Senior/Staff Software Engineer, Backend

Skylight is a digital consultancy using design and technology to help government agencies deliver better public services. As a Senior/Staff Backend Software Engineer, you will design, build, and maintain server-side systems and APIs to improve government services, ensuring they meet federal security standards while mentoring other engineers.

Responsibilities:

• Engineer the server-side of a software product as part of a cross-functional team that includes researchers, designers, product managers, and other engineers
• Design, build, and maintain APIs, services, and data layers that keep secure data exchanges reliable and performant
• Achieve technical excellence by advocating for and adhering to lean-agile engineering practices such as API-first design, simple design, continuous integration, version control, and automated testing
• Build secure, compliant software that meets federal security standards and defends against common vulnerabilities
• Analyze systems to identify technical debt, instability, and other opportunities for improvement, then design, document, and communicate solutions
• Mentor other engineers and share knowledge to strengthen the team’s engineering practice

Requirements:

• Ability to write clean, working, and reusable code, with a focus on backend systems and services
• Can produce high-quality code by adhering to good practices such as automated testing
• Possess a strong understanding of data engineering, including how to use various datastores to handle persistent data in software systems
• Familiar with how to build secure, compliant software and defend against common vulnerabilities
• Understand the different pieces of software systems and how to fit them together, while keeping performance, reliability, and availability in mind
• Understand the importance of always putting users at the center of your work, including thinking through the impact and implications of any code that you write
• Experience mentoring engineers and raising the technical bar across a team or product (staff level)
• Ability to work successfully within a professional services environment (e.g., can communicate effectively with clients)
• Passionate about creating better public outcomes through great government services
• A mindset and work approach that aligns with our core values
• Ability to travel for work from time to time
• 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
• As a government contractor, you may be required to obtain a public trust or security clearance
• You must 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
• Experience working with databases and/or cloud infrastructure
• Familiarity with CI/CD best practices
• Experience with infrastructure as code (e.g., Docker, Terraform)
• Experience building software that handles sensitive personal data (e.g., tax, financial, or benefits information)
• Prior experience working in the civic tech space
• Experience working in a remote-team environment