Why Skylight?
Our mission matters
We’re more than a company. We represent a movement to reinvent how thegovernment serves families, patients, veterans, immigrants, and manyothers in today’s digital world. Everything about us — our structure,values,services,work,thoughts, andteam — is designed with that purpose inmind.
You matter
It’s people like you — with talents in research, design, product,engineering, data, and more — who can make a difference. We’ve createdan environment that empowers you to unleash your skills for publicgood, whether that’s improvingearly childhood outcomesorhelping to save veteran lives. You’ll work alongside a team ofextraordinarily-talented peoplewho strive to bring out the best in you and each other. You’ll also betaken care of with a well-thought-outcompensation and benefits package. We wantyou 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 doingimpactful 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 agenciesachieve digital mastery, which is what the government needs moreof from industry.”
– Karthik Patil, VP of Defense Services
“Skylight gives me ownership over my work and allows me to carve apath where I can make the biggest impact.”
– Laura King, Service Designer
Care package
We hire good people and support them with the best compensation andbenefits possible. We keep an open dialog with everyone on the team tomake what we offer even better.
Compensation
We offer a competitive salary, opportunities for a stake in thecompany’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 professionaldevelopment, which includes conferences, training, travel, andmaterials.
Health
We cover 90% of your medical premium, 99% of premiums for visionand dental, and 50% of premiums for dependents. We also providelife insurance, short- and long-term disability insurance,healthcare and dependent care flexible spending accounts, and ahealth savings account.
Parental leave
We offer up to 12 weeks paid time off for all eligiblenew birth, adoption, or foster parents.
Time off
We offer 31 paid days off per year: 20 vacation days and 11 federalholidays. We also offer a flexible sick leave policy.
Flexibility
We give you maximum flexibility to decide when, where, and how toget 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, suchas a new computer, that you think will help to do your job better.Most software that you need will be provided by us. We alsoprovide an annualSkylight swagbudget of $100.
Code of conduct
Everyone deserves a safe, inclusive environment. We live by ourCode of Conduct,and actively look for ways to make it even stronger, as well asreinforce expected behaviors.
Community
We give you multiple pathways to engage with your community. Wematch 100% of any charitable donations you make, up to $500 peryear, and offer access to community networks, such as theDigital 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 inresearch, design, product management, engineering, data science, security,procurement, digital transformation, and client engagement management.Please don’t hesitate toreach out to us.
For most roles, we also offer paid internship or apprenticeshipopportunities for people who are starting their careers or transitioning tonew careers. If you’re interested in an internship or apprenticeshipopportunity with Skylight, pleaseget 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 ofthe process:
Interview basics
We strongly prioritize the human element of the workplace, so thegoal of our interview process is to get to know you and how youwork. We don’t look for perfection; we look for a growth mindset,excellent communication skills, ability to deal with ambiguity, andcapability to adapt. You won’t be penalized for taking time to thinkbefore responding, asking to repeat a question, or correctingyourself. 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 calendarinvitation.
- Dress in a way that makes you comfortable. No need for blazers orbutton ups if you prefer a hoodie.
- We're an equal opportunity employer. If you need reasonableaccommodations for a disability, please reach out to uswith your accommodation request.
We use the interview process to not only evaluate whether you’re agood fit for Skylight, but also to map you to acareer level, which ultimatelydetermines your salary range.
Interview steps
After you submit your application, we’ll evaluate your informationagainst the qualifications of our open positions. If you look like apotential match, we’ll begin the interview process and communicatethe 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 aboutSkylight. Plan to talk about your skills and experience and whatyou’re passionate about. The call will also cover the interviewprocess 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 scheduleyou for a skills interview.
2. Skills interview
The skills interview runs between 60 and 90 minutes. You’ll meetwith two interviewers with experience in your discipline. They’llask a variety of questions about your experience and skills, and howyou’d apply them within the context of Skylight’s work. We’ll leaveyou 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 practices or approaches that you've used to ship productsResearcher or designer
A majority of the time presenting one or two examples from your portfolio to experts in your discipline,who'll also ask you some questions about that work to get a better sense for your skills and experienceSoftware engineer or DevOps engineer
A coding and coaching exercise for the majority of the interviewSecurity engineer
A security exercise for the majority of the interviewData scientist or data engineer
A 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)Engagement manager
Meeting with other engagement management experts who'll be asking questions about your experienceleading and managing agile, cross-functional delivery teams within a client or multi-stakeholder environmentBusiness strategy and operations
Meeting with people who may not have as much direct 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 and standards of behavior.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.
Introduce yourself.
Interested in Skylight, but not ready to apply?
Connect with us by dropping us an email.
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