Staff Principal Product Manager Technical

Job description

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, product managers are responsible for strategy, planning, execution, stakeholder management, and team health. Product managers partner with researchers, designers, engineers, client stakeholders, and others to inform their product decisions. At a high level, it’s the product manager’s job to figure out what to build next and why.

In this role, you’ll partner with a mission-critical organization within the U.S. Air Force Special Operations community to modernize complex user experience journeys that underpin highly specialized operations. Leveraging your strengths in human-centered design and digital modernization, you’ll help deliver secure, scalable solutions that measurably improve usability, operational efficiency, and mission readiness.

What you’ll do

• Lead a cross-functional, cross-organizational team of researchers, designers, engineers, and subject matter experts to deliver high-impact products and services
• Translate user and partner needs into a cohesive product strategy that outlines vision, objectives, success metrics, product roadmap, and backlog
• Manage product direction and scope — from early user research through implementation
• Write and prioritize user stories, then organize them into clear release plans
• Facilitate team ceremonies like planning sessions, stakeholder syncs, and retrospectives
• Leverage data and feedback to inform the product roadmap, making thoughtful decisions about priorities and trade-offs
• Collaborate closely with government teams to share digital skills and product knowledge
• Navigate bureaucratic complexities with creativity, helping simplify processes along the way
• Coordinate with government partners to ensure seamless integration with their existing tools and processes

What we’re looking for

Minimum qualifications

• Solid understanding of lean product principles (like MVP) and how to apply them across the product life cycle to reduce risk, validate assumptions, and speed up learning
• Ability to craft a product strategy that’s rooted in a clear problem definition, focuses on outcomes (not just features), and includes success criteria
• Proven skill in executing that strategy by breaking down scope into smaller, high-value chunks, maintaining a prioritized backlog of validated user stories, and guiding the team through iterative development
• A strong technical background that lets you discuss operational needs, system reliability, and technical constraints — and then turn that knowledge into a user-focused roadmap
• Understanding of human-centered design and how it can drive product direction
• Comfort working across disciplines — researchers, designers, engineers, etc. — to get things done
• Experience managing clients and stakeholders in a way that builds trust, alignment, and a healthy team environment
• Knowledge of various software development methodologies (e.g., agile, lean) and how to put them into practice
• Ability to work successfully within a professional services environment (e.g., can communicate effectively with clients)
• Demonstrated ownership of end-to-end product delivery in complex technical systems
• Experience leading cross-functional delivery teams
• Experience delivering products in defense or similarly regulated environments
• Passionate about creating better public outcomes through great government services
• A mindset and work approach that align with Skylight’s core values
• Ability to travel for work from time to time

Nice-to-have qualifications

• Prior military service or direct support to tactical or special operations communities
• Experience in management consulting or digital services firms
• Former engineer, architect, or technical lead background
• Experience serving as engagement lead or contract lead
• Prior work on secure or classified programs
• 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., 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, up to Top Secret.
• 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 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 Product Manager at Skylight, the current salary ranges are as follows:

• Associate Product Manager: $90,000–$125,000
• Product Manager I: $120,000–$140,000
• Product Manager II: $135,000–$160,000
• Senior Product Manager: $150,000–$185,000
• Staff Product Manager: $170,000–$203,000
• Principal Product Manager:  $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

• 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.
• 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.