{"id":3463318,"url":"https://alion.io/job/zipline-senior-mechanical-simulation-engineer-avionics-electronics-packaging","title":"Senior Mechanical Simulation Engineer – Avionics & Electronics Packaging","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":{"grade":"A","score":88,"open_postings":15,"ghost_share":0,"stale_share":0.467,"repost_share":0,"time_to_fill_p50_days":58,"computed_at":"2026-11-02T06:13:15Z"}},"role":"Robotics","role_family":"Robotics","seniority":"senior","employment_type":null,"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":{"min":130000,"max":180000,"currency":"USD","period":"year","gross":null,"usd_annual":180000},"salary_estimate":null,"experience_years_min":null,"visa_sponsorship":false,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":true,"technologies":[{"name":"Abaqus","optional":false},{"name":"ANSYS","optional":false},{"name":"MATLAB","optional":false},{"name":"Nastran","optional":false},{"name":"Python","optional":false}],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2026-07-20T20:15:54Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-10-15","last_verified_at":"2026-11-02T19:59:25Z","board_verified":true,"closed_at":null,"days_open":104,"trust":{"level":"ok","repost_count":null,"flags":[],"days_open":104},"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 You and The Role \nZipline builds autonomous aircraft that operate in demanding real-world environments where electronic systems must continue to function through vibration, shock, temperature extremes, weather exposure, manufacturing variation, and years of fleet operation. The reliability of an electronic module depends not only on its electrical design, but also on its structural integrity, thermal performance, packaging architecture, material selection, fastening strategy, and interactions with surrounding assemblies.\nAs a Simulation Engineer for Avionics, you will own the simulation strategy that enables robust electronic hardware from concept through production and fleet deployment. You will develop structural, thermal, and multi-physics models that predict how avionics, compute modules, sensors, communication systems, and power electronics behave throughout their operating life. Your work will directly influence architecture decisions, design margins, manufacturing approaches, and validation strategies before hardware is built.\nYou will work closely with Mechanical, Electrical, RF, EMC, Optical, Systems, Reliability, Manufacturing, and Test engineers. Rather than serving as a downstream analysis resource, you will help drive design decisions through first-principles engineering, high-fidelity simulation, and correlation with physical testing.\nWhat You'll Do \nOwn the simulation strategy for electronic modules and electromechanical assemblies throughout concept development, design, validation, production ramp, and field support.\nDevelop structural finite element models for electronics housings, PCB assemblies, brackets, connectors, flex circuits, fasteners, heat sinks, shields, and integrated avionics modules.\nPerform static structural analyses including contact mechanics, bolt preload, fastener retention, housing deformation, sealing interfaces, component stresses, and structural load paths.\nPerform dynamic analyses including modal, harmonic response, random vibration, shock, and fatigue to evaluate durability throughout transportation, manufacturing, and flight environments.\nDevelop thermal simulations for electronics cooling using conduction, convection, and radiation to ensure components remain within operating limits during all mission phases.\nSupport development of cooling architectures including blowers, ducts, heat sinks, vapor chambers, thermal interface materials, cold plates, and enclosure ventilation.\nEvaluate thermo-mechanical behavior caused by coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) mismatch across PCBAs, electronic packages, thermal interface materials, adhesives, housings, and structural interfaces.\nPredict PCB deformation, solder joint loading, package stresses, connector retention, and mechanical interactions resulting from thermal cycling and environmental loading.\nPerform coupled structural and thermal analyses to understand interactions between temperature, deformation, preload loss, contact pressure, and structural stiffness.\nCorrelate simulation results with laboratory testing including strain measurements, displacement measurements, vibration testing, thermal testing, environmental qualification, and field observations.\nBuild simplified analytical models and hand calculations to verify simulation assumptions and establish design intuition before developing detailed numerical models.\nSupport design reviews by identifying mechanical, thermal, and reliability risks before hardware release.\nWork directly with suppliers to obtain material properties, validate manufacturing assumptions, and evaluate production variation within simulation models.\nInvestigate prototype, production, and field failures using simulation, physical testing, inspection data, and root-cause analysis to identify failure mechanisms and implement corrective actions.\nWhat You'll Bring\nProven experience performing structural and thermal simulation of complex electromechanical or electronic systems from concept through production.\nStrong fundamentals in structural mechanics, heat transfer, materials science, fatigue, vibration, contact mechanics, and thermal expansion.\nExperience performing linear and nonlinear finite element analyses including contact, bolt preload, large deformation, and material nonlinearity.\nExperience performing modal, harmonic response, random vibration, shock, and fatigue analyses.\nExperience developing steady-state and transient thermal models for electronics cooling and thermal management.\nStrong understanding of thermo-mechanical behavior including CTE mismatch, preload retention, thermal stresses, package deformation, and material interactions.\nExperience modeling complex assemblies with realistic contacts, fasteners, compliant materials, seals, thermal interface materials, adhesives, and manufacturing variation.\nExperience using commercial simulation tools such as Abaqus, ANSYS Mechanical, Siemens Simcenter 3D/Nastran, Altair OptiStruct, COMSOL, or equivalent.\nAbility to correlate simulation predictions with laboratory testing and understand discrepancies between physical hardware and numerical models.\nStrong understanding of electronics packaging, PCB assemblies, electronic components, connectors, shielding, and mechanical integration.\nExperience developing first-principles calculations alongside numerical simulations to establish engineering confidence.\nProgramming or scripting experience using Python, MATLAB, or similar tools to automate model generation, post-processing, or optimization studies.\nClear written and verbal communication with the ability to document assumptions, validation evidence, model limitations, engineering tradeoffs, and design recommendations.\nThis role is based in South San Francisco and requires regular hands-on work in the lab supporting prototype builds, testing, failure investigations, and simulation correlation.\nPeriodic travel to suppliers, contract manufacturers, environmental test facilities, and qualification laboratories may be required.\nNice to Have\nExperience with optical simulations for imaging systems, sensors, illumination systems, or optomechanical assemblies using Zemax, FRED, LightTools, TracePro, or similar tools.\nExperience supporting RF hardware development through structural and thermal analyses of antenna, communication, or wireless electronic systems.\nFamiliarity with electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) and electromagnetic interference (EMI) principles as they relate to mechanical packaging, shielding, grounding, and enclosure design.\nExperience performing three-dimensional dimensional tolerance analysis using CETOL, 3DCS, VisVSA, or equivalent tools.\nExperience predicting PCB reliability, solder fatigue, connector durability, and electronic package reliability.\nExperience performing design optimization, topology optimization, or parametric sensitivity studies.\nExperience with high-volume consumer electronics, automotive, aerospace, robotics, or unmanned aircraft systems.\nWhat Success Looks Like\nStructural and thermal simulations consistently predict hardware behavior with strong correlation to laboratory and environmental testing.\nElectronic modules meet structural, vibration, thermal, reliability, mass, and packaging requirements before production tooling is released.\nSimulation results drive architecture decisions early enough to eliminate costly redesigns and late-stage engineering changes.\nMechanical, electrical, RF, and manufacturing teams use simulation as a trusted decision-making tool throughout product development.\nStructural failures, thermal issues, vibration-related failures, and field reliability problems are identified and mitigated before fleet deployment.\nRobust simulation methodologies become reusable engineering assets that improve product quality, reduce development time, and increase confidence across future vehicle generations.\nWhat Else You Need To Know\nThe starting cash range for this role is $130,000 - $180,000. 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.\nZipline 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.\nWe 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!\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":11340,"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":["Equity","Vision insurance"],"hiring_locations":[],"hiring_excludes":[],"relocation_offered":false,"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":28}],"liveness":{"score":25,"band":"fade","label":"Fading","p_open":1,"p_active":0.689,"p_room":0.36,"age_days":104,"expected_fill_days":58,"reasons":["conf:3","velocity","win:tail","crowd:brand"],"computed_at":"2026-11-02T06:13:15Z"},"pay":{"stated_usd_annual":180000,"is_top_pay":false},"html_url":"https://alion.io/job/zipline-senior-mechanical-simulation-engineer-avionics-electronics-packaging","json_url":"https://alion.io/job/zipline-senior-mechanical-simulation-engineer-avionics-electronics-packaging.json","meta":{"generated_at":"2026-11-02T20:09:28Z","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":28186,"day_limit":null,"remaining_today":null,"minute_limit":300,"resets_at":"2026-11-03T00:00:00Z"}},"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-senior-mechanical-simulation-engineer-avionics-electronics-packaging"},{"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-senior-mechanical-simulation-engineer-avionics-electronics-packaging"},{"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-senior-mechanical-simulation-engineer-avionics-electronics-packaging"},{"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-senior-mechanical-simulation-engineer-avionics-electronics-packaging\", \"note\": \"what you need it for\"}"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.verify&for=job%2Fzipline-senior-mechanical-simulation-engineer-avionics-electronics-packaging"}],"agent":{"mcp":"https://alion.io/mcp/jobs","mcp_open":"https://alion.io/mcp/open","next":[{"tool":"get_job","arguments":{"id":3463318}},{"tool":"search_jobs","arguments":{"company":"zipline.com","detail":"compact"}},{"tool":"match_people","arguments":{"job_id":3463318},"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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