Staff Solutions Engineer

Staff Solutions Engineer

Code for America is looking for a talented Staff Solutions Engineer who will collaborate with government partners and deliver technical guidance, transforming the way our government delivers services to communities in need.

This person is a deeply experienced technologist and systems thinker who builds bridges between complex legacy government systems, cutting-edge civic technology, and mission-aligned public policy.
About the role:

In this role, you'll work with a team of designers, researchers, engineers, product managers, and policy experts across our program portfolios. You will spend time with key government agencies to build rapport with their technical team, understand their technical needs, and develop a shared understanding of how Code for America can help them achieve their goals. This will involve identifying and designing technical solutions to improve access to their programs.

Solutions Engineers at Code for America are an integral component of all of our program areas. There are currently three focused program areas at Code for America:

• Criminal Justice, which focuses on Automatic Record Clearance,
• Tax Benefits, which focuses on free trustworthy tax services and simplified tax filing,
• And the Social Safety Net. Focus areas in this portfolio include food benefits, integrated benefits applications, and training & capacity building.

This role will report to the Solutions Engineering Manager and is expected to travel no more than 10% of the time.

Code for America is based in California and can employ those who reside full-time within the United States. This is a remote position.

In this position you will:

• Partnerships and Collaboration
  • Build and maintain relationships and develop technical champions within government and partner organizations.
  • Assist in project planning and drafting statements of work and technical requirements
  • Work closely with cross-functional government partners to clarify problems and understand system constraints, and offer feasible and high-value technical solutions that consider the needs of all stakeholders.
  • Assist in documenting and communicating technical best practices and in the framing of government RFPs.
  • Collaborate with government partners and provide written resources to communicate complex technical concepts.
• Strategic Leadership
  • Provide technical perspectives and expertise in service of improved government services for government agencies, organizational stakeholders, and other key audiences.
  • Estimate project scope and rough project plans for government initiatives.
  • Contribute technical analysis to assessments of prospective new state engagements, including landscape research and partner capacity findings, in support of team and leadership decision-making.
• Solutions Development
  • Implement proof-of-concept applications, software installations, and custom development projects.
  • Lead light technical implementations and low / no-code software solutions.
  • Develop and implement training plans and documents to empower government agencies to improve and modernize the delivery of government services.
• Other duties as assigned

About you:

This role may be perfect for you if you have the technical skills to tackle engineering problems, the social skills to face human-factors problems, and the judgment to differentiate between the two. The ability to communicate complex technical concepts in straightforward language to non-technical audiences will be critical to your success.

• 7+ years of experience as a Software Engineer, Solutions Engineer, or Solutions Architect with experience leading projects and interacting with customers.
• Recent back-end development, database, data-science and/or devops experience.
• 4+ years of experience coding backend systems and data infrastructure in an industry-standard language (Python, Java, C#, Ruby, etc)
• Recent experience integrating emerging technologies (e.g., generative AI models) into existing workflows or new solutions.
• Strong self-management skills and a proven ability to manage multiple engagements simultaneously
• Fundamentally curious and empathetic; able to thoughtfully balance partner, user, and team needs and identify solutions that move the work forward towards greater impact.
• Tenacity and adaptability; able to navigate relationships, ambiguity, and technical challenges and unblock yourself and your team.
• Ability to engage in research to learn about current systems and architecture, and then incorporate this knowledge to design new solutions and new architectures.
• Curiosity about emerging AI tools and a commitment to using them responsibly and effectively.
• A deep commitment to Code for America's mission of making government services work well for the people who need them most

It's a bonus if you have:

• Experience working with or in government.
• Personal experience with or professional experience working within the justice system, social safety net or other mission-relevant government services.
• Experience working with machine learning or natural language processing technologies.
• Experience with government procurement processes.
• Active contribution to open source projects.

What you'll get -
Salary:

Code for America's salary bands are transparent as a part of our commitment to transparency and fairness. As part of our hiring practices, we aim to target the midpoint of the 2nd quartile of the range for all new hires.

Offer targets vary based on market / geographic location. The offer targets for this role range from $128,945 to $157,850,annually. Your Recruiter will discuss compensation in more detail & answer any related questions, during the initial Recruiter phone screen.
Benefits and perks:

This role includes a comprehensive benefits package including the following:

• Values:
  • Leadership and teammates who share a strong work ethic and values, and who respect and care for one another
  • A collaborative, cross-functional, hardworking, and joyful environment
• Employee Enablement Support:
  • Laptop provided
  • A one-time $700 payment for remote environment setup; $200 stipend (in first paycheck) and up to $500 reimbursement, in accordance with our equipment policy
  • Cell phone and/or internet reimbursement of $50 per month
• Professional Development:
  • $500 annual (per calendar year) stipend towards professional development; prorated at time of hire
  • Up to $500 of professional development funds can be rolled over each year, up to a maximum of $1000
  • Training / guidance for staff required to utilize AI as part of their role, plus opportunities for employees to gain AI-related skills to support job and career growth
• Retirement & 401k Plans:
  • Employees receive a 100% employer match on the first 3% of contributions.
  • Employees with 3+ years of service receive an additional 50% match on contributions between 3% and 5%, for a maximum employer contribution of 5%
• Medical:
  • At least one no cost health insurance option for full-time employees for employee-only coverage
  • A minimum of 80% of the cost of dependent coverage
• Remote Work:
  • Code for America employees may work remotely across the US
  • Code for America employees main residence must be within the US
  • Full-time employees work 40 hours per week, Monday - Friday
  • Collaborative working hours: we aim to hold all internal meetings between 10 AM - 3 PM PT. We expect all Code for America staff to be available during these set working hours
• Time Off:
  • Open personal time off (subject to manager approval), a minimum of 14 paid holidays, and an org-wide closure from Christmas Day through New Year's Day
  • Paid sick time; up to 96 hours annually
  • 17 weeks of paid parental and family leave
  • 3 weeks of paid sabbatical after 5 years of service

Timeline:

From the time you are contacted by a Recruiter, you can expect a 1-2 month, or longer, hiring process. The specific hiring process and timeline goals for this role will be covered during the initial Recruiter phone screen. Code for America's standard interview process details are also available on our careers page.
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