Staff/Principal Engagement Manager (HHS)

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, engagement managers are accountable for outcomes, not just ceremonies. They help teams translate mission objectives into clear plans, manage risks, and create the conditions for fast, safe delivery.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is launching one of the most ambitious transformations in government — and this is a rare chance to be part of it. You’ll join a high-impact team of product managers, researchers, designers, engineers, and security experts working side-by-side with HHS leadership to modernize the systems people rely on to access healthcare, strengthen cybersecurity that protects personal data, launch digital services used by tens of millions every day, and integrate data and AI responsibly into daily work across the department so teams at every level can make smarter, safer decisions.

As an engagement manager on this project, you’ll coach multidisciplinary squads, manage delivery rhythms, and align stakeholders around priorities. You’ll identify and address risks early, keep work unblocked, and ensure compliance and accessibility are integrated from the start. 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.

What you’ll do

• Work with stakeholders to turn mission goals into clear outcomes, priorities, and success measures
• Shape and support a healthy delivery rhythm — planning, stand-ups, reviews, and retros that help teams learn and adapt quickly
• Spot risks, dependencies, and blockers early, and help teams resolve them before they slow progress
• Build trust and alignment with stakeholders through clear communication and open decision-making
• Support collaboration across product, design, engineering, security, and data teams with clarity around roles and responsibilities
• Share progress transparently with simple, accessible reporting on status and metrics
• Ensure compliance, accessibility, and security are integrated into delivery from the start
• Help federal teams sustain improvements by delivering training and enablement, and by leaving behind reusable resources such as templates, playbooks, and decision records

What we're looking for

Minimum qualifications

• Experience leading complex digital programs or multi-team engagements to successful outcomes
• Fluency with agile delivery at scale (e.g., Scrum, Kanban, Lean) and the ability to adapt practices to context
• Ability to identify and manage risks, issues, and dependencies in fast-moving environments
• Clear communication and facilitation skills with executives, stakeholders, and delivery teams
• Familiarity with government delivery requirements such as Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act (Section 508), and awareness of security/compliance contexts (e.g., the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program [FedRAMP], the Federal Information Security Modernization Act [FISMA])
• 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
• Ability to spend time on‑site at HHS in Washington, DC — either by being based locally or by traveling regularly for in‑person work when it’s important

Nice-to-have qualifications

• Experience delivering modernization in highly regulated domains (e.g., health, government)
• Experience coordinating large platform or shared-service rollouts across multiple teams or divisions
• Familiarity with cloud and platform concepts (e.g., Amazon Web Services [AWS], Microsoft Azure, CI/CD, IaC) with enough knowledge to guide tradeoffs
• Track record of mentoring delivery leads and building delivery practices across organizations
• Experience working effectively on hybrid or distributed teams

Don’t meet 100% of the criteria but think you can do the jo