Rainmaker Fellow, Atmospheric Instrumentation

Examples of the Work

Fellowship projects change with Rainmaker's instrument-development priorities. Examples of the work our instrumentation team may pursue include:

• Developing calibration and validation methods for an airborne cloud-particle imaging instrument.
• Creating controlled targets, fixtures, and acceptance tests for optical or particle-sensing systems.
• Characterizing measurement uncertainty and environmental sensitivity across laboratory, ground, and flight tests.
• Designing comparisons between Rainmaker instruments and trusted reference instrumentation.
• Prototyping a new optical, mechanical, electrical, data-acquisition, or atmospheric-sensing subsystem.

What You'll Do

• Translate a scientific measurement need into a scoped experimental or engineering plan with your mentor.
• Build, integrate, calibrate, or test hardware and analysis methods required by the assigned project.
• Create repeatable calibration procedures for the agreed instrument metrics.
• Characterize measurement uncertainty and sensitivity to environmental, mechanical, optical, electrical, or algorithmic factors.
• Build fixtures, test equipment, data-acquisition workflows, and analysis software needed for validation.
• Help design laboratory, ground, and flight comparisons against reference instrumentation.
• Connect physical instrument behavior to measurement and retrieval quality.
• Produce clear documentation, calibration records, acceptance criteria, and reusable analysis code.
• Deliver a final artifact such as a validated dataset, calibration system, instrument prototype, test method, uncertainty analysis, or technical report.

What We're Looking For

• Current undergraduate, master's, or PhD students; postdoctoral researchers; recent graduates; and other early-career researchers are all eligible.
• Background in optical engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, physics, atmospheric science, experimental science, or a related field.
• Strong hands-on experimental ability and willingness to build and troubleshoot hardware personally.
• Quantitative programming and data-analysis ability.
• Careful scientific judgment about calibration, uncertainty, repeatability, and validation.
• Ability to take responsibility for a bounded workstream while collaborating closely with instrumentation engineers and scientists.
• Availability for full-time, on-site work in El Segundo for the agreed appointment.

Particularly Relevant Experience

• Digital holography, microscopy, particle imaging, lasers, high-speed cameras, lidar, aerosol instruments, cloud probes, or optical metrology.
• Calibration fixtures, laboratory automation, uncertainty budgets, environmental testing, or acceptance testing.
• Scientific Python, image processing, signal processing, or data acquisition.
• Airborne, UAS-borne, field-deployed, or low-volume scientific instruments.

What Success Looks Like

By the end of the fellowship, you will have answered a clearly defined measurement or engineering question and delivered a documented result the instrumentation team can continue using. Depending on the project, that might be a calibrated prototype, validation dataset, test fixture, acceptance method, uncertainty analysis, or reusable analysis workflow.

Fellowship Details

• Paid, full-time, and on-site in El Segundo.
• Three-to-six-month appointment, with four months as the standard duration.
• Rolling applications and project-specific start dates.
• Attached directly to Rainmaker's instrumentation team with a named hands-on mentor.
• Possible consideration for future full-time roles, without any promise or expectation of conversion.
• Publication may be supported when it does not compromise Rainmaker intellectual property or operational know-how.

Compensation and Benefits

$8,000 per month

Benefits

• Full health coverage (medical, dental, and vision insurance)
• Lunch provided when working in-office and a fully stocked kitchenette
• Free EV charging at the HQ