Principal Software Engineer, Lead (U.S. Air Force)

Skylight

1d•$180,000 - $230,000•Remote

About The Position

Skylight is hiring a Principal Software Engineer, Lead to provide hands-on technical leadership and people management for software delivery supporting the U.S. Air Force. The role will lead development of a modernized Team Awareness Kit (TAK) application for tactical users operating in decentralized communications environments. The initial release focuses on push-to-talk with auto-transcribed transmission logs, secure direct and group messaging, offline maps, and user registration and login; work may expand to other projects in the same portfolio. The technical lead sets direction across multiple teams, guides engineering practices, and supports secure, resilient, scalable delivery. The role spans architecture through implementation and code review, with ongoing hands-on coding. It also shapes AI-assisted, spec-driven development practices and independently verifies their output through testing and security review. The position manages two software engineers initially and supports their development, performance, and working conditions while continuing to contribute to client work. This is a full-time, exempt, fully remote position. Work must be conducted within the United States, excluding U.S. territories. The role may require occasional travel to Montgomery, Alabama, and other U.S. Air Force bases. U.S. citizenship, ability to obtain and maintain a Common Access Card (CAC) and any required special access, and successful completion of a company background check are required.

Requirements

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, including ability to become productive in unfamiliar languages and frameworks.
Experience with distributed systems, real-time or asynchronous communication, and integration with external systems.
Secure application development experience, including authentication, authorization, encryption, and secrets management, along with cloud or container deployment and CI/CD.
Experience using AI-assisted development tools with independent verification, testing, and security review.
Ability to produce high-quality code using good practices such as automated testing.
Understanding of the importance of putting users at the center of the work and considering the impact and implications of code.
Experience working on cross-functional teams across product, design, engineering, and operations in iterative delivery.
A mindset and work approach aligned with Skylight’s core values.
U.S. citizenship.
Ability to obtain and maintain a Common Access Card (CAC) and any special access required by the contract.
Successful completion of a company background check.
All work must be conducted within the U.S., excluding U.S. territories.

Nice To Haves

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; familiarity with TAK and Cursor on Target (CoT) interoperability.
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.

Responsibilities

Lead technical delivery of mobile and backend software for tactical users, from architecture decisions through implementation and code review.
Build secure applications that remain useful on degraded or disconnected networks, including real-time voice, messaging, and offline maps.
Partner with product, design, platform, and security teams to resolve dependencies and explain technical tradeoffs to technical and non-technical stakeholders.
Shape the team’s use of AI-assisted development, combining spec-driven practices with independent verification, automated testing, and security review.
Build strong working relationships with direct reports and support their development.
Coach individuals through growth, feedback, and day-to-day challenges.
Manage two software engineers initially.
Continue contributing hands-on to client work while taking responsibility for team members’ development, performance, and working conditions.

Benefits

Medical insurance
Dental insurance
Vision insurance
Short-term and long-term disability insurance
Life and AD&D insurance
Dependent care FSA, healthcare FSA, and health savings account
Dollar-for-dollar 401(k) match up to 10% of salary, with no vesting period
Flexible paid-time-off policy, generally around 25 days per year
11 paid federal holidays
Up to 12 weeks of paid time off for eligible new birth, adoption, or foster parents
Annual salary increases
Annual performance bonus
Spot bonuses
Stock options
Business development and sales bonuses
Referral bonuses
Annual $2,000 professional development allowance
Annual $750 allowance for tech-related purchases
Annual $100 swag budget
Flexible, remote-friendly work environment