Process
I applied online. The process took five days.
I interviewed for the position of Mechanical Engineer in February 2017. I applied for the position through their website and was contacted by the company's recruiter to schedule an interview. As another candidate has stated, the first call was less of a phone screen and more of a technical interview. Based on the description of the job on the website, I seemed like a verbatim match and was fairly confident of possessing the skill sets needed to fulfill all responsibilities. However, this is where I had a slightly negative experience.
I tailored my "tell me about your past experience" answer to the tasks and responsibilities outlined on the website, which unfortunately for me, had a few important pieces of information missing, and thus were not addressed by me during the interview. The interviewer did not ask me about the specific skill sets they were looking for and very likely assumed that I didn't possess that specific skill set, as I did not bring it up during the call. However, the overall experience was pleasant and professional. On a side note, I would suggest that the company include detailed descriptions for the positions instead of general blurbs.
Questions
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Interview Statistics
The following metrics were computed from 8 interview experiences for the Zipline Mechanical Engineer role.
Success Rate
Zipline's interview process for their Mechanical Engineer roles is very selective, failing most engineers who go through it.
Experience Rating
Candidates reported having very good feelings for Zipline's Mechanical Engineer interview process.
Zipline Work Experiences
- 5.0PositiveMechanical Engineer • Current EmployeeOctober 11, 2021Pros: Working with people that care a lot about what they do and being able to see and connect with your impact as an individual on a near daily basis is rewarding.Cons: They give big responsibilities to junior folks and have really tight development timelines. This can sometimes cause predictable program delays.
- 3.0Haste Makes WasteMechanical Engineer • Former EmployeeSouth San Francisco, CAJune 17, 2024Pros: - Compelling mission and concept for delivery. - Impressive talent to work alongside.Cons: - Overall culture is busy and stressed, not much to foster friendships - Running unnecessarily lean: very low tolerance to cut you - Toxic culture carried over by former Tesla, SpaceX, etc... - Frequent re-orgs and lots of first-time managers putting blame on you in stressful environment
- 1.0Dream job quickly turned nightmare. "Cult" like atmosphereMechanical Engineer • Former EmployeeApril 12, 2023Pros: Catered Lunch Passionate people Interesting tech "Altruistic" missionCons: Where to begin... Let's start with expectations. All employees are held under a intense scrutiny to perform. There is a timeline here at play, as Zipline is looking to turn a profit and that involves getting as many "Nests" up and running as they possibly can. This has led to completely unrealistic expectations on what can, and cannot be done. Upper management guns for anyone who sticks their head out, and problems aren't dealt with, rather they are squashed by getting rid of the one who speaks up. Verbal abuse is common, and it seems like the people who actually care, get defecated on even more. Morale is poor. It's turned into a labor camp of sorts where everyone is so burned out all the time. Another reviewer described it as "Engineering Puppy Mill", which is an apt description. Encouragement from defeated peers are repeated constantly such as "At least we're delivering life saving medicines in Africa". Which is true, and certainly worthy of appreciation but this has become problematic as it turns out the altruistic mission has just been a way for zipline to bootstrap itself into the commercial market, of delivering lattes, and lunches. This reflects on the leadership of the company as a whole, as being Machiavellian and conniving. These people are shrewd, cutthroat and intelligent. They have one goal and one goal only- Expansion. Backstabbing is common, and politics are rampant. It's an environment of survival of the fittest, and the competition is fierce. I'm not really sure what to make of it any more. All you can do is keep your head down; because if you rock the boat, you WILL be taken out.
