Staff/Principal Engagement Manager (ACF)

Skylight•Washington, DC

1d•$170,000 - $230,000•Onsite

About The Position

At Skylight, engagement managers are responsible for driving the overall success of our client work. They draw on their expertise in areas such as product management practices, risk/issue management, stakeholder management, continual improvement, and contract administration in order to deliver the highest levels of client service and work. At Skylight, engagement managers are responsible for driving the overall success of our client work. They draw on their expertise in areas such as product management practices, risk/issue management, stakeholder management, continual improvement, and contract administration in order to deliver the highest levels of client service and work. In this role, the engagement manager will lead the delivery of a net-new, 0–1 product in the child welfare space, guiding a cross-functional team from early ambiguity through to tangible outcomes on an accelerated timeline. They will be responsible for establishing clarity where little exists—defining priorities, shaping the product direction in close partnership with stakeholders, and ensuring the team can move quickly while staying grounded in user needs and policy constraints. This includes setting up pragmatic product management practices, enabling rapid iteration, and making thoughtful tradeoffs to balance speed, quality, and impact. They will also serve as the primary point of accountability for navigating complexity and risk, proactively identifying potential issues and addressing them before they impact delivery. Given the sensitive and high-stakes nature of the domain, the engagement manager will need to operate with sound judgment, ensuring that decisions are both responsible and action-oriented. At the same time, they will build and maintain strong relationships with senior stakeholders, translating ambiguity into clear plans, aligning on expectations, and communicating progress with transparency and confidence. Success in this role requires the ability to lead teams through uncertainty while maintaining momentum, fostering a culture of ownership, adaptability, and continuous improvement. The engagement manager will ensure that the engagement remains operationally sound—managing timelines, scope, and contract expectations—while empowering the team to deliver meaningful, human-centered outcomes in a space where the work directly impacts children and families.

Requirements

Experience leading teams in 0–1 product development, from concept through initial launch, for a complex project or program, preferably in a product management, delivery, or consulting capacity
Experience directly managing and coaching cross-functional teams (product, design, engineering)
Demonstrated ability to deliver under tight timelines while maintaining quality and team health
Strong judgment and decision-making skills in high-ambiguity, high-stakes environments
Experience facilitating executive-level decision-making and navigating stakeholder conflict, building alignment in complex, multi-layered environments
Experience managing subcontractors or partner organizations within a delivery team
Financial acumen, including managing budgets, burn rates, and forecasting within a contract
Strong ability to turn ambiguous, evolving requirements into clear plans, priorities, and actionable work for teams and stakeholders
Experience working at the intersection of policy, operations, and technology, with the ability to translate between non-technical and technical audiences
Ability to manage multiple concurrent workstreams or client engagements while maintaining high-quality, outcome-driven delivery
Ability to identify and remove blockers across policy, operational, and technical domains to keep teams moving forward
Comfort working with technical systems, data flows, and legacy environments, with enough fluency to collaborate effectively with engineering and data teams
Experience working in or with government or other highly regulated environments, or the ability to quickly navigate complex regulatory contexts
Ability to build trusted relationships with clients and partners, and communicate effectively in a professional services environment
Commitment to agile and iterative delivery approaches, especially continuous improvement, facilitating retrospectives and applying learnings to improve team performance and outcomes
Ability to travel for work from time to time
Passion for improving public outcomes through better government services
A mindset and work approach that aligns with Skylight's core values
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, this role requires you obtain a public trust or security clearance upon hire.
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.
You must be willing to be in-person between 1-5 days a week, depending on project phase, at 330 C Street SW, Washington DC.

Nice To Haves

Experience working in the child welfare or broader human services domain
Experience launching products in highly regulated or policy-constrained environments
Background in consulting or professional services, particularly in client-facing delivery roles
Experience with human-centered, trauma-informed design practices and working closely with design teams
Familiarity with data-informed product development, including defining metrics and using data to guide decisions
Experience working on digital services that serve vulnerable or historically underserved populations
Experience working on digital services that serve youth and young adults, with youth and young adults
Experience scaling early-stage products or transitioning from 0–1 to more mature product phases
Prior experience working in the civic tech space

Responsibilities

Lead a cross-functional team (product, design, engineering, etc.) to deliver a 0–1 product from ambiguity to launch on an accelerated timeline
Guide the team in shaping product vision, priorities, and roadmap in close partnership with senior stakeholders
Enable the team to translate complex policy, operational, and user needs into actionable product decisions and deliverables
Drive alignment and decision-making across senior stakeholders, ensuring clarity on goals, tradeoffs, and progress
Proactively identify and mitigate risks, empowering the team to navigate constraints without losing momentum
Establish and reinforce lightweight product and delivery practices that support speed, quality, and continuous learning
Ensure the team is incorporating user feedback and real-world insights throughout the product development process
Hold the team accountable to outcomes, timelines, and quality, making clear tradeoffs to maintain forward progress
Foster a strong, collaborative team culture grounded in ownership, adaptability, and mission-driven work
Oversee contract execution, ensuring delivery aligns with scope, milestones, and client expectations
Communicate engagement status, risks, and outcomes clearly to both client and internal leadership
Serve as a team-oriented, collaborative leader with both client and internal leadership, contribute to performance management and talent retention strategies, to include staff hiring, onboarding, development and growth
Translate the client’s objectives and constraints into an engagement approach that will deliver a unique experience and impactful results in the shortest amount of time possible
Set up the team for successful delivery by removing obstacles, coaching them on how to become more collaborative and self-organizing, and enabling the work they do rather than impose how it’s done
Provide management- and team-level visibility into the status and health of the engagement and serve as primary coordinator for budget, travel, and other administrative requirements
Manage contract financials and health

Benefits

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