Embedded Software Engineer

Make it rain. Make Snow. Make Earth Habitable.

Rainmaker builds and deploys audacious technologies that work with nature to create an abundant, habitable planet. We are modernizing proven cloud-seeding science with weather-resistant UAS, radar and satellite observations, numerical weather prediction, novel sensing and validation systems, and sustainable seeding technologies. We are building an integrated system to make more freshwater available to farms, ecosystems, and communities.

Our ambition is bold, but we pursue it with humility. We take on difficult problems in the real world with technical rigor, grit, integrity, and an openness to learning and course-correcting. We are hiring individuals with evidence of exceptional ability. If you want to build systems that endure, restore, and deliver the future we were promised, we want to hear from you.

You will own embedded firmware across Rainmaker’s vehicle and its integration with our onboard and ground control software systems. Your scope includes flight-controller firmware, power distribution, sensor and payload controllers, and the interfaces connecting those systems to onboard Linux software. You will take work from architecture and board bring-up through testing, manufacturing, deployment, and support in the field. We’re looking for a high-agency engineer who identifies what needs to happen, turns incomplete requirements into a clear plan, and follows through until the hardware works reliably in real operating conditions.

This is a hands‑on technical ownership role with the autonomy to shape the firmware architecture and the responsibility to deliver it.

• Own the architecture, implementation, and maintenance of all embedded firmware across the vehicle, including flight-controller firmware, power distribution, sensors, and seeding payloads.

• Set firmware priorities, identify reliability risks and technical gaps, and drive projects from an ambiguous problem to a validated release.

• Bring up new boards with electrical engineers: read schematics, validate interfaces, write drivers, and debug failures at the boundary between hardware and software.

• Develop dependable device communication and command handling over CAN, UART, SPI, and I2C, with clear contracts for telemetry, timing, and fault behavior.

• Integrate firmware with our vehicle software so commands, device state, and telemetry behave consistently from the microcontroller to the operator.

• Design and validate safe startup states, watchdogs, interlocks, and recovery behavior for resets, communication loss, sensor faults, and interrupted updates.

• Own firmware builds, versioning, flashing, over-the-air updates, and recovery workflows so deployed vehicles run known, traceable software.

• Build automated tests, simulation, and hardware‑in‑the‑loop coverage that catch regressions and exercise failure modes before releases reach the fleet.

• Partner with manufacturing and flight operations to make provisioning, calibration, diagnostics, and servicing repeatable and practical.

• Investigate bench and field failures using logs, telemetry, and lab instruments; resolve root causes and turn what you learn into better software and tests.

• 3+ years of hands‑on experience developing embedded software or firmware for microcontroller‑based systems, including board bring‑up, hardware integration, and deployment into production or field use.

• Demonstrated ownership of an embedded subsystem from design through release and ongoing support, including making technical decisions independently, validating behavior on hardware, and resolving failures in real operating conditions.

• Strong systems programming skills in Rust and/or C/C++, with the ability and willingness to work…