{"id":4304261,"url":"https://alion.io/job/skylight-principal-software-engineer-lead-u-s-air-force-2","title":"Principal Software Engineer, Lead (U.S. Air Force)","company":{"id":4542395,"name":"Skylight","domain":"skylight.digital","url":"https://alion.io/company/skylight-5","size_band":"51-200","is_staffing_agency":false,"employer_type":"direct","is_intermediary":false,"listed_via":null,"ats_vendor":null,"truth_index":null},"role":"Backend","role_family":"Backend","seniority":"lead","employment_type":"full_time","work_mode":"remote","remote_scope":"stated_countries","remote_scope_basis":"posting_text","remote_working_hours":null,"hiring_geo_confidence":"explicit","locations":["Montgomery, United States"],"countries":["US"],"hiring_countries":["US"],"hiring_countries_total":1,"salary":{"min":90000,"max":230000,"currency":"USD","period":"year","gross":null,"usd_annual":230000},"salary_estimate":null,"experience_years_min":null,"visa_sponsorship":false,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":true,"technologies":[{"name":"CI/CD","optional":false},{"name":"Amazon EKS","optional":true},{"name":"ArgoCD","optional":true},{"name":"AWS","optional":true},{"name":"Crossplane","optional":true},{"name":"Cursor","optional":true},{"name":"Dart","optional":true},{"name":"Flutter","optional":true},{"name":"GitHub","optional":true},{"name":"GitHub Actions","optional":true},{"name":"Go","optional":true},{"name":"Helm","optional":true},{"name":"Kubernetes","optional":true},{"name":"Offline-First","optional":true},{"name":"PKI","optional":true},{"name":"PostgreSQL","optional":true},{"name":"SQLite","optional":true},{"name":"Terraform","optional":true},{"name":"WebRTC","optional":true},{"name":"WebSockets","optional":true}],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2026-11-14T03:32:07Z","employer_posted_date":null,"last_verified_at":"2026-11-14T03:32:07Z","board_verified":false,"closed_at":null,"days_open":0,"trust":{"level":"not_scored","repost_count":null,"flags":[],"days_open":0},"description":"This a Full Remote job, the offer is available from: United States\nAbout Skylight\nSkylight is a digital consultancy using design and technology to help government agencies deliver better public services.\nWe’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.\nIf 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.\nThe work we do matters.\nAbout the job\nAt 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.\nWe’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, and 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.\nYou’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.\nWhat to know going in\nYou’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.\nIn this role, you’ll also serve as a people manager. As a manager, you’ll keep growing in your craft and contributing to client work, while also taking on responsibility for the people you manage - their development, their performance, and the conditions that help them do their best work.\nWhat you’ll do\nLead technical delivery of mobile and backend software for tactical users, from architecture decisions through implementation and code review\nBuild secure applications that stay useful on degraded or disconnected networks, including real-time voice, messaging, and offline maps\nPartner with product, design, and platform and security teams to resolve dependencies and explain technical tradeoffs to technical and non-technical stakeholders\nShape how the team uses AI-assisted development, pairing spec-driven practices with independent verification, automated testing, and security review\nBuild strong working relationships with the people you manage and actively support their development\nCoach individuals through growth, feedback, and day-to-day challenges\nWhat we’re looking for\nBasic qualifications\nHands-on technical leadership of complex software delivery, including architecture decisions, implementation, code reviews, and mentoring engineers\nFull-stack delivery across modern frontend or mobile applications, backend services, APIs, and relational databases, including becoming productive in unfamiliar languages and frameworks\nExperience with distributed systems, real-time or asynchronous communication, and integration with external systems\nSecure application development, including authentication, authorization, encryption, and secrets management, along with cloud or container deployment and CI/CD\nExperience using AI-assisted development tools with independent verification, testing, and security review\nCan produce high-quality code by adhering to good practices such as automated testing\nUnderstand 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\nExperience working on cross-functional teams (product, design, engineering, ops) in iterative delivery\nA mindset and work approach that aligns with our core values\nNice-to-haves\nExperience with Flutter and Dart, Go, PostgreSQL, SQLite, WebSockets, or WebRTC\nExperience with geospatial applications, mapping, offline-first operation, or software for degraded or disconnected networks\nExperience with AWS, Kubernetes (EKS), Helm, Argo CD, Terraform, Crossplane, or GitHub Actions\nExperience delivering defense or regulated systems, including STIGs, RMF and ATO processes, CAC and PKI, or mTLS, plus familiarity with TAK and Cursor on Target (CoT) interoperability\nExperience improving AI-assisted engineering workflows, such as specification-driven development, agent orchestration, automated testing, or review automation\nExperience delivering technology in government, regulated industries, or other public-benefit settings\nA track record of staying aligned and accountable on remote teams\nDon’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.\nOther requirements\nSome of our available roles are on federal contracts that require a degree or additional years of experience as a substitute.\nAll work must be conducted within the U.S., excluding U.S. territories.\nThis contract requires U.S. citizenship to be eligible for employment.\nYou must be able to obtain and maintain a Common Access Card (CAC) and any special access the contract requires.\nYou must complete a company background check successfully.\nLogistics\nPosition type\nThis is a full-time, exempt position.\nLocation\nThis is a fully remote position.\nTravel\nThis role may require occasional travel to Montgomery, Alabama, and other U.S. Air Force bases.\nCare package\nSalary\nWe 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:\nAssociate Software Engineer: $90,000-$125,000\nSoftware Engineer I: $120,000-$140,000\nSoftware Engineer II: $135,000-$160,000\nSenior Software Engineer: $150,000-$185,000\nStaff Software Engineer: $170,000-$203,000\nPrincipal Software Engineer: $180,000-$230,000\nBenefits\nYour well-being is important to us, so we focus on supporting you in a variety of ways:\nMedical insurance, dental insurance, vision insurance\nShort-term and long-term disability insurance\nLife and AD&D insurance\nDependent care FSA, healthcare FSA, health savings account\nDollar-for-dollar 401(k) match up to 10% of your salary with no vesting period\nFlexible paid-time-off policy (generally around 25 days per year), plus 11 paid federal holidays\nUp to 12 weeks paid-time-off for all eligible new birth, adoption, or foster parents\nPerformance rewards, including annual salary increase, annual performance bonus, spot bonuses, and stock options\nBusiness development / sales bonuses\nReferral bonuses\nAnnual $2,000 allowance for professional development\nAnnual $750 allowance for tech-related purchases\nAnnual swag budget of $100 to display your Skylight pride with some merchandise (hoodies, hats, and more)\nFlexible, remote-friendly work environment\nAn environment that empowers you to unleash your superpowers for public good\nInterview tips\nOur 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:\nVisit our join page to learn more about how our interview process works.\nCheck out our Career Pathways framework to learn more about the different roles within Skylight and the skills needed to do them.\nBrowse our case studies to learn more about our work.\nIf you’d like to request reasonable accommodations during the application or interviewing process, please contact our recruiting team at .\nWe 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.\nWe are an Equal Opportunity Employer. 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