Staff/Principal Software Engineer, Consulting (U. S. Air Force)

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, 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.

A consulting software engineer focuses on advisory engagements where the deliverable is guidance, assessment, or technical strategy rather than delivering code.

Skylight has partnered with the U.S. Air Force across multiple legacy modernization efforts. The work spans modernization of legacy systems, new capability development in multi-vendor environments, iteration on established platforms, all inside an agile transformation and broader organizational change.

You’ll assess legacy systems, shape the technical strategy for modernizing them, and pair directly with government engineers to raise the bar on how software gets built. Expect to spend your time in architecture reviews, working sessions with vendors and Air Force teams, and hands-on demonstrations of modern, AI-assisted engineering practices.

What to know going in

Your first 30 days are about working with the Skylight team and government personnel, learning the client’s domain and organization, and enabling your government partners. Access to users varies from team to team, so you’ll need to get creative about how you reach them. The client is early- to mid-transformation, so expect organizational and operational change along the way.

This role is contingent on Skylight being awarded the underlying contract. If we’re not awarded the contract, we’ll let you know promptly and discuss whether there are other opportunities that fit.

What you’ll do

Assess legacy applications and their technical environments to identify technical debt, instability, and other opportunities for improvement, then design, document, and communicate solutions

Own the modernization strategy, technical direction, architectural decisions, and test strategy for the modernization, in collaboration with government engineers and partner vendors but accountable for the result

Advocate for and model lean-agile engineering practices such as API-first design, simple design, continuous integration, version control, and automated testing

Guide teams toward secure, compliant software that meets federal security standards and defends against common vulnerabilities

Pair with and coach government engineers so modern practices, including AI-assisted development, stick after you’ve moved on

Collaborate with product managers, researchers, and designers so technical recommendations serve user and mission needs

What we’re looking for

Basic qualifications

Ability to write clean, working, and reusable code

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

Experience evaluating existing systems and communicating technical findings and recommendations to both engineers and non-technical stakeholders

Comfort holding architectural decision rights on a multi-vendor engagement, and making the tradeoffs legible to non-technical stakeholders

Experience working in agile software development

Interest in mentoring, coaching, and pairing with government partners so they can carry the work forward

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

Military or government experience

Experience leading legacy modernization efforts or reverse-engineering legacy applications where the code, the documentation, and stakeholder knowledge don't agree

Experience with web-based tech stacks (e.g., Java/React) and cloud infrastructure

Experience coaching other engineers on the failure modes of AI-assisted development

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.

This contract requires U.S. citizenship to be eligible for employment.

You must be able to obtain and maintain a Common Access Card (CAC), which requires a favorable background check.

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

Expect occasional travel to Air Force bases across the U.S., quarterly at most.

Expected start date

November 2026

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 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

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.