The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is launching a transformation to modernize systems, strengthen cybersecurity, launch digital services, and integrate data and AI, and Skylight is looking for a lead software engineer to guide strategy and delivery
Requirements
- Experience leading engineering for complex, production systems and delivering measurable outcomes
- Strong hands-on skills building services and APIs in a modern language and runtime, with clean, reliable, reusable code
- Familiarity with modern delivery practices — CI/CD, automated testing, code review, and operating services in cloud environments
- Proficiency with IaC and environment automation
- Understanding of secure software practices and how to integrate compliance into delivery
- Knowledge of data persistence and patterns for building resilient, observable services
- Experience with containers and orchestration (e.g., Docker, Kubernetes) or platform engineering
Responsibilities
- Lead technical direction for one or more products and platforms, from discovery through production operations
- Design and build services with an emphasis on reliability, security, and iterative releases
- Apply modern delivery practices — including continuous integration and delivery (CI/CD), trunk-based development, code review, and automated testing
- Standardize environments with infrastructure as code (IaC) and policy as code for secure, repeatable delivery
- Improve observability and service health with metrics, logs, and traces, guided by service level objectives (SLOs)
- Embed security and compliance from day one, supporting evidence automation and continuous Authority to Operate (ATO) practices
- Mentor engineers, facilitate technical design reviews, and model pragmatic, high-quality engineering practices
Other
- Ability to work effectively in a professional services environment
- Passion for improving public outcomes through great government services
- A mindset and work approach that align with Skylight’s core values
- Ability to spend time on‑site at HHS in Washington, DC — either by being based locally or by traveling regularly for in‑person work when it’s important
- Must be legally authorized to work in the U.S. now and in the future without sponsorship
