Staff/Principal Product Manager, Technical (U.S. Air Force)

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,