Software Engineer, Navigation

Every wildfire starts small. Rain contains wildfires within 10 minutes of ignition using a network of autonomous drones permanently installed throughout high risk regions. We are fire sprinklers for the forest.

Rain is backed by the expertise of wildland fire professionals and the institutional and private capital of Silicon Valley leaders. We are solving our own problem.

As an engineer at Rain, you will work with a small group of tactical, multidisciplinary engineers with experience in robotics, UAS, data science and safety critical systems towards a singular mission: eliminating undesired wildfires on an aggressive timeline. As a Navigation Software Engineer, you will model, create, and test software that guides the Rain System through all stages of a wildfire response (coordinating safe takeoff, transit, suppression, and landing).

This position will begin with a 6 month term at our flight and test burn facility in Pendleton, Oregon before returning to our HQ in San Francisco Bay, California. Corporate housing is provided in Pendleton for those joining from the Bay Area. This position reports directly to our Chief Engineer of Autonomous Systems.

Responsibilities

• Architect, design and implement coordination software to safely dispatch, monitor, and control unmanned aerial vehicles and other elements of the Rain System
• Own the finite state machine that consists of vehicle and system states, safety checks, and transition rules
• Ensure safe flight and navigation around obstacles including power lines, trees, and other aircraft in environments that may have visual obstructions
• Support multi-vehicle cooperation on fire suppression missions
• Verify safety, correctness, and fault tolerance of the guidance and navigation system
• Evaluate and improve flight navigation performance through SIL, HIL, and real world flight tests

Basic Qualifications

• MS or equivalent experience in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or Aerospace Engineering
• 5+ years experience developing C++ software for high performance, realtime, or safety-critical systems with run-time assurances

Ideal Qualifications

• Track record of working in fast-paced environments shipping product
• Experience with aviation software certification (e.g. DO-178C)
• Experience coding according to safety-critical standards and guidelines (JSF++, MISRA, AUTOSAR, etc.)
• Familiarity with sense & avoid systems and airspace deconfliction techniques
• Experience developing geospatial navigation software
• Understanding of aerodynamics and aircraft flight dynamics
• Highly effective verbal and written communicator
• Detail oriented

We encourage you to apply even if you aren’t an exact match for an open role. We also highly encourage candidates with unconventional experiences or nontraditional backgrounds to apply.