As an Engineering Director at Tesla, Joe Mardall led the development of a heat pump system that has been lauded as one of the most innovative new features of Model Y. Now Mardall has resigned his position at the California carmaker to become Head of Engineering at Zipline, a drone maker and aerial delivery service focused on the distribution of blood and other medical supplies.

In addition to the Model Y heat pump, Mardall developed several thermal and HVAC technologies that were used in Tesla’s Model X and Model 3. Several of the company’s patents bear his name.

Zipline uses battery-powered drones to deliver medical supplies, especially commodities with short shelf lives such as blood products and vaccines. The company aims to improve health outcomes in developing countries where delivering vital supplies by road is problematic.

According to security marketplace Forge (via CNBC), Zipline is in the process of raising a Series E round of funding, and the company is valued at around $2 billion.

″After 10 wonderful years at Tesla, I’m super-excited to start my next chapter as Head of Engineering at Zipline, working with a team of talented and committed engineers to provide every human on Earth with instant access to vital medical supplies,” Mardall wrote on LinkedIn. “We are hiring for all roles across engineering and I would love to hear from you—come fly with me!”

Source: CNBC