Senior/Staff Software Engineer, Backend

About the role

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. You'll join a contract supporting a federal agency in the health and civilian space. As a senior or staff backend engineer, you'll design, build, and maintain the server-side systems, APIs, and data layers behind secure data exchanges. You'll work as part of a cross-functional team to deliver software that is reliable, performant, and secure, and that meets federal security standards. You'll also help grow the team's engineering capacity through coaching and knowledge sharing.

Responsibilities

• Engineer the server-side of a software product as part of a cross-functional team that includes researchers, designers, product managers, and other engineers
• Design, build, and maintain APIs, services, and data layers that keep secure data exchanges reliable and performant
• Achieve technical excellence by advocating for and adhering to lean-agile engineering practices such as API-first design, simple design, continuous integration, version control, and automated testing
• Build secure, compliant software that meets federal security standards and defends against common vulnerabilities
• Analyze systems to identify technical debt, instability, and other opportunities for improvement, then design, document, and communicate solutions
• Mentor other engineers and share knowledge to strengthen the team's engineering practice

Requirements

• Ability to write clean, working, and reusable code, with a focus on backend systems and services
• Can produce high-quality code by adhering to good practices such as automated testing
• Possess a strong understanding of data engineering, including how to use various datastores to handle persistent data in software systems
• Familiar with how to build secure, compliant software and defend against common vulnerabilities
• 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
• Experience mentoring engineers and raising the technical bar across a team or product (staff level)
• 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 our 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 building software that handles sensitive personal data (e.g., tax, financial, or benefits information)
• 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.
• 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 must 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 role is fully remote.
• Care package
• Salary
• 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 Eng

Benefits

Additional Information

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.

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