Rucker was awarded a scholarship to, and briefly attended, the Chicago Art Institute. Rucker received his Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Architecture from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1950; he then worked as a draftsman in Denver and San Diego before moving to Altadena and becoming a licensed Architect. Rucker worked for various firms in the greater Los Angeles region, including Architect Ray Jones of Glendale and architecture firm Gilman & Young of Brentwood. In 1957, Rucker opened his own Pacific Palisades firm as part of a partnership and in 1958, he opened his own, eponymous firm in Malibu. During the firm's tenure, Rucker primarily designed single-family, Post and Beam residences in Malibu; some projects were also located in Calabasas, Santa Monica, and Los Angeles. Though now retired from architecture, Rucker lives in California's Santa Monica Mountains.

In 1966, he built his second house, the "Pedestal House," on a Malibu promontory with the main floor sitting atop a forty-foot pedestal. Overlooking the mouth of Malibu Canyon and Surfrider Beach, the home featured views of the Pacific Ocean, Palos Verdes, the Serra Retreat, the Malibu Movie Colony and Catalina island. An architectural success, the house was featured in the Los Angeles Times, and was later included in the AIA’s Malibu Home Tour. On September 25, 1970, the house was destroyed by a brush fire, but two years later, Rucker constructed a new, fire-resistive home on the same foundation as the Pedestal House. This second house was also featured in the Los Angeles Times, and again made part of the AIA Home Tour. The house is currently listed in Gebhard & Winter's Guide to Architecture in Los Angeles and Southern California, alongside works by Frank Lloyd Wright, Frank Gehry, and other major Architects.

On October 19, 2017, a 1964 home designed by Rucker known as the Hogan Residence, located at 8527 Brier Drive, Los Angeles, CA, 90046, was designated a Cultural-Historical Landmark by the City of Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Commission.