Nest Lead (Distribution Center Lead)

About Zipline

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 4 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  

The Nest (Distribution Center) is the heart of Zipline’s operation. As the Nest Lead, you will be responsible for driving end-to-end execution and operational excellence in Distribution Center Operations  while influencing cross-functional priorities and future growth. You’ll own operational performance, impact optimization of Zipline’s unit economics, and ensure that the nest is a model of scalable, efficient, and high-quality service delivery across the continent. You will be responsible for driving service utilization and supply integration that grows demand for your business unit.

This is a high-impact role for a strong people leader and systems thinker who thrives in complex environments and is passionate about building teams, processes, and infrastructure for long-term success.

Locations 

Cote d’Ivoire - various upcountry locations

Contract Type 

1 year fixed term contract.

What You'll Do

1. Team Leadership & Development:

• Be the single point of accountability for cross-functional collaboration within your operations team.

• Lead, coach, inspire and drive a performance culture across a diverse team of facilities, fulfillment, flight and call center operations (where applicable), through clear goal setting  and real-time feedback.

• Nurture leaders across the nest through structured training, coaching, and performance management.

• Support recruitment, onboarding, and training of new team members to maintain a high-performance, cross-functional team.

• Oversee shift planning, staff scheduling, and resource allocation to ensure adequate coverage across all functional areas.

• Proactively design and support strategies to retain high performers (recognition programs, growth plans)

2. Nest Operational Strategy & Execution:

• Translate national strategy into a roadmap for nest operations, aligned with company goals around customer success, reliability, cost and scale.

• Lead multi-function operations in fulfillment, facilities, flight  and call center (where applicable) operations, ensuring alignment with global best practices, quality standards, safety requirements and customer feedback.

• Forecast operational needs and build capacity (demand, people, systems, infrastructure, inventory) to meet demand growth and evolving customer requirements.

• Risk identification & contingency planning: Develop risk matrices for nest operations and implement mitigation strategies.

3. Operational Performance & Optimization:

• Monitor operational KPIs in real time, responding swiftly to deviations and bottlenecks.

• Own and continuously improve key nest metrics: leverage data to identify performance trends, surface inefficiencies, and implement corrective and preventative actions.

• Drive operational rigor and compliance through SOP adherence, standard work, and process control while adapting systems to local realities.

• Pilot and implement new systems, tools, or workflows that drive scalability at nests.

• Maintain high operational availability of the physical site and equipment by overseeing basic facilities management, including cleanliness, power systems, water supply, workspaces, and safety infrastructure.

• Implement strategies to optimize space utilization, reduce waste, and improve storage efficiency.

• Continuous improvement culture: Empower frontline teams to birth innovative ideas and improvement across nest systems, processes targeted towards customer satisfaction

4. Financial ownership - COGs and OPEX:

• Take ownership of nest-level Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) and Operating Expenses (OPEX).

• Make informed, data-backed decisions around spending in collaboration with procurement, facilities, and inventory management teams.

• Identify cost-saving opportunities across processes, procurement, utilities, and logistics while protecting operational performance.

• Lead cost control initiatives to contribute to a sustainable, healthy nest  P&L and global efficiency efforts.

5. Cross-functional Partnership & Change Leadership:

• Collaborate closely with Customer Experience, Engineering, Product, Safety, and Quality teams to enable end-to-end operational efficiency.

• Play a key role in scaling new initiatives (e.g., new use cases, automation pilots, expansion projects) and driving operational readiness.

• Serve as a key contributor to country-wide business reviews and operational planning cycles.

• Change Management Execution: Train and coach teams through operational or technology changes with clear communication 

What Success looks Like

• The Nest operates with customer obsession, reliability, and autonomy, and proactive problem solving.

• Shift teams operate with clarity, consistency, and ownership.

• The entire team is empowered and accountable: operators take initiative, solve problems at the frontline, and contribute actively to continuous improvement.

• Resources are optimized for maximum output.

What You'll Bring 

• A strategic operator with 5-10 years of experience in supply chain, fulfillment, logistics, or operations leadership. 

• Operations architect: Proven track record of scaling operations, leading large teams, and delivering measurable improvements in cost, quality, and service.

• Systems-oriented: You think about long-term sustainability, not just quick fixes.

• Mission-driven: You care about customers & transforming systems to improve lives.

• Seasoned People Leader: You have high emotional intelligence, coaching skills, and performance management experience with large, diverse team.

• Data-Driven Strategist: You are a strong analytical thinker with the ability to make data-informed decisions and influence strategy.

• Stakeholder Connector: Skilled at navigating large forums, engaging with government partners, and leading on the operations floor, you build strategic trust and enable alignment across cross-functional teams and key external stakeholders.

• Bilingual: You are fluent in both French and English.

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!

Please Note

We have received reports stating that certain individuals are reaching out to people under false pretenses, claiming to be Zipline employees, affiliates, agents, or representatives. They may seek to gain access to your personal information or to acquire money from you by offering fictitious employment opportunities or by claiming that they are contacting you on Zipline’s behalf.

Genuine Zipline employees or representatives will never ask you for money or payment in exchange for employment opportunities or other related services. Any such offer of employment or any other service in exchange for fees that claims to be from us is deceitful and part of a fraud.

If you believe you have been targeted by a fraudulent party, we ask that you immediately get in touch with us via email at [email protected] upon receiving a suspicious offer or claim.