About You and The Role

Zipline’s long-range autonomous drone system is already delivering millions of medical products across Africa, and as we scale, we’re establishing new distribution centers – the backbone of our operation. Each launch is a complex, multi-stakeholder effort requiring rigorous project management, cross-functional coordination, and hands-on leadership at the country level. We’re looking for a Deployments Project Manager to own local planning and execution of these rollouts. You’ll lead everything from site acquisition and permitting to construction, vendor management, and operational handover, coordinating across internal and external stakeholders to deliver sites that meet Zipline’s technical, safety, and performance standards. This is a highly visible role for a resourceful, technically savvy project manager who is eager to shape Zipline’s growing footprint and deliver lasting impact.

What You’ll Do

• Lead local deployment planning and execution for new distribution centers, owning the project end-to-end from site selection through operational launch.
• Work with real estate vendors and local authorities to identify and secure sites that meet Zipline’s technical and business criteria.
• Partner with Procurement and Engineering to identify, qualify, and select contractors and vendors through rigorous evaluation processes.
• Oversee site preparation and buildout, including workforce mobilization, civil works, hardware installation, and operational readiness, ensuring all timelines and quality benchmarks are met.
• Coordinate with Engineering, Supply Chain and Logistics to ensure timely delivery of materials and equipment to the site.
• Own and manage the project budget, tracking expenditures, anticipating risks, and ensuring efficient use of resources.
• Track KPIs and report progress weekly to country and Africa leadership, highlighting successes, risks, and mitigation strategies.
• Capture lessons learned and contribute process improvements to Zipline’s global deployment playbook to accelerate future rollouts.

What You’ll Bring

• A background in construction project management, civil works, engineering, or operations program management.
• At least 5 years of relevant experience leading complex, multi-stakeholder projects with significant technical and operational components.
• Demonstrated ability to plan and execute projects under tight timelines and budgets.
• Experience managing contractors, suppliers, and vendors, including technical evaluation and quality assurance.
• Proven track record of leading cross-functional teams and influencing stakeholders across different functions, levels, and geographies.
• Strong organizational and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to report clearly and confidently to leadership.
• Grit, adaptability, and resilience to thrive in uncertain, constantly changing conditions

This role will be based in-country with extensive on-site presence required throughout the deployment period. Must be eligible to work in-country and commit to travel and frequent field-based work.

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, ancestry, national origin, religion or religious creed, mental or physical disability, medical condition, genetic information, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, marital status, military or veteran status, citizenship, or other characteristics protected by state, federal or local law or our other policies.

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!

About You and The Role

The Operations Excellence Manager plays a critical role in enhancing the efficiency, quality, and safety of Zipline’s operations. In this role, you will build and scale the quality, safety, and operational governance systems that enable country teams to run high-performing, compliant operations with strong local ownership. You’ll evolve the tools, standards, documentation, and training that drive consistent performance across operational sites, strengthen audit and incident management processes, and lead continuous improvement initiatives across the network. This role requires strong systems thinking and a scalability mindset. Reporting to the Country Head of Product, you’ll work closely with Nest Leads, Compliance Officers, Zipline Academy, and Engineering and Regulatory teams to raise operational standards while empowering country teams to execute locally.

What You’ll Do

Quality & Safety Governance Systems

• Design, maintain, and evolve Zipline’s global quality, safety, and compliance systems, including playbooks, manuals, and tools, to ensure consistent, compliant, and high-performing operations.
• Partner with internal stakeholders to establish and maintain governance structures, documentation standards, and oversight tools that enable nests to own execution.
• Define and track country-level quality and safety objectives, KPIs, and performance metrics in collaboration with leadership, driving accountability and data-driven improvement.
• Develop and oversee audit frameworks and tools that enable nests to self-assess compliance, while leading or supporting regulatory, safety, and customer audits, incident investigations, and root cause analyses.
• Collaborate closely with nest compliance teams to ensure consistent execution of global and regional standards.

Continuous Improvement, Scalability & Documentation

• Partner with Country Heads of Product and Nest Leads to refine SOPs, technical documentation, and workflows for greater efficiency and scalability.
• Work with the Excellence & Insights team to design metrics, dashboards, and oversight tools that enable Zipline to monitor and improve quality at scale.
• Identify opportunities to automate, standardize, or streamline processes so that quality improves as the business grows, without requiring more manual oversight.
  
  

Training & Capability Enablement

• Partner with Zipline Academy to develop and deliver scalable training programs on safety, and quality compliance best practices that ensures ownership at the nest level.
• Drive adoption of new standards, processes, and tools through effective change management and coaching.
• Ensure knowledge transfer, documentation, and tools are designed for replicability across new sites and markets.

What You’ll Bring

• 4+ years of experience in operations excellence, quality, or safety systems within a regulated industry (aviation, logistics, healthcare, or manufacturing). 
• Experience leading continuous improvement or operational excellence programs.
• Proven ability to design systems, tools, or processes that improve quality and safety.
• Strong project management, communication, and stakeholder engagement skills.
• Highly proactive in identifying potential risks or gaps before they escalate, and confident in flagging them to leadership with actionable solutions.
• Mission-driven, adaptable, and energized by solving complex operational challenges.
• Certifications in Lean Six Sigma, Operational Excellence, or ISO standards are a plus.

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, ancestry, national origin, religion or religious creed, mental or physical disability, medical condition, genetic information, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, marital status, military or veteran status, citizenship, or other characteristics protected by state, federal or local law or our other policies.

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!