Senior/Staff Software Engineer (U.S. Air Force)

Skylight Digital LLC; Alabama; On-site; USD 150,000 - 203,000; Full time

Job summary

Skylight Digital LLC seeks a Senior/Staff Software Engineer to enhance engineering capabilities for the U.S. Air Force's BESPIN initiative. This leadership role involves improving software delivery speed and quality through modern engineering practices while working within cross-functional teams on impactful projects.

Benefits

Medical, dental, vision insurance

401(k) match up to 10%

20 vacation days

12 weeks paid leave for new parents

Annual professional development allowance

Remote-friendly work environment

Qualifications

• Experience with multiple programming languages and/or full-stack development.
• Experience building DevSecOps infrastructure in a cloud-based environment.
• Ability to communicate and operate at multiple organizational levels.

Responsibilities

• Drive measurable improvements to engineering capabilities at both enterprise and team levels.
• Provide 'player-coach' support for engineering capability improvements.
• Assess and translate insights from engineering performance into actionable plans.

Skills

Human-centered design

Lean-agile engineering

Artificial intelligence

CI/CD

Version control

API-first design

Tools

AWS

Cloud One

Job description

Senior/Staff Software Engineer (USAF BESPIN)

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

For the past several years, Skylight’s been supporting one of the U.S. Air Force’s premier software factories — Business Enterprise Systems Product Innovation (BESPIN). BESPIN’s mission is to deliver modern web and mobile solutions to Defense and non-Defense programs throughout the federal government. To that end, BESPIN currently features over 100 airmen and over 120 government contractors working together in cross-functional teams to deliver dozens of products and services to over 30 customers.

One of BESPIN’s highest organizational priorities, as well as the Department of Defense at large, is to equip service members with modern digital, data, and technology skills, such as human-centered design, lean-agile engineering, and artificial intelligence.

As an Engineering Practice Lead in support of BESPIN, you’ll play a hands-on leadership role in driving measurable improvements to its engineering capabilities at both the enterprise and team level. Your efforts will elevate the ability of BESPIN’s teams and individuals to deliver software with ever-greater speed and quality.

What you’ll do

• Continually assess the strength and performance of BESPIN’s engineering capabilities using a mix of qualitative and quantitative techniques
• Translate insights gained from the assessments into executable plans for change, and create the conditions necessary for those changes to materialize (e.g., strategic communications, training)
• Provide “player-coach” support to implement the necessary improvements to BESPIN’s engineering capabilities, such as pairing, customized training, coaching, mentoring, expert advice, hands-on delivery, or toolkits
• Experience driving a large organization with multiple product teams toward achieving technical excellence in web and mobile through adherence to modern engineering principles and practices, such as API-first design, simple design, version control, automated testing, CI/CD, and cloud infrastructure
• Experience building out robust DevSecOps infrastructure in a cloud-based environment, including CI/CD pipelines
• Experience with multiple programming languages and/or full-stack development
• Experience working in a mixed web (e.g., React, Go, Node.js) and mobile (e.g., Flutter, SwiftUI) tech stack environment
• Experience as an engineering leader supporting multiple product teams, including training, pairing, and coaching
• Understand the different pieces of software systems and how to fit them together, while keeping performance, reliability, and availability in mind
• Familiar with how to build secure, compliant software and defend against common vulnerabilities
• Ability to communicate and operate at multiple levels of the organization, from senior leaders to junior engineers
• Understand the importance of always putting users at the center of your work, including thinking through the impact and implications of any code that’s written
• Ability to travel occasionally to Montgomery, Alabama

Nice-to-have qualifications

• Experience working as a Defense contractor
• Experience with AWS
• Experience with Cloud One
• Experience implementing secure systems in compliance with NIST RMF
• Certified at IAT II or IAT III as defined by DoD 8570.01

Don’t meet 100% of the criteria but think you can do the job? We’d love to chat anyway! We’re on a mission to build diverse teams, and studies have shown that women and marginalized folks are less likely to apply to jobs if they don’t check every box.

Other requirements

• Ability to obtain a DoD CAC and pass DoD background check.
• All work must be conducted within the U.S., excluding U.S. territories. Some federal contracts require U.S. citizenship to be eligible for employment.
• 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 may be required to 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 is a fully remote position.

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:

• 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 Engineer: $180,000–$230,000

Your well-being is important to us, so we focus on supporting you in a variety of ways:

• Medical insurance, dental insurance, vision insurance
• Short-term and long-term disability insurance
• Life and AD&D insurance
• Dependent care FSA, healthcare FSA, health savings account
• Dollar-for-dollar 401(k) match up to 10% of your salary with no vesting period
• Paid time off, including 20 vacation days, 11 federal holidays, and flexible sick leave
• Up to 12 weeks paid time off for all eligible new birth, adoption, or foster parents
• Performance rewards, including annual salary increase, annual performance bonus, spot bonuses, and stock options
• Annual $2,000 allowance for professional development
• Annual $750 allowance for tech-related purchases
• Annual swag budget of $100 to display your Skylight pride with some merchandise (hoodies, hats, and more)
• Dollar-for-dollar charity donation matching, up to $500 per year
• Access up to $1,000 before payday to cover emergency expenses
• Flexible, remote-friendly work environment
• An environment that empowers you to unleash your superpowers for public good

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:

• Visit our join page to learn more about how our interview process works.
• Check out our Career Pathways framework to learn more about the different roles within Skylight and the skills needed to do them.
• If you’d like to request reasonable accommodations during the application or interviewing process, please contact our recruiting team at [e-mail] .

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.

Apply for this job

*

indicates a required field

First Name *

Last Name *

Email *

Phone

Resume/CV *

Enter manually

Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf

How did you find out about this job opening? * Select...

What's your LinkedIn profile?

Are you authorized to work in the U.S. for any employer without sponsorship? * Select...

Will you ever need employer sponsorship (for example, an H‑1B) to work in the U.S.? * Select...

For purposes of this question "sponsorship for an immigration-related employment benefit” means "an H-IB visa petition, an 0-1 visa petition, an E-3 visa petition, TN status and 'job flexibility benefits' (also known as 1-140 portability or Adjustment of Status portability) for long-delayed adjustment of status applications that have been pending for 180 days or longer." (please reach out if you have questions or you’re unsure whether you need immigration sponsorship.)

Select...

Have you worked for the federal government within the last two years — either as a federal employee, detailee, or contractor? * Select...

While you were working for the government, were you closely involved in any contracts, projects, or decisions that relate to this role or to Skylight?If yes: Can you briefly describe? *

In that role, did you have any decision-making authority or influence over federal contracts, funding, or oversight activities involving Skylight?If yes: Can you share a quick overview of how you were involved? *

Are you aware of any post employment restrictions that might limit your ability to work with us? *

Voluntary Self-Identification

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 hiringprocess or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in aconfidential 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.

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection.As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measurethe effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categoriesis as follows:

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.

Select...

Voluntary Self-Identification of Disability

Form CC-305

Page 1 of 1

OMB Control Number 1250-0005

Expires 04/30/2026

Voluntary Self-Identification of Disability

Form CC-305 Page 1 of 1 OMB Control Number 1250-0005 Expires 04/30/2026
Why are you being asked to complete this form?

We are a federal contractor or subcontractor. The law requires us to provide equal employment opportunity to qualified people with disabilities. We have a goal of having at least 7% of our workers as people with disabilities. The law says we must measure our progress towards this goal. To do this, we must ask applicants and employees if they have a disability or have ever had one. People can become disabled, so we need to ask this question at least every five years.

Completing this form is voluntary, and we hope that you will choose to do so. Your answer is confidential. No one who makes hiring decisions will see it. Your decision to complete the form and your answer will not harm you in any way. If you want to learn more about the law or this form, visit the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) website at www.dol.gov/ofccp .

How do you know if you have a disability?

A disability is a condition that substantially limits one or more of your “major life activities.” If you have or have ever had such a condition, you are a person with a disability. Disabilities include, but are not limited to:

• Alcohol or other substance use disorder (not currently using drugs illegally)
• Autoimmune disorder, for example, lupus, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, HIV/AIDS
• Blind or low vision
• Cancer (past or present)
• Cardiovascular or heart disease
• Celiac disease
• Cerebral palsy
• Deaf or serious difficulty hearing
• Diabetes
• Disfigurement, for example, disfigurement caused by burns, wounds, accidents, or congenital disorders
• Epilepsy or other seizure disorder
• Gastrointestinal disorders, for example, Crohn's Disease, irritable bowel syndrome
• Intellectual or developmental disability
• Mental health conditions, for example, depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder, schizophrenia, PTSD
• Missing limbs or partially missing limbs
• Mobility impairment, benefiting from the use of a wheelchair, scooter, walker, leg brace(s) and/or other supports
• Nervous system condition, for example, migraine headaches, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis (MS)
• Neurodivergence, for example, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder, dyslexia, dyspraxia, other learning disabilities
• Partial or complete paralysis (any cause)
• Pulmonary or respiratory conditions, for example, tuberculosis, asthma, emphysema
• Short stature (dwarfism)
• Traumatic brain injury

Disability Status Select...

PUBLIC BURDEN STATEMENT: According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. This survey should take about 5 minutes to complete.