Senior Software Engineer – Rust Language Maintainer

Zipline is the world’s largest and most experienced autonomous delivery service, founded to serve all humans equally by ensuring access to 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 including blood, vaccines, medical supplies, food, and commercial products. Our customers include healthcare systems, governments, retailers, and global brands who rely on us to save lives, reduce emissions, increase economic opportunity, and provide new logistics services at scale.

Our technology goes beyond drones. We deploy integrated logistics infrastructure that strengthens supply chains, reduces congestion, and enables instant delivery, transforming how essential goods reach people everywhere. 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. 

About You and The Role 

Zipline’s software team delivers safety-critical software at lightning speed. A small team of engineers builds the tooling and standards that enable development to run like a well-oiled machine. In this role, you will work closely with engineers across autonomy, firmware, flight software, avionics, and simulation. You’ll be on the front lines—pairing with other software engineers daily, developing coding guidelines and standards, and ensuring they are applied consistently across our development workflow.

At times your work will be high-level, shaping strategic technical direction or identifying the right tools and standards to adopt. At other times, you’ll be deep in the codebase—writing and maintaining safety-critical Rust and C++ code, debugging challenging issues, and improving execution environments. Above all, you’ll be a trusted partner to other engineers, improving their experience while raising the bar on safety and quality.

What You'll Do  

• Pair daily with other software engineers to improve workflows and enforce coding guidelines
• Own and evolve Zipline’s coding standards and development practices
• Form and lead a Rust Language steering group
• Write and maintain safety-critical Rust and C++ code
• Drive improvements to CI/CD, build, and testing pipelines to keep development flowing smoothly
• Collaborate with engineers across the org to deliver safe, reliable, and fast development workflows

What You'll Bring 

• 8+ years of experience in a software development role at engineering-led companies
• Deep experience writing and maintaining safety-critical Rust or C++ code
• Strong understanding of embedded execution environments (e.g., Nvidia Orin/Thor)
• Excitement about having other engineers as your customer: you thrive on pairing, collaborating, and helping others succeed
• Ability to develop and enforce coding guidelines and standards across diverse teams
• A customer-centric mindset with the ability to embed quickly and work side-by-side with engineers

What Else You Need to Know