Zipline is seeking a Test Maintenance Engineering Lead (Senior Manager/Director level) to build and oversee a multi-state organization of maintenance technicians. This role is the linchpin between hardware testing environments and commercial operations, ensuring that technical and systematic challenges are caught and resolved before they impact the commercial organization. The lead will define the managerial structure, drive aviation-grade standards, and collaborate cross-functionally with engineering, quality, operations, and commercial teams.

Responsibilities

Build & Scale the Organization: Design the correct managerial hierarchy, hire, and build a world-class maintenance engineering organization composed of skilled technicians across multiple states and sites. Set crystal-clear expectations and drive accountability at every level.
Lead from the Front: Act as a hands-on technical leader. You must be highly capable and willing to jump in and perform any task that is asked of your technicians, leading by example with deep technical competence.
Drive Aviation-Grade Standards: Hold yourself and your entire team to the absolute highest standard, representative of rigorous aircraft maintenance. Instill a culture of safety, precision, and unwavering quality without sacrificing speed and agility.
Safeguard Commercial Success: Drive the team to proactively catch, escalate, and help resolve various technical and systematic challenges before they move downstream. Your success is directly determined by preventing process and quality gaps from making it to the commercial organization. Doing this will be dependent on you and every member of your team understanding deeply the operating reality of the product outside of the test environment.
Collaborate Cross-Functionally: Work seamlessly across Engineering, Quality, Operations, and Commercial teams with the utmost professionalism, bridging the gap between testing phases and real-world commercial deployment. You will partner with, and hold accountable, these teams to ensure success is earned.
Lead with Humility: Foster a humble, ego-free team culture centered on continuous improvement, active listening, and dedicated support for your technicians on the ground.

Requirements

Extensive Industry Experience: 10-15+ years of progressive technical experience in aviation maintenance, test engineering, hardware operations, or aerospace manufacturing.
Senior Leadership & Scale: 5-8+ years of direct people management experience. You have a proven track record of designing organizational structures and scaling distributed teams of technicians across multiple states and sites.
Hands-on Technical Prowess: You possess the technical depth to troubleshoot and execute maintenance tasks firsthand. An Airframe & Powerplant (A&P) license, equivalent military aviation experience, or an aerospace engineering degree combined with hands-on mechanical experience is highly preferred.
Process & Quality Obsession: Deep expertise in root cause analysis, defect containment, and process engineering. You have a history of building systems that definitively prevent downstream operational escapes.
Cross-Functional Professionalism: Exceptional communication skills with the ability to navigate complex organizational dynamics, build consensus, and interface professionally with both highly technical engineering teams and commercial leaders.
Humble Mindset: An ego-free approach to leadership. You are as comfortable turning a wrench on the shop floor as you are presenting strategic organizational plans to the executive team.