Alternatives to Software Engineering for CS PhD Dropouts

A few years ago I dropped out of my CS PhD program due to family reasons that were interfering with my studies. After dropping out I had a nice job working in an advanced development team that was an applied research job, but unfortunately my company laid off my division. I later found a job at a different company doing devops/SRE work, but the transition from doing research to active firefighting turned out to be too much for me.

I'm currently trying to find another position (I'm based in Silicon Valley). I love doing research, but unfortunately it's very difficult to find a research position without a PhD; I only have an MS in computer science, and the PhD is the union card for being a researcher. I've had some successful software engineering internships in the past, but the interview process for full-time software engineering roles has always been very difficult for me. I can answer FizzBuzz questions just fine, and I can also answer straightforward questions about algorithms and data structures, but I have a hard time with the more puzzle-like programming questions found on sites like Codility and HackerRank. I also don't have any side projects or open source work to show since I spent my undergrad years focused on preparing for grad school, and I spent my grad school years focused on coursework and research.

What other types of positions would be good for someone in my situation? I would love a research position, but it will be difficult without a PhD. I've thought about becoming a lecturer at a community college or a university, teaching computer science courses; while it's too late for the fall semester/quarter, it may be possible for the spring semester/winter quarter. I'm also thinking about starting my own software company, but unfortunately my runway is rather limited.