Staff/Principal Software Engineer, Lead (Defense & Security) Location: United States Department: Engineering About Skylight Skylight is a digital consultancy using design and technology to help government agencies deliver better public services. We’re at the forefront of a civic movement to reinvent how all levels of government serve families, patients, and many others in todays digital world. If you want to play a part in driving this critical movement forward, we’d love for you to join our growing team of public interest technologists. The work we do matters. About the job At Skylight, software engineers design, implement, and maintain software systems to improve government services for users. This software is built to meet the needs of regular users of government services as well as Skylight’s partners in government. What you’ll do • Engineer a software product as part of a cross-functional team, which includes user experience researchers and designers, product managers, engineers, and other functional specialists • Achieve technical excellence by advocating for and adhering to lean-agile engineering principles and practices such as API-first design, simple design, continuous integration, version control, and automated testing • Select and use the right tools, frameworks, languages, and technologies for the job, with a preference for open-source solutions • Analyze systems to identify technical debt, instability, unreliability, and other opportunities for improvement, as well as design, document, and communicate solutions What were looking for Minimum qualifications • Ability to write clean, working, and reusable code • 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, including thinking through the impact and implications of any code that you write • Ability to work successfully within a professional services environment (e.g., can communicate effectively with clients) • Passionate about creating better public outcomes through great government services • A mindset and work approach that aligns with Skylights core values • Ability to travel for work from time to time Nice-to-have qualifications • Experience working with databases and/or cloud infrastructure • Familiarity with CI/CD best practices • Experience with infrastructure as code (e.g., Docker, Terraform) • Experience with multiple programming languages and/or full-stack development • Prior experience working in the civic tech space • Experience working in a remote-team environment Don’t meet every qualification but think you can do the job? We’d still love to hear from you. If you’re excited about the role, apply. We consider candidates with a range of backgrounds and experiences. Other requirements • All work must be conducted within the U.S., excluding U.S. territories. Some federal contracts require U.S. citizenship to be eligible for employment. • You must be legally authorized to work in the U.S. now and in the future without sponsorship. • As a government contractor, you may be required to obtain a public trust or security clearance. • You may be required to complete a company background check successfully. • Some of our available roles are on federal contracts that require a degree or additional years of experience as a substitute. Position type This is a full-time, exempt position. Location This is a fully remote position. Care package Salary We want to give you the most competitive salary possible. After all, you deserve it! To that end, we use the results of our interview process to determine what salary is most appropriate given your current level of seniority. For a Software Engineer at Skylight, the current salary ranges are as follows: • Associate Software Engineer: $90,000–$125,000 • Software Engineer I: $120,000–$140,000 • Software Engineer II: $135,000–$160,000 • Senior Software Engineer: $150,000–$185,000 • Staff Software Engineer: $170,000–$203,000 • Principal Software Engineer: $180,000–$230,000 Benefits Your well-being is important to us, so we focus on supporting you in a variety of ways: • Medical insurance, dental insurance, vision insurance • Short-term and long-term disability insurance • Life and AD&D insurance • Dependent care FSA, healthcare FSA, health savings account • Dollar-for-dollar 401(k) match up to 10% of your salary with no vesting period • Flexible paid time-off-policy (generally around 25 days per year), plus 11 paid federal holidays • Up to 12 weeks paid-time-off for all eligible new birth, adoption, or fo