Senior/Staff/Principal Data Scientist (HHS)
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
At Skylight, data scientists organize, synthesize, and analyze data to help government stakeholders and product teams make informed decisions. They apply a variety of analytical models to find meaningful insights in both structured and unstructured data, and they communicate these insights in an easily digestible format.
This project supports the HHS Office of the Chief Data Officer (OCDO) in modernizing enterprise data management, improving data accessibility, and strengthening coordination across HHS Divisions. The team provides end-to-end delivery—from discovery and roadmap development through engineering, implementation, and ongoing operations—across three core areas: the HHS Data Inventory, the AI Use-Case Inventory, and OCDO strategic and programmatic support.
Key activities include automating metadata collection and validation, expanding inventory coverage, supporting data catalog modernization and migration, coordinating Division data calls, and publishing public inventories. The team also supports data governance, statutory reporting, executive communications, and analytical needs. Together, these efforts help HHS reduce data silos, improve visibility into data and AI assets, meet federal reporting requirements, and establish sustainable infrastructure and processes for enterprise data sharing.
In this role, you’ll focus on the AI Use-Case Inventory and broader OCDO priorities, turning ambiguous policy and reporting requirements into practical, repeatable analytical workflows.
What to know going in
This is early-stage, high-visibility work with shifting priorities. Decisions often arrive unresolved, and you’ll help shape them rather than execute against a fixed spec. Client leadership believes moving too slowly is a bigger risk than being wrong, so you’ll do well here if you like prototyping quickly and sharing early, imperfect work.
You’ll work alongside a broader Skylight team. In your first 30 days, you’ll get access to existing systems, learn the current workstreams, and start contributing analysis to them.
What you’ll do
Develop repeatable data quality checks, validate schemas, and standardize metadata across HHS’s data and AI inventories
Evaluate, classify, and document risks for enterprise AI use cases in accordance with federal and agency governance standards
Clean, integrate, and analyze complex data from multiple sources to surface trends, gaps, and patterns
Apply machine learning and natural language processing to automate data tagging, classification, and metadata enrichment
Prepare reporting datasets and turn findings into clear dashboards and recommendations for technical and executive audiences
Choose the right tool for the job, whether that’s a straightforward analysis, a simple automation, or a model, with a preference for open-source solutions
Collaborate with product managers, designers, engineers, and other specialists as part of a cross-functional team
What we’re looking for
Basic qualifications
Experience working with AI systems, modern AI tooling, and enterprise AI model workflows
Background in metadata standards, data profiling, and schema validation
Can think about and use data strategically to identify the right questions to ask, communicate ideas, surface opportunities, and drive decisions
Strong proficiency in Python and SQL, with hands-on experience cleaning, validating, and preprocessing data from diverse sources
Ability to analyze a data set using the appropriate analytical method, and to design, prototype, and build statistical models that are credible, effective, and accessible
Ability to preserve privacy and security when performing data analysis
Can articulately communicate your data, models, and findings to technical, non-technical, and executive audiences
Ability to use the appropriate visualization tools to highlight actionable insights, trends, and recommendations from data
Champion leading practices within data science to your team and others
Experience working on cross-functional teams (product, design, engineering, ops) in iterative delivery
A mindset and work approach that aligns with our core values
Nice-to-haves
Experience conducting risk assessments, evaluations, and compliance classifications for AI use cases against federal or industry frameworks
Strong data engineering skills, including working directly in backend pipeline code, ETL workflows, and metadata processing
Practical experience applying AI, machine learning, and natural language processing to automate data tagging, classification, and metadata enrichment
Familiarity with federal data governance, AI governance, enterprise AI model inventories, or open data reporting
Proficiency with Power BI
Experience delivering technology in government, regulated industries, or other public-benefit settings
A track record of staying aligned and accountable on remote teams
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
Some of our available roles are on federal contracts that require a degree or additional years of experience as a substitute.
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.
This role requires you to obtain and maintain a Public Trust clearance.
You must complete a company background check successfully.
Logistics
Position type
This is a full-time, exempt position.
Location
This is a fully remote position.
Travel
This role may require occasional or regular travel based on company, client, or contract needs.
Care package
Salary
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 Data Scientist at Skylight, the current salary ranges are as follows:
Associate Data Scientist: $90,000–$125,000
Data Scientist I: $120,000–$140,000
Data Scientist II: $135,000–$160,000
Senior Data Scientist: $150,000–$185,000
Staff Data Scientist: $170,000–$203,000
Principal Data Scientist: $180,000–$230,000
Benefits
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
Flexible paid-time-off policy (generally around 25 days per year), plus 11 paid federal holidays
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
Business development / sales bonuses
Referral bonuses
Annual $2000 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)
Flexible, remote-friendly work environment
An environment that empowers you to unleash your superpowers for public good
Interview tips
Our process includes a preliminary screen, a skills interview, a behavioral interview, and a reverse interview where you meet your potential team — usually four conversations across two to three weeks. 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.
Browse our case studies to learn more about our work.
If you’d like to request reasonable accommodations during the application or interviewing process, please contact our recruiting team at recruiting@skylight.digital.
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.