Staff / Principal Software Engineer (HHS)

Location

Washington, District of Columbia, United States

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 today's 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, build, and operate production systems that make government services more reliable and accessible for the people who depend on them.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is launching one of the most ambitious transformations in government — and this is a rare chance to be part of it. You’ll join a high-impact team of product managers, researchers, designers, engineers, and security experts working side-by-side with HHS leadership to modernize the systems people rely on to access healthcare, strengthen cybersecurity that protects personal data, launch digital services used by tens of millions every day, and integrate data and AI responsibly into daily work across the department so teams at every level can make smarter, safer decisions.

As a software engineer on this project, you’ll deliver production-ready software as part of a cross-functional team and support services through build, deployment, and operations. You’ll apply modern engineering practices, build secure and resilient systems, and reduce technical debt to improve stability. Just as importantly, you’ll prepare federal teams to sustain these improvements by sharing knowledge and practices that last — from training and enablement to reusable tools like templates, playbooks, and decision records.

What you’ll do

• Deliver production-ready software and own services through build, deployment, and operations
• Apply lean-agile engineering practices — including API-first development, trunk-based workflows, continuous integration and delivery (CI / CD), version control, and automated testing
• Standardize and automate environments with infrastructure as code (IaC) and policy as code to create secure, repeatable delivery
• Improve reliability and performance with observability practices such as metrics, logs, and traces, guided by service level objectives (SLOs)
• Modernize and integrate systems across cloud platforms and enterprise services, with a preference for open source where it fits
• Build in security, privacy, and accessibility from day one — including evidence automation for compliance and adherence to Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act (Section 508)
• Identify and reduce technical debt by analyzing stability and operability, then designing and communicating remediation plans
• Help federal teams sustain improvements by delivering training and enablement, and by leaving behind reusable resources such as templates, playbooks, and decision records

What we're looking for

Nice-to-have qualifications

Other requirements

Position type

This is a full-time, exempt position.

Location

This role requires some in-person time in Washington, DC. Candidates based in the DC area should be able to work on-site at HHS periodically. Candidates outside the area are also welcome to apply, as long as they can travel to DC frequently for on-site collaboration. A relocation incentive of up to $10,000 is available.

Compensation

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 :

Benefits

Interview tips

We want you to have a great interview experience with us! Here are some tips to help you prepare for a successful interview :

We participate in E-Verify and upon hire, will provide the federal government with your Form I-9 information to confirm that you’re authorized to work in the U.S.

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, disability, veteran status, or any other category protected by applicable law.

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For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey. Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiring process or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in a confidential file. As set forth in Skylight’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

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