Senior/Staff User Researcher (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, user researchers play a critical role in planning, designing, and carrying out research activities with users to help teams gain a deep understanding of the people that use government services. This research informs policy, service, content, and interaction design so that government services work well for users and achieve policy intent.

Skylight has partnered with the U.S. Air Force across multiple legacy modernization efforts. The work spans modernization of legacy systems, new capability development in multi-vendor environments, iteration on established platforms, all inside an agile transformation and broader organizational change.

You’ll own research for a legacy modernization effort: planning studies, finding your way to users inside a large organization where access varies, and turning findings into direction the product and design teams act on. You’ll also help your government partners build their own research muscle.

What to know going in

Your first 30 days are about working with the Skylight team and government personnel, learning the client’s domain and organization, and enabling your government partners. Access to users varies from team to team, so you’ll need to get creative about how you reach them. The client is early- to mid-transformation, so expect organizational and operational change along the way.

This role is contingent on Skylight being awarded the underlying contract. If we’re not awarded the contract, we’ll let you know promptly and discuss whether there are other opportunities that fit.

What you’ll do

• Develop research plans (e.g., what methods to use) in alignment with the strategic context of the project
• Find and connect with good user research participants, getting creative about access when direct paths to users aren’t available
• Apply a mix of quantitative and qualitative user research techniques (e.g., user interviews, contextual inquiry) to gain a greater understanding of user needs
• Clearly communicate research findings with internal and external collaborators, and translate them into service/product design hypotheses
• Employ usability testing to validate those hypotheses
• Guide the direction of the service/product and continually advocate for users

What we’re looking for

Basic qualifications

• Ability to align user research activities with organizational strategy and objectives
• Can correctly apply a wide-range of user research methods at different stages of the product life cycle
• Understand how to include all kinds of users in appropriate research activities to help teams deliver accessible services
• Can turn research data into clear findings that inform decisions
• Ability to help colleagues better understand the social and technological context for government services (e.g., how digital technology is changing user behavior)
• Possess an understanding of the different technologies and technical roles within a multidisciplinary team used to build and operate digital services
• Can apply user-centered design practices within the context of an agile, multidisciplinary team
• Interest in mentoring, coaching, and pairing with government partners so they can carry the work forward
• Experience working on cross-functional teams (product, design, engineering, ops) in iterative delivery
• A mindset and work approach that aligns with our core values

Nice-to-haves

• Military or government experience
• Experience delivering technology in government, regulated industries, or other public-benefit settings
• A track record of staying aligned and accountable on remote teams

Don’t meet every qualification but think you can do the job? We’d still love to hear from you. If you’re excited about the role, apply. We consider candidates with a range of backgrounds and experiences.

Other requirements

• Some of our available roles are on federal contracts that require a degree or additional years of experience as a substitute.
• All work must be conducted within the U.S., excluding U.S. territories.
• This contract requires U.S. citizenship to be eligible for employment.
• You must be able to obtain and maintain a Common Access Card (CAC), which requires a favorable background check.
• You must complete a company background check successfully.

Logistics

Position type

This is a full-time, exempt position.

Location

This is a fully remote position.

Travel

Expect occasional travel to Air Force bases across the U.S., quarterly at most.

Expected start date

November 2026

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 User Researcher at Skylight, the current salary ranges are as follows:

• Associate User Researcher: $90,000–$125,000
• User Researcher I: $120,000–$140,000
• User Researcher II: $135,000–$160,000
• Senior User Researcher: $150,000–$185,000
• Staff User Researcher: $170,000–$203,000
• Principal User Researcher: $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 $2000 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)
• Flexible, remote-friendly work environment
• An environment that empowers you to unleash your superpowers for public good

Interview tips

Our process includes a preliminary screen, a skills interview, a behavioral interview, and a reverse interview where you meet your potential team — usually four conversations across two to three weeks. Here are some tips to help you prepare for a successful interview:

• 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.
• Browse our case studies to learn more about our work.

If you’d like to request reasonable accommodations during the application or interviewing process, please contact our recruiting team at View email address on aiapply.co.

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.