# Director of Science Policy at Rainmaker

- Company: Rainmaker
- What the company does: Backed by Antler.
- Company website: https://www.rainmaker.co.id/
- Type: Startups (AI role)
- Level: Principal and up
- Location: Washington D.C.
- Work setup: On-site
- Posted: 2026-09-24
- Apply by: 2026-11-08
- Apply: https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/rainmaker/502bfba5-9ac1-4dc5-8e27-e40a40c5efe8
- Page: https://www.1752.vc/careers/jobs/rainmaker-director-of-science-policy/

## About the role

Federal Science Agency Engagement: Own Rainmaker’s relationships across the federal research enterprise. Build durable relationships with program managers, division directors, and lab leadership, and understand where funding decisions actually get made.

## What they're looking for

- Advanced degree in atmospheric science, physics, engineering, or a related field required with a preference to someone with a PhD
- Working knowledge of how federal research gets funded: how solicitations are written and reviewed, how merit review actually works, and where a proposal lives between submission and award
- Genuine scientific fluency. You should be able to read a paper in atmospheric science, follow the argument, ask a useful question about the methods, and represent our research accurately in a room where no one from the Research Team is present
- Track record of building and winning competitive federal research proposals, including familiarity with the mechanics of grants, cooperative agreements, subawards, and cost-share
- Command of the science policy landscape, especially the authorization and appropriations cycles that drive agency research budgets, the interagency coordination bodies, and the advisory committee processes that shape agency priorities
- Current relationships across the federal science agencies, the Congressional science committees, and the atmospheric or earth science research community

Tags: Business Development