Senior RF Desense Engineer - Avionics

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  

As a Senior RF Desense Engineer on the Avionics team, you will be responsible for architecting, testing, debugging, fixing RF Desense challenges from the PCBA level to the full Aircraft level. You will work with mechanical, electrical, and integration engineers to ensure compliance across all systems. 

This competency is at the core of a new unmanned aerial system that will enable Zipline’s impact to expand from 100,000 deliveries/year to 100 million across the globe. In addition, you will have the opportunity to collaborate with world class engineers across all disciplines and experience levels. Zipline values personal development highly and encourages an environment of continuous learning and mentorship. 

The Avionics team encounters many challenges when designing robust avionics systems to provide life-saving service in some of the harshest environments on Earth. At the start of any project, our team plays a vital role in system architecture, designing for performance, reliability, and fault tolerance, while balancing mass and cost. Included in this is the design of an FAA-approved safety system to ensure the safety of employees, customers, and bystanders. 

To achieve Zipline’s goal of serving anyone anywhere, all aspects of a design must also be successful in a wide range of real-world environments by being robust against radiated emissions and conducted emissions.

What You'll Do  

• Develop and execute RF Desense test plans from PCB level to integrated aircraft level.
• Identify and document ECU level susceptibilities to electromagnetic environments, transients, radiated and conducted emissions.
• Analyze 2D/3D electromagnetic phenomena using CST, HFSS, ADS, other EM simulation tools, and in-house developed data analysis tools in order to develop an understanding of our products.
• Desense mitigation implementation through all avenues, including but not limited to modeling, measurements, testing, software updates, layout changes, BOM, changes, assembly changes.
• Specify, procure, and maintain lab equipment related to RF Desense testing.
• Perform Antenna and Active components colocation planning and optimization at product integration level and PCB level.
• Promote best practices across various electrical and mechanical design teams.
• Clearly communicate technical challenges and trade-offs to both fellow engineers and non-engineers, both written and verbally. Assist in recruiting, interviewing, and hiring additional teammates to our rapidly-growing team.

What You'll Bring

• A degree in Electrical Engineering, Embedded Hardware Engineering or equivalent, and at least 5 years of practical experience in an RF Desense role or related field.
• This position requires a thorough understanding of design for Desense philosophy to push the bounds for what is possible in the space and  involves a blend of design consultation, simulation, hands-on testing, and regulatory compliance management .
• Collaborate with electrical design teams in all phases of product design, from the concept and architecture definition, schematic and layout, cable design and routing, product packaging, validation testing, and introduction into production.
• Experience with signal integrity, PDN and emissions problems.
• Experience with product desense risk profiling, clock tree planning, desense test plan, measurements and remediation based on aggressor and victim matrix on a multi radio system.
• Experience with 2D/3D electromagnetic phenomena using CST, HFSS, ADS, other EM simulation tools.
• Experience with system level coexistence debugging and improvements, and proficiency on test and measurement tools (Oscilloscope, Logic Analyzer, spectrum analyzer).
• Experience with Python or other scripting languages for test automation and data analysis.
• Must be able to work at Zipline’s South San Francisco office.

Additional Skills

• Experience automating lab measurements using Python or other scripting languages
• Knowledge of antennas and electromagnetic propagation
• Ability to read and interpret PCB schematic and layout, electrical interface drawings, and mechanical CAD documents

What Else You Need to Know