Academic here. Those are the best possible reasons for going into academe.
It's true that tenure track positions in top universities are scarce. But there are many universities. One of the students in my department just took a lifestyle job in Australia at a university I never heard of. Another student took a faculty position at Harvard. They both appeared thrilled with their choices.
Look at the placement record of any phd program, then adjust for the number of students admitted annually, to estimate your probability to get an academic job. In many fields, a top-50 PhD program virtually guarantees academic employment. In other fields, a top-50 PhD program virtually guarantees unemployment. It is important to walk in with eyes wide open.
I'm too late for anyone to see this, but they could probably take the Qualcomm Stadium site in San Diego's Mission Valley. It's right on a trolley line and a very easy drive to the downtown airport, not to mention an easy flight from Seattle. UCSD is a great supplier of young talent and Qualcomm and Viasat offer engineers they can poach.