{"id":3463341,"url":"https://alion.io/job/zipline-seniorstaff-field-systems-engineer-rf-systems","title":"Senior/Staff Field Systems Engineer – RF Systems","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":"B","score":75,"open_postings":15,"ghost_share":0,"stale_share":1,"repost_share":0,"time_to_fill_p50_days":58,"computed_at":"2026-11-01T06:10:25Z"}},"role":"Hardware","role_family":"Hardware","seniority":"staff","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":160000,"max":200000,"currency":"USD","period":"year","gross":null,"usd_annual":200000},"salary_estimate":null,"experience_years_min":null,"visa_sponsorship":false,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":true,"technologies":[{"name":"FMEA","optional":false},{"name":"MATLAB","optional":false},{"name":"Python","optional":false},{"name":"SQL","optional":false},{"name":"C","optional":true},{"name":"C++","optional":true},{"name":"Embedded C","optional":true},{"name":"Wi-Fi","optional":true}],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2026-07-14T03:28:32Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-10-15","last_verified_at":"2026-11-01T10:32:37Z","board_verified":true,"closed_at":null,"days_open":110,"trust":{"level":"ok","repost_count":null,"flags":[],"days_open":110},"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 and operates autonomous delivery systems that move critical goods reliably and safely. These systems depend on RFlinks, antennas, embedded electronics, mechanical integration, networking, and navigation software working together across aircraft, droids, docks, ground infrastructure, and operational sites.\nRF-related failures rarely present as simple RF problems. A communications dropout may originate from antenna placement, mechanical damage, connector wear, power integrity, firmware timing, interference, network configuration, multipath, site geometry, or navigation behavior. Resolving these issues requires an engineer who can move across disciplinary boundaries and use field evidence to determine what is actually happening.\nAs a Field Systems Engineer specializing in RF Systems, you will own the investigation and permanent resolution of complex field issues involving wireless communication, navigation, and closely coupled electromechanical systems. You will combine fleet telemetry, mission logs, RF measurements, physical inspection, field experiments, and system knowledge to identify root causes and drive corrective actions into hardware, firmware, manufacturing, maintenance, and operations.\nYou will work across Zipline’s products and platforms wherever RF performance affects safety, reliability, availability, or operational performance.\nYou will additionally establish cross-company diagnostic methods, technical standards, observability strategies, and systemic improvements that prevent entire classes of field failures.\nWhat You'll Do\nOwn complex RF and connectivity field issues from initial escalation through containment, root cause, corrective action, and verified fleet resolution.\nLead technical triage during high-impact field events and provide clear guidance to Operations, Maintenance, Deployment, and Engineering.\nAnalyze mission logs, RF telemetry, packet statistics, navigation data, hardware health, maintenance history, environmental conditions, and site configuration.\nBuild structured hypothesis trees that distinguish among RF, electrical, mechanical, firmware, networking, configuration, and navigation causes.\nDiagnose link-margin degradation, interference, coexistence, multipath, polarization mismatch, antenna blockage, detuning, packet loss, latency, and intermittent connectivity.\nDetermine whether observed RF symptoms originate from antennas, cables, connectors, harnesses, grounding, shielding, power integrity, thermal conditions, mechanical integration, firmware, or network behavior.\nWork across Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, RF, Embedded Firmware, Networking, Navigation, Autonomy, Reliability, Manufacturing, and Operations.\nPartner with navigation and localization teams to understand how RF, GNSS, RTK, timing, telemetry, and site geometry affect system behavior.\nReproduce field failures in the lab or at representative sites using controlled experiments and fault injection.\nPerform field surveys and test campaigns using spectrum analyzers, vector network analyzers, oscilloscopes, power meters, network diagnostics, packet captures, and other appropriate instrumentation.\nDevelop link budgets, measurement plans, acceptance criteria, and test methods that connect analytical expectations to field performance.\nInspect and troubleshoot antennas, radios, RF cables, connectors, PCBAs, harnesses, enclosures, radomes, grounds, shields, and mechanical mounting interfaces.\nAssess the effects of structural materials, tolerances, assembly variation, contamination, water ingress, corrosion, vibration, wear, and field damage on RF performance.\nCreate rapid containment plans that safely restore operation while permanent corrective actions are developed.\nDrive permanent fixes through antenna or hardware changes, firmware behavior, configuration updates, manufacturing controls, maintenance procedures, detection algorithms, or operational changes.\nVerify corrective actions with controlled testing and fleet data, then monitor recurrence to confirm the issue is closed.\nDevelop Python, SQL, or equivalent tools to analyze fleet-scale telemetry, identify population trends, and separate isolated failures from systemic problems.\nBuild automated diagnostics, alerts, dashboards, and health metrics that detect degradation before it produces operational failures.\nImprove log content, telemetry, fault codes, and remote-debug capabilities so future investigations can be completed faster and with stronger evidence.\nEstablish failure taxonomies and standardized investigation methods for RF and connectivity issues.\nConvert field learning into requirements for next-generation hardware, firmware, navigation, manufacturing, and service tooling.\nCreate technical investigation reports that clearly document evidence, hypotheses, root cause, containment, corrective action, and verification.\nMentor engineers and field teams in RF troubleshooting, data analysis, instrumentation, and structured root-cause methods.\nAt the Staff level, lead cross-platform investigations, identify common architectural weaknesses, and define company-wide RF field-performance strategy.\nWhat You'll Bring\nProven experience resolving complex, intermittent field failures in autonomous systems, aerospace, robotics, automotive, telecommunications, industrial systems, or another high-reliability field.\nDeep expertise in RF systems, wireless communications, antennas, propagation, interference, link budgets, and RF measurement.\nStrong systems judgment across mechanical hardware, electronics, embedded firmware, networking, telemetry, and navigation.\nAbility to determine when an apparent RF failure is actually caused by power, timing, software, configuration, mechanical integration, or environmental conditions.\nExperience working with radios, antennas, RF cables, connectors, PCBAs, embedded systems, and mechanically integrated RF assemblies.\nHands-on proficiency with RF and electrical diagnostic equipment such as spectrum analyzers, VNAs, oscilloscopes, power meters, multimeters, and packet-analysis tools.\nExperience analyzing large volumes of field logs and telemetry using Python, SQL, MATLAB, or equivalent tools.\nTrack record of developing automated diagnostics or monitoring that improved fleet reliability or reduced investigation time.\nExperience with structured root-cause methods such as fault-tree analysis, 5-Whys, DFMEA, or similar approaches.\nDemonstrated ability to drive corrective actions across design, firmware, manufacturing, maintenance, and operational teams.\nExperience planning and executing field tests in realistic environments where geometry, interference, weather, and operational constraints matter.\nClear written and verbal communication, including the ability to provide concise direction during escalations and rigorous documentation afterward.\nAbility to operate with incomplete evidence, prioritize the highest-value experiments, and update conclusions as new data becomes available.\nLocation and logistics: this is an in-person role based in South San Francisco and requires domestic and international travel to operational, deployment, supplier, and test locations.\nOperating intensity: periodic off-hours support may be required during critical field escalations, investigations, or test campaigns.\nTraits: technical breadth, deep curiosity, calm troubleshooting, intellectual honesty, urgency, and persistence until the failure is understood and permanently addressed.\nNice to Have\nExperience with GNSS, RTK, cellular, Wi-Fi, ISM-band radios, mesh networks, or command-and-control links.\nExperience with navigation, localization, docking, autonomous-vehicle, or robotics data.\nExperience with EMI/EMC troubleshooting, shielding, grounding, signal integrity, and power integrity.\nFamiliarity with embedded C/C++, firmware debugging, network protocols, or over-the-air configuration.\nExperience with environmental, vibration, thermal, ingress, or accelerated-life testing.\nExperience supporting globally distributed operations and remote technical teams.\nWhat Success Looks Like\nHigh-impact RF field issues are contained quickly, root-caused rigorously, and permanently resolved.\nMean time to detect, diagnose, and correct connectivity failures decreases measurably.\nRepeated failure modes decline because corrective actions address system causes rather than symptoms.\nFleet observability identifies degraded RF performance before it becomes an operational failure.\nHardware, firmware, navigation, manufacturing, and maintenance teams receive actionable field evidence that improves their designs and processes.\nCross-platform RF risks are identified early and addressed through shared requirements, tools, test methods, and architecture improvements.\nOperations teams trust the technical guidance they receive during escalations and can execute containment or recovery actions safely.\nWhy Join Zipline’s RF Team?\nZipline presents an antenna environment unlike a conventional consumer or telecommunications product. Our systems operate in three-dimensional space, travel through changing propagation and interference environments, and must maintain reliable wireless connectivity while meeting strict size, weight, power, aerodynamic, safety, and regulatory constraints.\nYou will have the opportunity to move between electromagnetic theory, hands-on hardware development, full-system testing, manufacturing, and real-world operations. The antenna systems you develop will directly enable autonomous logistics at global scale and help deliver products that matter to people when and where they need them.\nWhat Else You Need To Know\nThe starting cash range for this role is $160,000 - $200,000. 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, religion, age, sex, n...","description_format":"text","description_chars":12945,"description_truncated":true,"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":4}],"liveness":{"score":18,"band":"cold","label":"Long shot","p_open":1,"p_active":0.497,"p_room":0.36,"age_days":110,"expected_fill_days":58,"reasons":["conf:3","stale_co","velocity","win:tail","crowd:brand"],"computed_at":"2026-11-01T06:10:25Z"},"pay":{"stated_usd_annual":200000,"is_top_pay":false},"html_url":"https://alion.io/job/zipline-seniorstaff-field-systems-engineer-rf-systems","json_url":"https://alion.io/job/zipline-seniorstaff-field-systems-engineer-rf-systems.json","meta":{"generated_at":"2026-11-01T11:37:17Z","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":17978,"day_limit":null,"remaining_today":null,"minute_limit":300,"resets_at":"2026-11-02T00:00:00Z"}},"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-seniorstaff-field-systems-engineer-rf-systems"},{"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-seniorstaff-field-systems-engineer-rf-systems"},{"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-seniorstaff-field-systems-engineer-rf-systems"},{"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-seniorstaff-field-systems-engineer-rf-systems\", \"note\": \"what you need it for\"}"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.verify&for=job%2Fzipline-seniorstaff-field-systems-engineer-rf-systems"}],"agent":{"mcp":"https://alion.io/mcp/jobs","mcp_open":"https://alion.io/mcp/open","next":[{"tool":"get_job","arguments":{"id":3463341}},{"tool":"search_jobs","arguments":{"company":"zipline.com","detail":"compact"}},{"tool":"match_people","arguments":{"job_id":3463341},"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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