We’re more than a company. We represent a movement to reinvent how the
government serves families, patients, veterans, immigrants, and many
others in today’s digital world. Everything about us — our structure,
values,
services,
work,
thoughts, and
team — is designed with that purpose in
mind.
You matter
It’s people like you — with talents in research, design, product,
engineering, data, and more — who can make a difference. We’ve created
an environment that empowers you to unleash your skills for public
good, whether that’s improving
early childhood outcomes
or
helping to save veteran lives. You’ll work alongside a team of
extraordinarily-talented people
who strive to bring out the best in you and each other. You’ll also be
taken care of with a well-thought-out
compensation and benefits package. We want
you to be happy, fulfilled, and well-supported.
We’re just getting started
We’re still in startup mode, and our future is bright. We’re doing
impactful work, building an amazing team, and improving every day.
Everyone is given the opportunity to shape the company in some way.
We’d love for you to join us in creating something special.
“The work we do at Skylight is meaningful,
and I value the autonomy that Skylight provides,
which allows space for me to create products that both clients and users love.”
– Tiffany Nieh, Product Designer
“I appreciate Skylight’s holistic approach to helping agencies
achieve digital mastery, which is what the government needs more
of from industry.”
– Karthik Patil, VP of Defense Services
“Skylight gives me ownership over my work and allows me to carve a
path where I can make the biggest impact.”
– Laura King, Service Designer
Care package
We hire good people and support them with the best compensation and
benefits possible. We keep an open dialog with everyone on the team to
make what we offer even better.
Compensation
We offer a competitive salary, opportunities for a stake in the
company’s success with stock options, performance rewards,
referral bonuses, and a quick-pay program.
Future
We match your 401(k) dollar-for-dollar up to 10% of your salary.
We also offer a budget of up to $2,000 per year for professional
development, which includes conferences, training, travel, and
materials.
Health
We cover 90% of your medical premium, 99% of premiums for vision
and dental, and 50% of premiums for dependents. We also provide
life insurance, short- and long-term disability insurance,
healthcare and dependent care flexible spending accounts, and a
health savings account.
Parental leave
We offer up to 12 weeks paid time off for all eligible
new birth, adoption, or foster parents.
Time off
We offer 31 paid days off per year: 20 vacation days and 11 federal
holidays. We also offer a flexible sick leave policy.
Flexibility
We give you maximum flexibility to decide when, where, and how to
get your work done. We’re a distributed and remote-friendly team,
currently spread out across 26 different states.
Stuff
We provide an annual tech budget of up to $750 for anything, such
as a new computer, that you think will help to do your job better.
Most software that you need will be provided by us. We also
provide an annual
Skylight swag
budget of $100.
Code of conduct
Everyone deserves a safe, inclusive environment. We live by our
Code of Conduct,
and actively look for ways to make it even stronger, as well as
reinforce expected behaviors.
Community
We give you multiple pathways to engage with your community. We
match 100% of any charitable donations you make, up to $500 per
year, and offer access to community networks, such as the
Digital Services Coalition, which we co-founded.
Open positions
Below are the roles that we're actively hiring for:
Don’t see your role? Don’t worry, we could be hiring sooner than you think,
so we’d still love to talk. We typically hire people with skills in
research, design, product management, engineering, data science, security,
procurement, digital transformation, and client engagement management.
Please don’t hesitate to
reach out to us.
For most roles, we also offer paid internship or apprenticeship
opportunities for people who are starting their careers or transitioning to
new careers. If you’re interested in an internship or apprenticeship
opportunity with Skylight, please
get in touch.
Is an internship or apprenticeship right for me?
An internship is short term, generally lasting 2–3 months. An apprenticeship may last for 12 months or more.
If you do an internship, there may be an option at the end to extend to an apprenticeship.
Whether you apply for an internship or apprenticeship,
our goal is to help you build professional experience, mentor you, and give you exposure to real client projects.
Both types of roles are paid and can lead to a full-time role if you’re a good fit for Skylight.
Interview process
If you apply for a position, here’s what you can expect in terms of
the process:
Interview basics
We strongly prioritize the human element of the workplace, so the goal of our interview process is to get to know you and how you work.
Rather than looking for perfection, we look for qualities like a growth mindset, excellent communication skills, adaptability, and comfort with ambiguity.
You won’t be penalized for taking time to think before responding, asking to repeat a question, or correcting yourself. With that in mind, please note:
All screenings and interviews take place via videoconference.
A Google Meet or Zoom link will be included in your calendar
invitation.
Dress in a way that makes you comfortable. No need for blazers or
button-ups if you prefer a hoodie.
We're an equal opportunity employer. If you need reasonable
accommodations for a disability, please reach out to us
with your accommodation request.
We use the interview process not only to evaluate whether you’re a good fit for Skylight
but also to determine the most appropriate career level, which will inform your salary range.
Interview steps
After you submit your application, we’ll evaluate your information against the qualifications of the position.
If we see a potential match, we’ll initiate the interview process and communicate next steps.
1. Preliminary screening
The interview process begins with a 15-minute preliminary screening.
We’ll send you an email beforehand with background information about
Skylight. Plan to talk about your skills and experience and what
you’re passionate about. The call will also cover the interview
process and basic employment requirements.
Afterward, our hiring team will review notes from the screening, along with your resume and portfolio (if applicable).
If it’s a good fit, we’ll move forward with scheduling a skills interview.
2. Skills interview
The skills interview typically runs between 60 and 90 minutes (sometimes longer, depending on the role).
You’ll typically meet with two interviewers experienced in your discipline, who’ll ask questions about your skills, experience, and how you’d apply them within Skylight's context.
We’ll leave 10–15 minutes at the end for your questions.
What to expect for common roles:
Product manager
Meet with product experts to discuss your product management experience, including the practices and approaches you’ve used to ship products successfully
Researcher or designer
Present one or two samples from your portfolio to experts in your field, who may ask follow-up questions during or after your walkthrough to better understand your skills, experience, and approach
Software engineer or DevOps engineer
Participate in a coding and coaching exercise to assess your skills and experience
Security engineer
Engage in a security-focused exercise to evaluate your skills and experience
Data scientist or data engineer
Discuss your experience working across the data lifecycle, with questions covering your expertise in Python, SQL, and data analytics (no whiteboard coding)
Engagement manager
Talk with engagement management experts to discuss your experience leading agile, cross-functional teams, particularly in client or multi-stakeholder environments
Business strategy and operations
Meet with team members who may not have as much direct experience in your discipline, but whose work will closely intersect with yours
Prior to the interview, we’ll send you an email with more details to help you prepare.
Afterward, your interviewers will share their notes with our hiring team.
If the fit seems strong, we’ll schedule a behavioral interview.
3. Behavioral interview
The behavioral interview lasts for one hour (sometimes longer, depending on the role).
The intent is to assess if you’d be a good fit for Skylight’s values and standards of behavior.
You’ll typically meet with two interviewers who'll ask questions about how you approach different work situations.
We’ll leave 10–15 minutes at the end for your questions.
There’s no formal preparation needed for this interview, but we’ll send you an email a few days prior with more details so you know exactly what to expect.
If it’s a good fit, you’ll proceed to either an additional interview (if necessary) or a reverse interview.
4. Additional interview (if needed)
In some cases, we may set up an additional interview to dive deeper into specific aspects of your background or experience.
This step may be based on insights from your previous interviews and is designed to give us a thorough understanding of your fit for the role.
It’s also a chance for you to meet additional members of the Skylight team and gain more insight into our environment and the position.
If it’s a strong fit, we’ll proceed to the reverse interview.
5. Reverse interview
The reverse interview is your opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of what it’s like to work at Skylight.
During this step, you’ll meet potential future colleagues, giving you the chance to ask questions and learn more about our team, culture, and work style.
This is designed to help you decide if Skylight is the right fit for your next career step.
If everything aligns, we’ll move to the offer stage.
6. The offer
If all the interviews go well and you feel that Skylight is the right fit, you’ll receive a preliminary offer, followed by an official offer with an agreed-upon start date. Congratulations!
Internships and apprenticeships
If you’re applying for an internship or apprenticeship, you’ll go through a shorter process.
First, submit your application. If you’re applying for a research or design role,
please include a portfolio of 1–2 work samples, if you have one.
Your portfolio can be anything from a website to a slide deck (whatever works for you).
Please ensure that you either remove the password to your portfolio or provide access details.
If you look like a potential match, we’ll do a preliminary screening.
Plan to talk about your interests, experiences, and what you hope to get out of an internship or apprenticeship at Skylight.
The next step is a 60-minute skills interview, where you’ll typically meet with one interviewer with experience in your discipline.
They’ll ask a variety of questions about your skills and experience,
and how you’d apply them within the context of an internship or apprenticeship at Skylight.
We’ll leave you with 10–15 minutes at the end for your questions.
Finally, if you’re selected for an internship or apprenticeship, you’ll receive an offer!
We’ll decide on a start date, ideally when we're able to onboard a class of interns or apprentices together.
