Staff/Principal Product Designer

Skylight

6d•$170,000 - $230,000•Remote

About The Position

At Skylight, product designers advocate for users, uncover opportunities, and turn insights into designs that improve how government delivers services. They work end-to-end, from research and concepts through implementation, ensuring services are usable, accessible, and sustainable. As a product designer on this project, you’ll collaborate across disciplines to research user needs, define flows and interactions, and design accessible interfaces that scale. You’ll contribute to and evolve design systems, prototype ideas to reduce risk, and ensure design decisions are grounded in evidence. 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.

Requirements

Experience planning, conducting, and synthesizing research to inform product design
Ability to design scalable end-to-end flows and interactions grounded in usability and accessibility best practices
Skills in creating interfaces with clear information hierarchy, visual design, and maintainability in mind
Familiarity with structured design processes and how to apply them in lean/agile environments
Strong facilitation and communication skills with users, teammates, and stakeholders
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 Skylight’s core values

Nice To Haves

Experience designing for modernization in complex or regulated environments
Familiarity with compliance and security contexts such as Authority to Operate (ATO) processes
Experience contributing to or maintaining design systems at scale
Background working closely with technical counterparts to ensure clarity and inclusivity in complex workflows
Track record of mentoring designers and building design practices across organizations
Experience working effectively on hybrid or distributed teams

Responsibilities

Partner with product managers, engineers, and researchers to shape product strategy and ensure solutions meet user needs
Plan and conduct research to uncover needs, policies, and operational constraints, then synthesize findings into actionable insights and artifacts
Define end-to-end flows and interaction patterns that scale across complex systems and service journeys
Create interfaces that are clear, usable, and accessible, while evolving design systems for reuse and consistency
Prototype quickly and iteratively — from sketches to clickable mockups — to validate ideas and reduce risk
Build accessibility, privacy, and security into designs from the start, including Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act (Section 508) standards
Align design decisions with measurable outcomes such as objectives and key results (OKRs) and key performance indicators (KPIs)
Help federal teams sustain improvements by delivering training and enablement, and by leaving behind reusable resources such as templates, playbooks, and decision records

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