2 days ago
Base Salary
$160k - $250k/yr
Responsibilities
- Design and build C++ firmware for distributed aircraft microcontrollers.
- Develop Ethernet, serial, and other microcontroller communication interfaces.
- Define platform-level interfaces and reusable firmware components for multiple aircraft subsystems.
- Own reliable startup, real-time operation, fault handling, recovery, and communication-bus performance.
- Optimize CPU utilization, memory usage, scheduling latency, timing jitter, and resource contention.
- Develop metrics, monitoring, and troubleshooting capabilities for field deployment at scale.
- Develop Rust-based tooling and software-in-the-loop simulations to test and validate firmware behavior.
- Implement and debug peripheral drivers using electrical schematics and datasheets.
Requirements
- Strong software engineering skills and production experience writing C++ for embedded or resource-constrained systems.
- Experience with embedded communications, including Ethernet, serial interfaces, or other hardware communication protocols.
- Experience designing and debugging real-time firmware involving task scheduling, interrupts, concurrency, synchronization, and memory constraints.
- Experience building and maintaining deployed embedded systems and handling edge cases for safety, reliability, and performance.
- Systems-level debugging ability and intuition for narrowing down hardware and software failure possibilities.
- Fluency implementing peripheral drivers from electrical schematics and datasheets and debugging at the hardware-software boundary.
- Ability to work from Zipline’s South San Francisco office on a regular basis.
Benefits
- Hybrid in-office and distributed work environment centered around the South San Francisco headquarters.
- The role may include equity compensation, discretionary annual or performance bonuses, medical, dental and vision insurance, paid time off, and other benefits.
About Zipline
Zipline designs, builds, and operates autonomous drone delivery systems for healthcare, retail, and public-sector customers. The privately held company runs end-to-end logistics—aircraft, software, and fulfillment—to deliver blood, vaccines, medicines, and consumer goods. Founded in 2014 and headquartered in South San Francisco, Zipline operates across multiple continents; notable work includes Rwanda’s national blood deliveries and U.S. home delivery pilots with Walmart.