Embedded Software Engineer Intern (Fall 2026)

Zipline is the world’s largest and most experienced drone delivery service, committed to ensuring access to critical supplies. They are seeking an Embedded Software Engineer Intern to work on developing solutions for their autonomous aircraft and ground systems, collaborating with cross-functional partners to tackle complex challenges.

What you'll do:

• Design and develop a software platform for the new P2 Zip and the world’s cutest Droid delivery and dock system
• Scale our flight and distribution center software to allow upwards exponentially more deliveries per day
• Prototype, test, and refine next generation flight and ground systems working alongside our mechanical and electrical engineering teams
• Develop safe software architecture that will be deployed across the world
• Develop perception solutions for any weather and any real world environment
• Achieve safety and reliability goals beyond the current state of the art
• Building an RF radio test setup to validate antenna performance of the flight compute at the production end-of-line
• Develop firmware for a real-time coprocessor that manages high-frequency signals and I/O expansion for the Linux camera subsystem
• Building a high data rate voltage and current telemetry system that runs continuously in our RTOS using ADCs, I2C devices and GPIO interrupts
• Rapidly iterating on the concept of a new perception system, integrating compute modules and sensor prototypes to fly a proof of concept ASAP and de-risk key aspects of the approach
• Working with operations teams to identify ways to improve our ground systems behavior to enable faster aircraft launch and landing

What they're looking for:

• Pursuing a degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or Computer Engineering. Must have at least completed the second year of your Undergraduate studies. Masters and PhD students are also eligible
• You've designed, built and/or deployed electromechanical systems or robots, inside or outside the classroom
• You're comfortable working in one of C, C++, Python, or Rust, and have developed software for a real time operating system or embedded Linux
• You are comfortable receiving feedback so that you can learn to write code that is efficient, easy-to-read, well-tested, has friendly APIs, and incurs minimal technical debt
• You're familiar with basic electrical engineering concepts, such as reading schematics, debugging with an oscilloscope, and communication protocols (CAN, SPI, UART, etc)

Benefits:

• Relocation support
• A housing stipend
• Overtime pay
• Paid sick time
• Other benefits, where applicable and subject to local requirements