Construction Innovation Engineer

About Zipline

Zipline is the world’s largest and most experienced drone delivery service. We deliver critical supplies quickly and reliably, serving all humans equally by ensuring access to food, medicine, and essential goods.

About This Role

This role is responsible for improving how we design and execute construction by identifying risks early and developing better ways to build. The Construction Innovation Manager operates across projects, evaluates upcoming and active projects, develops and implements improvements to construction methods and processes, and supports construction and deployment teams.

What You’ll Do

• Review upcoming and active projects to identify:
  • Execution risks
  • Schedule constraints
  • Cost drivers
• Develop and implement improvements to construction methods and processes
• Evaluate standard industry practices and determine:
  • When they should be applied
  • When they should be adapted or replaced
• Support construction and deployment teams with:
  • Constructability feedback
  • Sequencing and scheduling improvements
• Lead targeted efforts to:
  • Recover slipping schedules
  • Reduce cost
  • Resolve complex field issues
• Step into projects as needed to:
  • Remove blockers
  • Re-align execution plans
  • Drive progress
  • Identify opportunities for:
  • Standardization
  • Prefabrication
  • Improved vendor strategies
  • Tooling to improve construction quality & placement accuracy for Zipline hardware
  • Capture and implement lessons learned across projects
• Understand our internal and external customer’s business and needs and work with our internal engineering and business teams to refine and roadmap necessary changes to ensure the successful deployment of the Ground Systems infrastructure.
• Source and develop relationships with outside organizations (local jurisdiction, utilities, contractors, OEM and material suppliers etc).
• Evaluate all options and a lean budget, select best vendors to ensure reliable and quality services and products.
• Understand and mitigate the preconstruction, construction, operational and sustaining risks associated with each project.
• Interact directly with internal and external partners and stakeholders as needed.

What You’ll Bring

• 6–10+ years of experience in construction management or infrastructure delivery
• A strong understanding of construction across multiple trades (civil, structural, electrical, site work)
• The ability to evaluate and improve construction methods and execution strategies
• A track record of solving ambiguous, high-impact problems
• Experience supporting both: Planning and design phases, Field execution
• A willingness to take ownership of urgent or high-priority issues
• Excellent communications skills to drive internal alignment of requirements for projects based on business needs, provide leadership team with updates on scope, schedule and budgets, and drive external parties for the implementation of real estate projects.

What Else You Need To Know

Zipline is an equal opportunity employer and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws or our own sensibilities. We 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!