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, 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.

What you’ll do Develop research plans (e.g., what methods to use) in alignment with the strategic context of the project Find and connect with good user research participants Apply a mix of quantitative and qualitative user research techniques (e.g., user interviews, contextual inquiry) to gain a greater understanding of user needs Clearly communicate research findings with internal and external collaborators Translate research findings into service/product design hypotheses Employ usability testing to validate those hypotheses Guide the direction of the service/product and continually advocate for users Collaborate with others as part of a cross-functional team that includes product managers, product designers, engineers, and other functional specialists Maintain organized, well-written documentation throughout the research process What we're looking for Minimum qualifications Ability to align user research activities with organizational strategy and objectives Can correctly apply a wide-range of user research methods at different stages of the product life cycle Understand how to include all kinds of users in appropriate research activities to help teams deliver accessible services Can turn research data into clear findings that inform decisions Ability to help colleagues better understand the social and technological context for government services (e.g., how digital technology is changing user behavior) Possess an understanding of the different technologies and technical roles within a multidisciplinary team used to build and operate digital services Can apply user-centered design practices within the context of an agile, multidisciplinary team 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 (when it’s safe) Nice-to-have qualifications Prior experience working in the civic tech space Experience working in a remote-team environment

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 US, excluding US territories. Some federal contracts require US citizenship to be eligible for employment. You must be legally authorized to work in the US now and in the future without sponsorship. As a government contractor, you may be required to obtain a security clearance, such as public trust. Some of our available roles are on federal contracts that require a degree or additional years of experience as  a substitute.

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

As Skylight continues to grow, we are committed to improving and scaling our internal operations to deliver even greater value to employees, customers, and the public. We see AI as a transformative tool to help us operate more efficiently, provide better employee experiences, enhance customer value, and advance our mission of making a public service difference.

As our Business Operations AI Engineer, you’ll help design, build, and implement AI-powered solutions that transform the way we work internally. Your work could include building AI systems that convert client project documentation into polished case studies for our website, or automating updates to career pathway roles based on real-time feedback and performance metrics. These solutions will directly enhance how Skylight leverages AI to create smarter, more efficient processes, empower teams to achieve their best, and ultimately improve how we deliver meaningful public services.

This role also offers the exciting opportunity to help shape and grow Skylight’s AI-driven business operations team, providing input on team structure, hiring needs, and strategies for scaling AI integration.

We’re on a mission to build diverse teams that reflect the communities we serve. If you bring unique perspectives, experiences, or skills that align with our mission, we want to hear from you — even if you don’t check every box in the qualifications.

This position reports to Skylight’s Chief Information Officer.

What you’ll do Analyze and identify opportunities to improve operational efficiency across key business areas (e.g., financial management, people operations, growth operations, and client delivery operations) using AI and other technology-based automation solutions Design, develop, and implement tools and workflows that address internal operational challenges, whether through AI or other innovative technologies Enable the integration of automation into client delivery operations, with applications in practice areas such as user research and software engineering Implement a Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) framework to allow AI systems to access select information, ensuring outputs are accurate and context-aware Automate routine processes — using a mix of AI and other technical approaches — to improve accuracy, speed, and employee satisfaction Build predictive models and analytics to support better decision-making across Skylight Help shape and grow Skylight’s AI-driven business operations team, providing guidance on scaling technology initiatives and fostering collaboration Collaborate with non-technical team members to design and implement solutions that are user-friendly and impactful Promote ethical AI practices and ensure compliance with data privacy standards Provide training and support to help teams successfully adopt and use AI and other automation tools What we're looking for Minimum qualifications Experience in machine learning or AI, with a track record of applying AI solutions to solve real-world challenges Experience designing or implementing technology-driven automation workflows A collaborative mindset and the ability to explain technical concepts to non-technical audiences Familiarity with frameworks for building AI solutions, such as TensorFlow, PyTorch, or similar Experience with or strong interest in AI-powered search and retrieval frameworks, such as Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) or semantic search systems Proficiency in Python, R, or another programming language used in AI or automation development A proactive and resourceful approach to problem-solving and delivering results 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 Nice-to-have qualifications Familiarity with embedding models (e.g., OpenAI, Hugging Face) and vector-based search tools Experience integrating AI solutions with Google Workspace or similar platforms. Knowledge of data privacy and ethical AI practices Experience in natural language processing (NLP) tasks like document summarization or chatbot development Prior experience working in the civic tech space Experience working in a remote-team environment

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. 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 successfully complete a company background check. Position type

This is a full-time, exempt position.

Location

This is a fully remote position.

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 User Researcher at Skylight, the current salary ranges are as follows:

Associate User Researcher]: $90,000–$125,000 User Researcher I: $120,000–$140,000 User Researcher II: $135,000–$160,000 Senior User Researcher: $150,000–$185,000 Staff User Researcher: $170,000–$203,000 Principal User Researcher: $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 Paid time off, including 15 accrued vacation days, 11 federal holidays, 5 floating holidays, and flexible sick leave  Minimum of 9 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 Access up to $1,000 before payday to cover emergency expenses 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:

Visit our join page to learn more about how our interview process works. Check out our Career 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 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 US.

We're an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, religion, age, pregnancy, disability, work-related injury, covered veteran status, political ideology, marital status, or any other factor that the law protects from employment discrimination.