Staff/Principal Software Engineer (USDS)

Experience leading engineering for complex, production systems and delivering measurable outcomes Familiarity with modern delivery practices — CI/CD, automated testing, code review, and operating services in cloud environments Strong hands-on skills building services and APIs in a modern language and runtime, with clean, reliable, reusable code Clear communication skills with executives and cross-functional teams Can produce high-quality code by adhering to good practices such as automated testing Familiar with how to build secure, compliant software and defend against common vulnerabilities Possess a foundational understanding of data engineering, including how to use various datastores to handle persistent data in software systems Understand the different pieces of software systems and how to fit them together, while keeping performance, reliability, and availability in mind Understand the importance of always putting users at the center of your work Commitment to equipping federal teams with documentation, training, and mentoring Ability to work effectively in a professional services environment Passion for improving public outcomes through great government services A mindset and work approach that align with Skylight’s core values Ability to travel for work from time to time Experience with containers and orchestration (e.g., Docker, Kubernetes) or platform engineering (Nice-to-have) Background in cloud and application modernization, integrations, or shared services at enterprise scale (Nice-to-have) Familiarity with compliance and security environments such as ATO, the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP), or the Federal Information Security Modernization Act (FISMA) (Nice-to-have) Track record of mentoring engineers and raising engineering practices across organizations (Nice-to-have) Prior experience working in the civic tech space (Nice-to-have) Experience working in a remote-team environment (Nice-to-have)

Lead technical direction for one or more complex products and platforms, from discovery through production operations Design and build services with an emphasis on reliability, security, and iterative releases Engineer a software product as part of a cross-functional team Achieve technical excellence by advocating for and adhering to lean-agile engineering principles and practices Select and use the right tools, frameworks, languages, and technologies for the job Analyze systems to identify technical debt, instability, unreliability, and other opportunities for improvement, as well as design, document, and communicate solutions Help federal teams sustain improvements by delivering training and enablement, and by leaving behind reusable resources Mentor engineers, facilitate technical design reviews, and model pragmatic, high-quality engineering practices