Head of Field Operations

About Zipline

Zipline is the world’s largest and most experienced drone delivery service. We are on a mission to serve all humans equally by ensuring access to food, medicine and 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 to date, including blood, vaccines, medical supplies, food, and retail products.

Our customers include the world’s largest and most prominent healthcare systems, governments, retailers, restaurants and global businesses who rely on us to save lives, reduce emissions, increase economic opportunity, and provide delivery from point A to point B as fast as possible. The drone is only 15% of what we’ve built to enable seamless, reliable, global operations.

Our system strengthens supply chains, reduces congestion, and gives people time back. 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. We are seeking people who sculpt from first principles, enjoy facing adversity, and can do the impossible at record breaking speeds.

About You and The Role

Zipline’s U.S. delivery network brings together autonomous aircraft, field infrastructure, and teams operating across multiple markets. Field Operations must deliver safe, reliable, and consistent service while building the leadership, capacity, and operating practices needed to grow.

As Head of Field Operations, you will own Zipline’s national Field Operations strategy and performance, while leading the organization through regional leaders. You will translate company priorities into operating plans, resource decisions, and standards that work across each/all the regions. You must be able to align leaders around a clear direction, develop strong teams, and stay close enough to the field to resolve the most consequential problems.

What You'll Do

- Hire and develop regional leaders; own organizational design, staffing, coverage, succession, and Field Operations budget planning, allocating resources against demand and growth priorities.

- Set national and regional targets for safety, reliability, delivery performance, and efficiency; lead performance reviews and hold regional leaders accountable for sustained results.

- Establish common safety practices, site routines, training expectations, escalation paths, and readiness standards with functional owners; ensure adoption and prompt action when conditions are unsafe.

- Sequence new sites and markets with Launch and Commercial teams, align staffing and operating readiness with site and technical dependencies, and establish clear handoffs into stable daily operations.

- Align Field Operations with Flight Operations, Customer Operations, Maintenance, Service Engineering, Launch, and partner teams; clarify decision rights and resolve ownership gaps while respecting functional safety and technical authority.

- Use site performance and field feedback to address recurring issues, simplify work, and improve consistency; prioritize corrective actions with functional owners and verify that improvements hold across regions.

- Hire and develop regional leaders; own organizational design, staffing, coverage, succession, and Field Operations budget planning, allocating resources against demand and growth priorities.

- Set national and regional targets for safety, reliability, delivery performance, and efficiency; lead performance reviews and hold regional leaders accountable for sustained results.

- Establish common safety practices, site routines, training expectations, escalation paths, and readiness standards with functional owners; ensure adoption and prompt action when conditions are unsafe.

- Sequence new sites and markets with Launch and Commercial teams, align staffing and operating readiness with site and technical dependencies, and establish clear handoffs into stable daily operations.

- Align Field Operations with Flight Operations, Customer Operations, Maintenance, Service Engineering, Launch, and partner teams; clarify decision rights and resolve ownership gaps while respecting functional safety and technical authority.

- Use site performance and field feedback to address recurring issues, simplify work, and improve consistency; prioritize corrective actions with functional owners and verify that improvements hold across regions.

What You'll Bring

- 10+ years experience leading operations across multiple regions and sites in logistics, delivery, transportation, retail, aviation, or another complex service environment.

- Experience leading senior managers or regional leaders, developing successors, and building accountability through multiple management layers.

- Judgment balancing safety, service reliability, growth, and cost, including during disruptions and decisions under pressure.

- Strong workforce and financial planning skills, including headcount, operating budgets, capacity, and resource allocation.

- Experience establishing operating standards and helping distributed teams adopt new tools and ways of working.

- The ability to connect technical capabilities with daily operations, coordinate complex programs across functions, and turn field insight into lasting improvements.

- Willingness to travel frequently across U.S. regions and work directly with frontline teams, particularly during launches and major operating issues.

What Else You Need To Know

The starting cash range for this role is $200,000 - $250,000. 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, working location, and projected impact. The total compensation package for this role may also include: equity compensation; overtime pay; discretionary annual or performance bonuses; sales incentives; benefits such as medical, dental and vision insurance; paid time off; 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!
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As set forth in Zipline ’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.