Staff/Principal Service Designer

About Skylight

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.

About the job

At Skylight, service designers connect human, digital, and organizational interactions to improve how government delivers services. They frame problems, uncover opportunities, and create practical solutions that bring measurable outcomes for the public.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is launching one of the most ambitious transformations in government — and this is a rare chance to be part of it. You’ll join a high-impact team of product managers, researchers, designers, engineers, and security experts working side-by-side with HHS leadership to modernize the systems people rely on to access healthcare, strengthen cybersecurity that protects personal data, launch digital services used by tens of millions every day, and integrate data and AI responsibly into daily work across the department so teams at every level can make smarter, safer decisions.

As a service designer on this project, you’ll work across disciplines to translate strategy into real improvements. You’ll conduct research, synthesize insights, and create service blueprints that guide implementation. Just as importantly, you’ll prepare federal teams to sustain these improvements by sharing knowledge and practices that last — from training and enablement to reusable tools like templates, playbooks, and decision records.

What you’ll do

• Lead service design strategy and planning to shape high-impact engagements
• Conduct research and synthesize findings into actionable insights and service blueprints
• Generate and test ideas through prototyping and experimentation to validate outcomes
• Partner with product, engineering, design, and data teammates to turn concepts into implemented solutions
• Ensure accessibility, security, and compliance are embedded from the start, including Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act (Section 508) standards
• Define success measures and make progress visible with clear metrics and reporting
• Facilitate workshops, create toolkits, and coach government partners to sustain improvements
• Help federal teams sustain improvements by delivering training and enablement, and by leaving behind reusable resources such as templates, playbooks, and decision records

What we're looking for

Minimum qualifications

• Experience applying service design methods to improve services and organizations
• Ability to conduct and synthesize research to uncover needs and guide design
• Experience creating artifacts such as service blueprints, prototypes, or workflows to translate insights into implementation
• Familiarity with accessibility requirements such as Section 508 and inclusive design practices
• Strong facilitation and collaboration skills to influence stakeholders and align teams
• Clear communication skills with executives, stakeholders, and delivery teams
• Commitment to equipping federal teams with documentation, training, and mentoring so improvements last beyond the contract
• Ability to work effectively in a professional services environment
• Passion for improving public outcomes through great government services
• A mindset and work approach that align with our core values

Nice-to-have qualifications

• Experience delivering modernization in civic tech, government, or other highly regulated sectors
• Familiarity with security and compliance contexts such as Authority to Operate (ATO) processes
• Experience working effectively on hybrid or distributed teams
• Ability to spend time on-site at HHS in Washington, DC — either by being based locally or by traveling periodically for in-person collaboration

Don’t meet 100% of the criteria but think you can do the job? We’d love to chat anyway! We’re on a mission to build diverse teams, and studies have shown that women and marginalized folks are less likely to apply to jobs if they don’t check every box.

Other requirements

• All work must be conducted within the U.S., excluding U.S. territories. Some federal contracts require U.S. citizenship to be eligible for employment.
• 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 may be required to 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.

Position type

This is a full-time, exempt position.

Location

This is a remote-friendly role. You can be based anywhere in the U.S. Candidates in the Washington, DC area, or those willing to travel there periodically for in-person collaboration, are especially encouraged to apply.

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 Service Designer at Skylight, the current salary ranges are as follows:

• Associate Service Designer: $90,000–$125,000
• Service Designer I: $120,000–$140,000
• Service Designer II: $135,000–$160,000
• Senior Service Designer: $150,000–$185,000
• Staff Service Designer: $170,000–$203,000
• Principal Service Designer: $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 $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 (hoodies, hats, and more)
• Dollar-for-dollar charity donation matching, up to $500 per year
• Flexible, remote-friendly work environment
• An environment that empowers you to unleash your superpowers for public good

Interview tips

We want you to have a great interview experience with us! Here are some tips to help you prepare for a successful interview:

• Please include a portfolio of 1–2 work samples with your application. Your portfolio can be anything from a website to a slide deck — whatever best showcases your work. We suggest choosing work samples that highlight your skills and experience in relation to the qualifications outlined in the job posting. Unless specified in the job requirements, your portfolio doesn’t need to be tied to any particular industry or field — just select samples that best represent your expertise. To ensure we can review your application promptly, please remove any access passwords on your portfolio or provide access details.
  Visit ourjoin page to learn more about how our interview process works.
• Check out ourCareer Pathways framework to learn more about the different roles within Skylight and the skills needed to do them.
• Please include a portfolio of 1–2 showcase projects with your application. Your portfolio can be anything from a website to a slide deck (whatever works for you). So that we can prioritize your application for consideration, please ensure that you either remove your access password to your portfolio or provide access details.
• If you’d like to request reasonable accommodations during the application or interviewing process, please contact our recruiting team at [email protected].

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.