Site Project Manager at Zipline 

- **Company:** Zipline 
- **Location:** Esparto, CA / Half Moon Bay, CA / South San Francisco, CA
- **Posted:** 2026-10-15
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-10-18
- **Apply:** https://www.zipline.com/open-roles/8016195003?gh_jid=8016195003

## Job description

## 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.

## About You and The Role

The Mobile Test Site Project Manager owns the strategy, organization, readiness, and deployment of Zipline’s mobile test sites. These sites allow Flight Test to access environmental and operational conditions that cannot be consistently reproduced at Zipline’s permanent facilities, including unique weather, terrain, and other edge-case environments.

This role develops the roadmap for the mobile test site program and ensures each installation can be deployed safely, efficiently, and consistently. The Project Manager will translate engineering demand into a forecasted deployment plan; own site selection, design, allocation, maintenance, safety, and security; and audit deployed sites to confirm established practices are being followed.

The ideal candidate is a highly organized, field-oriented project leader who can turn ambiguous testing needs into safe, repeatable mobile operations. They must be comfortable coordinating across engineering, operations, maintenance, safety, security, and external partners while managing multiple deployments in different locations.

## What You'll Do

Program Strategy and Planning

Develop and maintain the roadmap for Zipline’s mobile test site program. Partner with engineering teams to forecast testing demand and identify when and where mobile deployments are needed to capture specific environmental or operational edge cases. Translate that demand into an executable plan covering locations, schedules, equipment, staffing, maintenance, and site readiness.

Site Development and Deployment

Lead mobile sites from concept through deployment, operation, and demobilization. Own location evaluation and selection, site layouts, infrastructure requirements, logistics, vendor coordination, deployment schedules, and readiness reviews. Establish scalable site designs and deployment standards that can be adapted to different test objectives and operating environments.

Operations, Maintenance, and Asset Allocation

Own the availability, condition, configuration, and allocation of each mobile installation. Maintain a clear view of where assets are located, when they are available, what maintenance is required, and whether they are ready for deployment. Partner with the designated maintenance owner to create and sustain preventive and corrective maintenance programs for mobile site equipment.

Standardization, Safety, and Compliance

Create and continuously improve standard operating procedures for site setup, operation, inspection, security, maintenance, and closeout. Own the safety and security framework for mobile sites, including risk assessments, emergency planning, access controls, and site-specific requirements. Conduct regular audits to verify that established standards are being followed and drive corrective actions when gaps are identified.

Cross-Functional Execution

Serve as the central program owner connecting the teams required to deliver mobile testing. Partner with Flight Test Engineering to define test objectives and test-card needs, Flight Test Operations leaders to secure and prepare operating personnel, and the maintenance owner to ensure installations remain reliable and deployment-ready. Communicate plans, risks, dependencies, and changes clearly to stakeholders and leadership.

## What You'll Bring

- Significant project or program management experience in complex field operations, test operations, aviation, robotics, construction, logistics, or a similarly technical environment.
- Demonstrated ability to take an ambiguous operational need from initial concept through planning, deployment, execution, and closeout.
- Experience developing standardized procedures, readiness criteria, audit processes, and continuous-improvement systems.
- Strong working knowledge of operational safety, risk management, site security, equipment maintenance, and vendor coordination.
- Excellent cross-functional leadership and communication skills, with the ability to influence teams without relying on direct reporting authority.
- Willingness and ability to travel regularly to prospective and active mobile test locations, including sites in remote or challenging environments.

## Preferred Qualifications

- Experience supporting flight test, aviation, autonomous systems, drones, aerospace, or other safety-critical operations.
- Experience developing temporary or mobile operating sites and coordinating infrastructure, permitting, utilities, communications, or site logistics.
- Familiarity with demand forecasting, asset management, preventive maintenance programs, and operational performance metrics.
- Project management certification or equivalent demonstrated experience leading complex, multi-site programs.

Success in This Role

Success means Zipline can deploy the right mobile test capability to the right environment at the right time. Mobile sites are safe, secure, maintained, and consistently operated; deployments are planned against forecasted engineering demand; standards are clear and auditable; and the program provides dependable access to the edge-case conditions required to improve Zipline’s systems.

What Else You Need To Know

The starting cash range for this role is $107,000-$134,000; Please note that this is a target, starting cash range for a candidate who meets the minimum qualifications for this role. We are always open to negotiation. 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; overtime pay; 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, 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! Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey. Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiring process or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in a confidential file.

As set forth in Zipline ’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

## About Zipline 

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Zipline is an American robotics company that operates the world’s largest autonomous drone delivery service, transporting medical supplies, food, and retail goods across multiple continents.
- **Entity Type**: Private (early-stage startup)
- **Headquarters**: South San Francisco, California, United States
- **Founded**: March 2014
- **Founders**: Keller Rinaudo Cliffton, Keenan Wyrobek, Ryan Oksenhorn, William Hetzler

## Core Business
- **Primary industry**: Logistics / Drone delivery
- **Target customers**: B2B (healthcare systems, governments, retailers like Walmart and Chipotle) and B2C (home delivery via the Zipline app)
- **Mission or purpose statement**: “Build the first logistics system that serves all people equally” – initially focused on saving lives by delivering blood and medicine to remote communities, now expanded to instant urban delivery.

## Products & Services
- **Platform 1 (P1)**: Long-range, rural delivery drone. Carries up to 4 lbs, roundtrip range 120+ miles, cruise speed 60 mph. Uses parachute delivery. Designed for enterprise, government, and healthcare supply chains.
- **Platform 2 (P2)**: Urban/suburban home delivery drone. Carries up to 8 lbs, service radius 10 miles (or 24 miles one way), cruise speed 70 mph. Delivers via a tether from up to 300 ft, allowing contactless drop-off. Launched in 2025 and used for food, retail, and health products.
- **Zipping Points**: Modular ground stations that allow businesses to load orders onto drones without specialized equipment.
- **FlightIQ**: Advanced onboard autonomy and perception suite for safe navigation and delivery.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not publicly available
- **Key Metric**: 2 million commercial deliveries completed (as of January 2026) and 130 million autonomous miles flown.[wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zipline_(drone_delivery_company))[zipline-fact-sheet](https://www.zipline.com/about/zipline-fact-sheet)
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Not disclosed in available sources. Key partners include Walmart, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Crumbl, Blaze Pizza, Wendy’s, and many other restaurant brands. In healthcare, works with more than 5,000 hospitals and health centers.
- **Growth Signals**: Expanded into urban home delivery in 2025 (P2) with service in Pea Ridge, Arkansas and 20+ communities in Dallas-Fort Worth. Obtained FAA authorization for beyond visual line of sight operations. Reports 56% decrease in maternal mortality and 66% decrease in missed malaria treatments in served regions.[zipline-fact-sheet](https://www.zipline.com/about/zipline-fact-sheet)

## Competitive Advantages
- **Autonomous drone fleet**: One of the world’s largest commercial deployments of autonomous robots, with custom software running on Nvidia chips.
- **FAA approval**: All operations and aircraft are FAA-approved, including pioneering use of Unmanned Aircraft System Traffic Management (UTM).
- **Quieter than road vehicles**: Drones hover high and descend on a tether, generating noise lower than common neighborhood sounds.
- **Extensive testing**: One of the largest aviation testing campaigns, with operations in rain, wind, and storms.
- **Integrated logistics platform**: Beyond drones, Zipline provides warehousing, inventory management, cold chain storage, and fulfillment software.

## Strategic Focus
- Scaling the Platform 2 urban delivery network across the U.S., particularly through partnerships with major retailers and restaurants.
- Deepening healthcare impact by expanding into new countries and product categories (prescriptions, groceries, convenience items).
- Continuing to reduce delivery times and environmental footprint (0 emissions per delivery, compared to automotive delivery).

## Why Work Here
- **Culture values**: Ownership & Accountability, Direct Feedback & Communication, Continuous Improvement, Customer Obsession, Servant Leadership (as stated on careers page). Emphasis on “Make it matter” and mission-driven work.[careers](https://www.zipline.com/careers)
- **Work environment**: Headquartered in South San Francisco with hardware and software teams. The company assembles its drones in America. Likely on-site given the hardware focus; remote/hybrid policy not explicitly stated.
- **Impact**: Opportunity to work on life-saving technology (60,000+ lives saved) and shape the future of instant logistics.
- **Engineering culture**: Build and iterate on autonomous systems, airspace deconfliction, and large-scale robotics deployments.

## Sources
1. [Zipline Careers](https://www.zipline.com/careers)
2. [Zipline Homepage](https://www.zipline.com/)
3. [About Zipline](https://www.zipline.com/about)
4. [Zipline Fact Sheet](https://www.zipline.com/about/zipline-fact-sheet)
5. [Wikipedia - Zipline](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zipline_(drone_delivery_company))
6. [Greenhouse Careers Page](https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/flyzipline)

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