--- title: 'IT / DevSecOps Engineer Contractor at Rain' canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/it-devsecops-engineer-contractor-rain-alameda-yn505d9jny8b' type: 'job' last_seen: '2026-09-12' --- # IT / DevSecOps Engineer Contractor at Rain - **Company:** Rain - **Location:** Alameda, CA - **Employment:** contract - **Work type:** hybrid - **Posted:** 2026-05-21 - **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-12 - **Apply:** https://jobs.gem.com/rain-aero/am9icG9zdDquMZQPwjN_GXOZ4AUj4EEj ## Job description Rain is looking for a motivated, hands-on early-career or student engineer to help build and support the internal infrastructure that powers our development and operations. This is a part-time, year-round contract role designed for someone who wants real ownership, exposure to production systems, and the chance to grow across software, infrastructure, and security. You’ll work across a mix of developer tooling, infrastructure, networking, and security—helping ensure our systems are reliable, scalable, and secure while improving the day-to-day experience of the engineering team. This role is ideal for someone who enjoys figuring things out, automating repetitive work, and getting systems to run cleanly and predictably. ## What You’ll Work On - Improve and maintain developer tooling and build systems (CI/CD pipelines, build automation, dependency management) - Package and deploy software for testing, simulation, and internal use - Support and evolve internal infrastructure including servers, virtualization environments, and storage systems - Help manage networking and security infrastructure (VPNs, firewalls, switching, routing) - Contribute to infrastructure-as-code and reproducible system deployments - Assist with endpoint and device management systems - Help maintain security posture and support compliance efforts (e.g., NIST 800-171, CMMC) - Troubleshoot and resolve day-to-day IT and infrastructure issues ## What We’re Looking For Approximately 16–20 hours per week during the academic year, with some flexibility based on workload and availability Currently enrolled student or recent graduate in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, IT, or related field Solid understanding of fundamental concepts in: - -   Linux systems and basic system administration - Networking (TCP/IP, routing, DNS, VPNs) - Software development workflows (Git, builds, debugging) - Comfort working in a command-line environment - Interest in infrastructure, automation, and security - We value hands-on experience (home labs, side projects, open source) far more than prior exposure to any specific tools or technologies - Ability to learn quickly and work independently with minimal supervision - Strong problem-solving mindset and attention to detail ## Nice to Have (Not Required) - Experience with CI/CD systems, build tools, or packaging systems - Familiarity with virtualization or containerization - Exposure to infrastructure-as-code or configuration management tools - Basic understanding of security principles and best practices - Experience with home labs, personal projects, or tinkering with systems Work Environment - Primarily remote - Approximately 5 hours per week onsite for hands-on infrastructure work ## Requirements - Must be a U.S. Person (U.S. Citizen or Permanent Resident) - Must be able to pass a background check ## Why This Role This is not a ticket-queue IT role. You’ll be working on real systems that matter, with opportunities to: - Create and improve infrastructure components - Learn modern DevSecOps practices in a practical environment - Build skills across software, systems, and security - Make a tangible impact on how engineers build and ship products If you’re curious, resourceful, and want to grow into a DevSecOps or infrastructure-focused engineering role, we’d love to hear from you. Legal Notice This role involves access to information governed by U.S. export control laws. To comply, applicants must qualify as a “U.S. Person” (U.S. Citizen, lawful permanent resident, refugee, or asylee). Employment offers are contingent upon meeting these requirements ## About Rain ## Company Overview - **One-liner**: Rain builds autonomous wildfire intelligence and suppression systems for uncrewed aircraft to detect, perceive, and extinguish fires in their earliest stages. - **Entity Type**: Private (Early-stage startup) - **Headquarters**: Alameda, California, USA - **Founded**: 2019 - **Founders**: Bryan, Ephraim, Max (last names not publicly disclosed) ## Core Business - Primary industry: Autonomous systems, aerospace, wildfire management, climate tech - Target customers: B2G (government fire agencies), B2B (private firefighting operators), enterprise (aviation partners) - Mission: Provide autonomous technology for rapid wildfire response, protecting communities and firefighters by enabling aircraft to work safely in dangerous conditions, including at night and degraded visual environments. ## Products & Services - **Wildfire Mission Autonomy System**: An end-to-end autonomous intelligence platform that perceives a wildfire, understands its behavior (size, spread direction), develops an optimal suppression strategy, and commands uncrewed aircraft to execute water drops. Key capabilities include hotspot detection, perimeter control, and post-drop efficacy evaluation. - **Wildfire Perception System**: A sensor fusion and data processing system that transforms real-time visual, thermal, and geospatial data into actionable fire intelligence, enabling autonomous aircraft to see through smoke and darkness. - **Autonomous Suppression Aircraft Integration**: Retrofitting existing helicopter platforms (e.g., Black Hawk) with Rain’s autonomy stack, allowing them to operate without onboard pilots for suppression missions. ## Market Standing - **Valuation**: Not publicly disclosed (Series stage unknown) - **Funding**: Not publicly disclosed; operates as a small, funded startup backed by grants or private investors (exact details not available) - **Notable Investors/Partners**: - Sikorsky (a Lockheed Martin company) – demonstrated autonomous wildfire suppression technology together in California - Brothers Air Support – private Black Hawk firefighting operator; first integration of Rain’s perception system with a private firefighting aircraft - Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA) – participated in live-flight demonstrations - **Growth Signals**: - Successfully demonstrated world’s first fully autonomous wildfire detection and suppression (2019 MK1 prototype over ~40 acres) - Completed multi-aircraft coordinated operations with human-piloted helicopters in same Fire Traffic Area - Actively hiring across multiple engineering roles (autonomy, IT/DevSecOps, software engineering) - Focus on expanding prepositioned autonomous aircraft network in high-risk areas ## Competitive Advantages - **First-mover in autonomous wildfire suppression**: Only company combining real-time fire perception, mission planning, and autonomous aircraft control in a single integrated system - **Military-grade partnerships**: Relationship with Sikorsky/Lockheed Martin provides credibility, access to aircraft platforms, and deep aerospace expertise - **Proven real-world demonstrations**: Multiple successful flight tests showing autonomous takeoff, fire identification, and water drops in representative wildfire environments - **Firefighter-centered design**: Built by a team with direct firefighting experience; technology specifically addresses the needs and constraints of wildland fire operations - **Regulatory and safety focus**: Emphasis on DO-178C compliance, safety-critical software, and real-time performance under degraded environmental conditions ## Strategic Focus - **Scale autonomous aircraft networks**: Preposition numerous uncrewed aircraft throughout high-risk wildland-urban interfaces for rapid response (within critical first minutes of ignition) - **Expand partnerships**: Work with more fire agencies and private firefighting operators to integrate Rain’s technology into existing fleets - **Enable nighttime operations**: A key differentiator, as most aerial firefighting stops at dusk; Rain’s autonomy works in degraded visual environments - **Build cross-platform compatibility**: Ensure system works across different helicopter models (Black Hawk, other platforms) - **Continue validation testing**: Regular flight testing and simulation to refine autonomy in challenging real-world conditions ## Why Work Here - **Mission-driven culture**: Directly tackling the urgent problem of catastrophic wildfires, protecting lives and communities - **Small, nimble team**: Real ownership and immediate impact; employees work across the full stack and see results in the field - **Unique environment**: Office located in Alameda, CA (across bay from San Francisco), with a firehouse shop for personal projects, go-kart track in the back lot, and panoramic views of the Bay - **On-site role**: All engineering roles are on-site at Alameda; some travel for testing (approx 15% per year) - **Benefits**: 401(k), free lunch, great health insurance, ping pong table, unlimited/minimum time off policy - **Culture values**: Diversity & inclusion (explicitly stated), collaboration across small team, high autonomy and ownership, safety-critical engineering rigor - **Growth opportunity**: Early-stage company with significant technical challenges; hands-on work with cutting-edge autonomy, perception, and aerospace systems - **Satisfying work**: Engineers see their code deployed in real flight tests and actual firefighting missions ## Sources 1. [rain.aero – Careers page](https://www.rain.aero/careers) 2. [rain.aero – Main website](https://www.rain.aero/) 3. [rain.aero – About Us](https://www.rain.aero/about-us) 4. [rain.aero – Software Engineer, Autonomy job posting](https://www.rain.aero/software-engineer-autonomy) ## Other roles at Rain - [Software Engineer, Mission Simulation](https://feeny.ai/job/software-engineer-mission-simulation-rain-alameda-qrprgbpxnkdx) — Alameda, CA - [Software Engineer, Perception](https://feeny.ai/job/software-engineer-perception-rain-alameda-580aese7sgze) — Alameda, CA - [Software Engineer, Autonomy](https://feeny.ai/job/software-engineer-autonomy-rain-alameda-9zkhdv52s7ej) — Alameda, CA