{"id":3463123,"url":"https://alion.io/job/zipline-aerodynamics-intern-spring-2027","title":"Aerodynamics Intern (Spring 2027)","company":{"id":15878,"name":"Zipline","domain":"zipline.com","url":"https://alion.io/company/zipline","size_band":"1001-5000","is_staffing_agency":false,"employer_type":"direct","is_intermediary":false,"listed_via":null,"ats_vendor":"Greenhouse","truth_index":null},"role":"Aerospace","role_family":"Aerospace","seniority":"intern","employment_type":"internship","work_mode":"on_site","remote_scope":null,"remote_scope_basis":null,"remote_working_hours":null,"hiring_geo_confidence":"structured","locations":["South San Francisco, United States"],"countries":["US"],"hiring_countries":[],"hiring_countries_total":0,"salary":null,"salary_estimate":{"min_usd":103000,"max_usd":265000,"period":"year","method":null,"sample_n":688},"experience_years_min":null,"visa_sponsorship":false,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":false,"technologies":[{"name":"CATIA","optional":false},{"name":"MATLAB","optional":false},{"name":"OpenFOAM","optional":false},{"name":"Python","optional":false},{"name":"Rust","optional":false},{"name":"STAR-CCM+","optional":false}],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2026-08-19T16:19:27Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-10-19","last_verified_at":"2026-10-30T12:23:47Z","board_verified":true,"closed_at":null,"days_open":71,"trust":{"level":"ok","repost_count":null,"flags":[],"days_open":71},"description":"About Zipline\nZipline 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. \nOur 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.\nOur 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.\nWe 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.\nAbout the Applied Aerodynamics Team\nWithout the Aerodynamics team, the Zipline drones would not fly! This team is responsible for the aerodynamic performance of the aircraft, from high-level aeronautical considerations down to the detailed surface design. We work on everything from the body and propellers to vehicle dynamics and aeroacoustics, and in order to ensure our product is successful we collaborate strongly with almost every other engineering team, including GNC, structures, mechanical integration, avionics, perception, systems, weather and others.\nThe Role\nAs an intern in the Aerodynamics Team you can expect to work on any one of our current open projects alongside our world-class aerodynamicists and aeronautical engineers, both learning from their experience and bringing your own perspective to the tasks. This is an opportunity to test the skills and knowledge you’ve learned at school in a practical and fast-paced environment, where we leverage our understanding of physics to solve real problems. You will learn to use a variety of tools - from low fidelity calculations, through CFD simulation to experimental analysis - to help drive the design of our current and future products forward. \nWhat You'll Do\nVehicle design analysis including aerodynamics, propulsion, and power system performance. \nLow- and high-fidelity analytical modeling of vehicle subsystems and behaviors\nAerodynamic database generation and building analysis of flight behaviors\nExperiment planning, execution and data analysis, from wind tunnels to flight tests\nSupport multidisciplinary team including controls, mechanical, production, software, and electrical engineers to tackle design challenges and resolve time-sensitive issues\nWhat You'll Bring\nYou will be studying one or more of the following areas: fluid mechanics, aerodynamics, flight physics, aeronautical engineering, acoustics. A strong understanding of the technical content of these courses is the most valuable asset you will bring, and will help you exercise good engineering judgment.\nUnderstanding and experience with any of the following toolsets is advantageous. If you have not used the tool before, we’ll teach you to use it where needed.\nContinuum- or Lattice Boltzmann-based computational fluid dynamics, such as STAR-CCM+, Fluent, OpenFOAM, or PowerFLOW\nWind tunnel test identification, planning, execution, troubleshooting, and data analysis using a variety of electro-mechanical and optical diagnostic techniques\nFlight test planning for system identification and simulation validation, cross functional planning, test execution, and data analysis\nMATLAB, Python, Rust, or similar software tools\nCAD advanced surfacing tools, such as CATIA or NX\nTo be maximally effective we will need you to work in our head office in South San Francisco. For certain testing programs, limited travel (within California) may be required.\nWhat Else You Should Know\nOur internships are full-time positions, in-person at our South San Francisco or Dallas office. We will host our Spring 2027 interns from January to April/May. \nCandidates are limited to three (3) applications within a 30-day period.\nThe hourly rate for this internship is $48 per hour. Additional benefits may include relocation support, a housing stipend, overtime pay, paid sick time, and other benefits, where applicable and subject to local requirements.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.\nZipline is also committed to providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities. Please let your point of contact at Zipline know if you require any accommodations throughout your interview process.\nVoluntary Self-Identification\nFor 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.\nAs 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.","description_format":"text","description_chars":6073,"description_truncated":false,"requirements":{"experience_years_min":null,"management_years_min":null,"team_size_min":null,"manages_managers":false,"education":null,"security_clearance":false,"languages":[]},"benefits":[],"hiring_locations":[],"hiring_excludes":[],"relocation_offered":true,"industries":["Drones & UAVs","Delivery","Logistics"],"lifecycle":[{"event":"open","at":"2026-10-29T14:36:18Z"}],"visa":[{"country":"US","licensed_sponsor":true,"evidence":"H-1B filings in 12 months: 63 · green card filings: 13","filings_12m":63,"filings_prev_12m":47,"green_card_filings_12m":13,"median_offered_wage_usd":170658,"route":null,"cap_exempt":false,"checked_at":"2026-10-29T16:27:21+00:00","sources":["US Department of Labor: LCA disclosure data (H-1B, H-1B1, E-3)","US Department of Labor: PERM disclosure data (green cards)"],"filings_for_role_12m":0}],"liveness":{"score":8,"band":"cold","label":"Long shot","p_open":1,"p_active":0.303,"p_room":0.28,"age_days":71,"expected_fill_days":24,"reasons":["conf:1","win:tail","crowd:junior,brand"],"computed_at":"2026-10-30T05:48:23Z"},"pay":null,"html_url":"https://alion.io/job/zipline-aerodynamics-intern-spring-2027","json_url":"https://alion.io/job/zipline-aerodynamics-intern-spring-2027.json","meta":{"generated_at":"2026-10-30T14:18:50Z","cache_seconds":300,"methodology":"https://alion.io/methodology","terms":"https://alion.io/terms","contact":"https://alion.io/contact","api":"https://alion.io/developers","about":"Alion is a live layer of people, companies and AI agents: who they are, whether they are real and active right now, what they do and how to work with them, readable by people and by agents and paid per call.","catalog":"https://alion.io/catalog.json","usage":{"tier":"crawler_verified","counted_by":"address","units_charged":1,"used_today":1684,"day_limit":null,"remaining_today":null,"minute_limit":300,"resets_at":"2026-10-31T00:00:00Z"}},"offers":[{"id":"company.slices","title":"One company in depth, by slice","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002,"plus_per_slice":{"credits":0.05,"usd":0.005}},"unit":"per company, plus each slice with data","note":"the employer in depth","call":{"mcp_tool":"get_company","arguments":{"id":15878},"rest":"https://alion.io/mcp/rest/get_company?id=15878"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.slices&for=job%2Fzipline-aerodynamics-intern-spring-2027"},{"id":"market.stats","title":"A market slice: pay, demand and time to fill","status":"live","price":{"credits":1,"usd":0.1},"unit":"per slice","note":"pay, demand and time to fill for this role and place","call":{"mcp_tool":"market_stats"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=market.stats&for=job%2Fzipline-aerodynamics-intern-spring-2027"},{"id":"job.search","title":"Open jobs by role, technology, place, pay and visa","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002},"unit":"per posting in a list","note":"similar open postings","call":{"mcp_tool":"search_jobs"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=job.search&for=job%2Fzipline-aerodynamics-intern-spring-2027"},{"id":"company.verify","title":"Is this company real and active right now","status":"pilot","price":null,"unit":"per company","request":{"url":"https://alion.io/catalog/request","method":"POST","body":"{\"offer\": \"company.verify\", \"for\": \"job/zipline-aerodynamics-intern-spring-2027\", \"note\": \"what you need it for\"}"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.verify&for=job%2Fzipline-aerodynamics-intern-spring-2027"}],"agent":{"mcp":"https://alion.io/mcp/jobs","mcp_open":"https://alion.io/mcp/open","next":[{"tool":"get_job","arguments":{"id":3463123}},{"tool":"search_jobs","arguments":{"company":"zipline.com","detail":"compact"}},{"tool":"match_people","arguments":{"job_id":3463123},"note":"people open to offers who fit this vacancy"}],"note":"The same data through MCP tools: https://alion.io/mcp/open needs no sign-in (compact searches, postings, people); https://alion.io/mcp with an Alion account has everything. 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