[Hiring] Principal Software Engineer @Skylight

Role Description

At Skylight, tech leads combine hands-on technical expertise with leadership across multiple teams. They set direction, guide engineering practices, and create the conditions for technical delivery that is secure, resilient, and scalable.

We’re building a modernized Team Awareness Kit (TAK) application for the U.S. Air Force that works in a decentralized communications environment. The first release centers on:

• Push-to-talk with auto-transcribed transmission logs
• Secure direct and group messaging
• Offline maps
• User registration and login

The work may expand into other projects in the same portfolio. It’s full end-to-end product delivery for a tactical user base.

You’ll set the technical direction for mapping and communication mobile apps that have to keep working when the network doesn’t, and you’ll stay hands-on in the code while you do it.

You’ll join an existing team that’s already building and shipping. The team relies on AI-assisted, spec-driven development, so you should be comfortable working that way and holding the output to a high bar. You’ll manage two software engineers to start.

In this role, you’ll also serve as a people manager, contributing to client work while taking on responsibility for the people you manage — their development, their performance, and the conditions that help them do their best work.

Qualifications

• Hands-on technical leadership of complex software delivery, including architecture decisions, implementation, code reviews, and mentoring engineers
• Full-stack delivery across modern frontend or mobile applications, backend services, APIs, and relational databases
• Experience with distributed systems, real-time or asynchronous communication, and integration with external systems
• Secure application development, including authentication, authorization, encryption, and secrets management
• Experience using AI-assisted development tools with independent verification, testing, and security review
• Can produce high-quality code by adhering to good practices such as automated testing
• Understand the importance of always putting users at the center of your work
• Experience working on cross-functional teams (product, design, engineering, ops) in iterative delivery
• A mindset and work approach that aligns with our core values

Requirements

• Experience with Flutter and Dart, Go, PostgreSQL, SQLite, WebSockets, or WebRTC
• Experience with geospatial applications, mapping, offline-first operation, or software for degraded or disconnected networks
• Experience with AWS, Kubernetes (EKS), Helm, Argo CD, Terraform, Crossplane, or GitHub Actions
• Experience delivering defense or regulated systems, including STIGs, RMF and ATO processes, CAC and PKI, or mTLS
• Experience improving AI-assisted engineering workflows, such as specification-driven development, agent orchestration, automated testing, or review automation
• Experience delivering technology in government, regulated industries, or other public-benefit settings
• A track record of staying aligned and accountable on remote teams

Benefits

• 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 $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
• Flexible, remote-friendly work environment
• An environment that empowers you to unleash your superpowers for public good