Remote
US
$150K–$230K
🔧Solutions & Consulting
Early Access — Help us improve! Share your feedback.
We use cookies to improve your experience and measure how our site is used. Learn more.
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.
At Skylight, user researchers play a critical role in planning, designing, and carrying out research activities with users to help teams gain a deep understanding of the people that use government services. This research informs policy, service, content, and interaction design so that government services work well for users and achieve policy intent.
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 own research for a legacy modernization effort: planning studies, finding your way to users inside a large organization where access varies, and turning findings into direction the product and design teams act on. You’ll also help your government partners build their own research muscle.
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.
Important: 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.
This is a full-time, exempt position.
This is a fully remote position.
Expect occasional travel to Air Force bases across the U.S., quarterly at most.
November 2026
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 User Researcher at Skylight, the current salary ranges are as follows:
Your well-being is important to us, so we focus on supporting you in a variety of ways:
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:
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.
USD 150,000 - 203,000
Annually
Health Insurance
Dental Insurance
Vision Insurance
Life Insurance
Disability Insurance
Flexible Spending Account (FSA)
Health Savings Account (HSA)
401(k) / Retirement Plan
401(k) Match
Stock Options
Performance Bonus
PTO / Vacation
Paid Holidays
Flexible Schedule
Home Office Stipend
Parental Leave
Learning & Development Budget
Defined Career Pathways
Employee Referral Bonus
Employee Recognition Awards
Charity Matching
Nearly all of them. Skylight is remote-first, and its current openings are almost entirely remote positions open across the United States. The exception is occasional client-site work: one current product role is based in Washington, DC to be near a federal client.
Yes, and unusually thoroughly. Job postings include the full salary ladder by career level rather than a single range. The published software engineering ladder runs from $90,000 at the Associate level to $230,000 at Principal, and your level is determined through the company's public Career Pathways framework.
No. All open roles are listed in the United States, and postings require U.S. citizenship for employment, a standard requirement for Skylight's federal government contracting work.
A dollar-for-dollar 401(k) match up to 10% of salary with no vesting period, flexible paid time off (generally around 25 days per year) plus 11 paid federal holidays, up to 12 weeks of paid leave for new birth, adoption, or foster parents, a $2,000 annual professional development budget, and a $750 annual tech budget.
People motivated by public service and civic tech, since the work centers on government programs. In hiring, Skylight says it looks for a growth mindset, excellent communication skills, adaptability, and comfort with ambiguity rather than perfection. All screenings and interviews happen via videoconference.
Yes. Skylight runs paid internships lasting 2 to 3 months and paid apprenticeships lasting 12 months or more, and both can lead to full-time roles.
Pay Transparency
