With a career spanning commercial aviation, e-commerce technology, and commercial UAS, Mr. Jon Hanlon brings a unique perspective on the opportunities and challenges presented by emerging technologies. As a mechanic (Airframe & Powerplant), pilot (Single-Engine Land/Sea), programmer, technical program manager, and team builder; Jon’s current efforts include managing Zipline’s Part 135 CAMP, and ongoing efforts to expand operations in the United States.
A graduate of Purdue University, Jon was part of a research team focused on operational human factors and safety. This foundation has greatly influenced his leadership approach, blending data-driven methods with a human-factors awareness. Joining Alaska Airlines after graduation, Jon held several positions in the Operations and the Maintenance & Engineering organizations. In these roles, he focused on employing Lean/Six Sigma methods to drive improvement initiatives across the enterprise.
Leveraging his technical skills, Jon successfully transitioned to Technical Program Management at Amazon, working in the e-Commerce Platform Technologies division where he led multiple successful programs to deliver new customer features and platform capabilities. When Amazon launched its UAS initiative, Jon joined the team several months later and ultimately became the first US-based flight test engineer during which time he worked on the prototype testing efforts and conducted field operations in the US, UK, and Canada. This included being the first person to act as RPIC for the Amazon system in the US. As the program continued to grow, Jon established the first software/hardware test & release process and ultimately built the Maintenance & Airworthiness team and supporting capabilities (configuration control, training, technical publications, and record keeping).
Since joining Zipline International in March 2020, Jon has built the foundations of the commercial Maintenance & Airworthiness program and continues to engage on certification efforts that include: 44807 exemption, Type Certification, Production Certification and Air Carrier certificate management.
