Mechanical Engineer • Former Employee
Pros: Catered Lunch Passionate people Interesting tech "Altruistic" mission
Cons: 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.