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.
“I love being able to work somewhere that empowers you to hone in
on solving the right problems in an increasingly complex
environment, alongside some of the most inspired and talented
folks in the industry.”
– Charlye Tran, Service 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 a minimum of 9 weeks paid time off for all eligible new
birth, adoption, or foster parents.
Time off
We offer 31 paid days off per year: 15 vacation days, 11 federal
holidays, and 5 floating 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 25 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. We don’t look for perfection; we look for a growth mindset,
excellent communication skills, ability to deal with ambiguity, and
capability to adapt. 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 of our screenings and interviews occur 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 to not only evaluate whether you’re a
good fit for Skylight, but also to map you to a
career level, which ultimately
determines your salary range.
Interview steps
After you submit your application, we’ll evaluate your information
against the qualifications of our open positions. If you look like a
potential match, we’ll begin the interview process and communicate
the 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.
Hiring managers will review notes from the screening, your resume,
and portfolio (if applicable). If it’s a good fit, we’ll schedule
you for a skills interview.
2. Skills interview
The skills interview runs between 60 and 90 minutes. You’ll meet
with two interviewers with experience in your discipline. They’ll
ask a variety of questions about your experience and skills, and how
you’d apply them within the context of Skylight’s work. We’ll leave
you with 10–15 minutes at the end for your questions.
What to expect, by role:
Product manager
Meeting with other product experts who’ll be asking questions about your product management experience,
including products that you’ve shipped and specific approaches or practices that you use
Researcher or designer
45–60 minutes presenting one or two examples from your portfolio,
and 20–30 minutes answering questions
Software engineer or DevOps engineer
A coding and coaching exercise for the majority of the interview
Data scientist or data engineer
60–90 minutes conversation about your experience and knowledge of interacting with data at all stages of its lifecycle,
as well as some questions that test your experience with Python, SQL, and/or data analytics (no whiteboard coding questions)
Business strategy and operations
Meeting with people who may not have experience in your discipline,
but whose work will closely intersect with yours
We’ll send you an email a few days prior to the interview with more details so you know how to prepare.
Afterwards, your Skylight interviewers will share their notes with our hiring team.
If you’re a good fit for our open roles, we’ll schedule you for a behavioral interview.
3. Behavioral interview
The behavioral interview lasts for one hour. The intent is to assess whether or not you’d be a good fit for Skylight’s values.
You’ll meet with two interviewers who will ask questions about how you communicate, collaborate, and how you approach challenging situations at work.
We’ll leave you with 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 to the interview with more details so you know exactly what to expect.
4. Additional interviews (if needed)
In some cases, we’ll conduct additional interviews to evaluate areas we’d like to know more about.
At this stage, we’ll also give you the opportunity to meet with potential teammates and ask additional questions,
so you can make an informed decision on whether or not you’d like to move forward.
5. The offer
If all the interviews go well, you’ll receive a preliminary offer followed by an official offer,
which will include 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 showcase projects, 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 meet with one interviewer with experience in your discipline.
They’ll ask a variety of questions about your experience and skills,
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 based on when we're able to onboard a class of interns or apprentices together.
