Build Engineer Intern (Spring 2026)

About Zipline

Zipline is on a mission to transform the way goods move. Our aim is to solve the world’s most urgent and complex access challenges by building the first instant logistics system that serves all humans equally. Leveraging expertise in robotics and autonomy, Zipline designs, builds, and operates a fleet of cutting edge, autonomous delivery drones. We serve tens of millions of people around the world.

Joining Zipline’s Emerging Talent program as an intern is an opportunity to contribute to our promise of building a system that provides equitable access to critical healthcare supplies for millions of people. We believe that internships are more than just opportunities to learn by watching or doing low level tasks. We expect our interns to take on meaningful work that actively contributes to moving Zipline’s mission forward, while learning real-world skills that will serve them in their careers for the long term. 

Join us, and build the future of logistics with the best humans around!

About The Developer Productivity  Team

The Developer Productivity team at Zipline empowers our engineers to build safe and reliable software faster. We design and maintain the internal tools, pipelines, and workflows that enable our autonomy, firmware, avionics, and flight software teams to innovate at scale. From improving the performance of our CI/CD system to making code reviews smoother, we create the foundation that lets Zipline engineers focus on building world-class delivery drones. Our work directly impacts the speed, reliability, and safety of the systems that power Zipline’s mission to transform logistics and save lives.

The Role

As a Developer Productivity Intern, you’ll help build the systems and tools that keep our engineering teams moving quickly and safely. You’ll work on projects that improve how engineers write, test, and deploy their code—directly impacting the quality and reliability of our autonomous aircraft. Along the way, you’ll get exposure to a wide variety of engineering domains at Zipline and collaborate with experienced mentors who are excited to share their expertise. This role is a unique opportunity to learn about developer experience, cloud systems, and drone technology all at once.

What You'Ll Do

• Contribute to maintaining and improving our CI/CD pipelines.
• Build internal tools (such as dashboards or bots) that make our engineers’ lives easier.
• Work with experienced engineers to define and deliver features that improve developer workflows.
• Help improve the speed and reliability of automated testing and builds.
• Participate in real-world debugging, gaining insight into how large engineering systems operate.
• Learn how infrastructure investments directly support autonomous aircraft development.

What You'Ll Bring

• Current enrollment in a BS, MS, or PhD program in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or a related field.
• Strong programming experience in at least one language (Rust, Python, Go, C++, or similar).
• Familiarity with software development tools (bazel, git, CI/CD systems, build tools, etc.).
• A problem-solving mindset, with curiosity to understand how systems work end-to-end.
• Strong communication skills and eagerness to collaborate with engineers across disciplines.
• Ability to work full-time onsite during the internship season.

What Else You Should Know

Our internships are full-time positions, in-person at our South San Francisco or Dallas office. We will host our Spring 2026 interns from January to April. 

The starting cash range for this internship is $40 - 44/ hour. 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, and working location. The total compensation package for each role may also include: a housing stipend; overtime pay; relocation support; paid sick time; and more. 

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!

Zipline is also committed to providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities. Please let your point of contact at Zipline know if you require any accommodations throughout your interview process.