Regulatory Permitting Specialist
About Rainmaker
Rainmaker is pioneering a modern cloud seeding system to address water scarcity and inclement weather challenges worldwide. We develop and integrate radar validation, weather-resistant UAS, numerical weather modeling, and sustainable seeding agents into an effective precipitation enhancement solution.
Rainmaker is building something that hasn't existed before. If you're the kind of person who gets energized by hard problems, new territory, and the opportunity to lead programs that have real impact on water resources, we want to hear from you.
About the Role
The Department of Regulatory & Compliance is hiring a Regulatory Permitting Specialist to own the state and local regulatory pathway for Rainmaker's domestic cloud seeding programs.
The Regulatory Permitting Specialist plays a critical role at Rainmaker, scoping the full set of regulatory requirements imposed by state permitting authorities, state environmental agencies, and local jurisdictions for each program, and then driving the completion of every requirement to closure before operations begin. This person will work closely with the Program Management team to align regulatory timelines with operational start dates, and with the Director of Regulatory & Compliance to ensure every domestic program is authorized, licensed, and reporting-ready on day one. This is a role for someone who thrives in fragmented regulatory environments, can hold dozens of concurrent requirements in their head across multiple states, and treats a missed permit deadline as a fundamentally unacceptable outcome.
Mission
The Regulatory Permitting Specialist exists to ensure Rainmaker's domestic operations are never gated by missing state or local authority. Embedded in the regulatory communities that govern precipitation enhancement across the western United States, this person builds durable relationships with state permitting boards, water resource agencies, and state environmental regulators, and translates the differing requirements of each jurisdiction into a clear, executable path to operational authorization. In doing so, they are expected to continuously challenge and improve how Rainmaker scopes, documents, and delivers state regulatory submissions, building a reusable foundation of templates, playbooks, and stakeholder relationships that scales with the company's growth into new states.
Responsibilities
Regulatory Scoping & Planning
Scope the complete set of state and local regulatory requirements for each new program, including precipitation enhancement permits, operator licensing, state environmental and air quality approvals, water resource agency coordination, and any applicable local permits
Develop and maintain a state-by-state regulatory playbook that captures requirements, lead times, agency points of contact, and submission templates for every jurisdiction where Rainmaker operates or intends to operate
Partner with Program Management to align regulatory timelines with contracted operational start dates and flag risks to those dates early
Permitting, Licensing & Environmental Approvals
Draft, submit, and shepherd state weather modification permits and operator license applications across all relevant jurisdictions
Manage state-level environmental approvals, including state EPA-equivalent agency reviews, air quality determinations, and any state environmental review processes (e.g., CEQA in California, similar state-level NEPA equivalents)
Coordinate with state water boards, water resource departments, and atmospheric resources agencies as required by each state's program
Respond to agency requests for information, prepare amendments, and manage the full lifecycle of each authorization through issuance
Compliance & Reporting
Own NOAA Form 17-4 reporting under 15 CFR Part 908, including initial activity reports, interim reports, and final post-campaign reports
Prepare and submit all state seasonal reports, post-operations summaries, and compliance documentation required by issued permits and licenses
Maintain the master compliance calendar for all domestic state and local obligations, ensuring on-time submission of every required filing
Maintain authorization records, renewal schedules, and the audit trail required to demonstrate compliance to any regulator on request
Program Coordination & Continuous Improvement
Serve as the regulatory point of contact for Program Managers throughout the operational season, providing rapid guidance on permit conditions, reporting obligations, and any in-season regulatory issues that arise
Capture lessons learned from each program and feed them back into the state-by-state playbook, submission templates, and internal publications
Support Business Development and Government Affairs in evaluating regulatory feasibility and timeline for prospective new programs in new states or counties
Qualifications
Required
Demonstrated experience preparing and shepherding regulatory submissions through a state government permitting process - environmental, water resources, air quality, precipitation enhancement, or directly analogous
Strong technical writing skills, with the ability to translate operational and technical realities into clear, persuasive regulatory submissions
Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to build trust with state agency staff, internal program teams, and external stakeholders
Self-directed and comfortable operating with minimal guidance in fragmented regulatory environments
Willingness to travel domestically for agency meetings, public hearings, and on-site program coordination as required
Preferred
Direct experience with state weather modification permitting, operator licensing, or analogous state environmental permitting programs
Background in state government, state environmental agencies, state water resources, or a state regulatory affairs role at a regulated operator
Familiarity with state-level environmental review frameworks (CEQA, SEPA, or other state NEPA equivalents)
Bachelor's degree in a relevant field (e.g., environmental policy, public administration, environmental science, water resources, atmospheric science, or related discipline); advanced degree or paralegal certification a plus
Experience with regulatory document and records management systems
Existing relationships with state permitting boards, water resource agencies, or state environmental regulators in the western United States
Rainmaker participates in E-Verify. To learn more, including your rights and responsibilities, please visit E-Verify.gov.
Rainmaker is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with Rainmaker is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.
No recruiting agencies.