Engagement Manager

About the jobAt Skylight, engagement managers are responsible for driving the overall success of our client work. They draw on their expertise in areas such as product management practices, risk/issue management, stakeholder management, continual improvement, and contract administration in order to deliver the highest levels of client service and work.In this role, the engagement manager will lead the delivery of a net-new, 0–1 product in the child welfare space, guiding a cross-functional team from early ambiguity through to tangible outcomes on an accelerated timeline. They will be responsible for establishing clarity where little exists—defining priorities, shaping the product direction in close partnership with stakeholders, and ensuring the team can move quickly while staying grounded in user needs and policy constraints. This includes setting up pragmatic product management practices, enabling rapid iteration, and making thoughtful tradeoffs to balance speed, quality, and impact.They will also serve as the primary point of accountability for navigating complexity and risk, proactively identifying potential issues and addressing them before they impact delivery. Given the sensitive and high-stakes nature of the domain, the engagement manager will need to operate with sound judgment, ensuring that decisions are both responsible and action-oriented. At the same time, they will build and maintain strong relationships with senior stakeholders, translating ambiguity into clear plans, aligning on expectations, and communicating progress with transparency and confidence.What you’ll doLead a cross-functional team (product, design, engineering, etc.) to deliver a 0–1 product from ambiguity to launch on an accelerated timelineGuide the team in shaping product vision, priorities, and roadmap in close partnership with senior stakeholdersEnable the team to translate complex policy, operational, and user needs into actionable product decisions and deliverablesDrive alignment and decision-making across senior stakeholders, ensuring clarity on goals, tradeoffs, and progressProactively identify and mitigate risks, empowering the team to navigate constraints without losing momentumEstablish and reinforce lightweight product and delivery practices that support speed, quality, and continuous learningEnsure the team is incorporating user feedback and real-world insights throughout the product development processHold the team accountable to outcomes, timelines, and quality, making clear tradeoffs to maintain forward progressFoster a strong, collaborative team culture grounded in ownership, adaptability, and mission-driven workOversee contract execution, ensuring delivery aligns with scope, milestones, and client expectationsCommunicate engagement status, risks, and outcomes clearly to both client and internal leadershipServe as a team-oriented, collaborative leader with both client and internal leadership, contribute to performance management and talent retention strategies, to include staff hiring, onboarding, development and growthTranslate the client’s objectives and constraints into an engagement approach that will deliver a unique experience and impactful results in the shortest amount of time possibleSet up the team for successful delivery by removing obstacles, coaching them on how to become more collaborative and self-organizing, and enabling the work they do rather than impose how it’s doneProvide management- and team-level visibility into the status and health of the engagement and serve as primary coordinator for budget, travel, and other administrative requirementsMinimum qualificationsExperience leading teams in 0–1 product development, from concept through initial launch, for a complex project or program, preferably in a product management, delivery, or consulting capacityExperience directly managing and coaching cross-functional teams (product, design, engineering)Demonstrated ability to deliver under tight timelines while maintaining quality and team healthStrong judgment and decision-making skills in high-ambiguity, high-stakes environmentsExperience facilitating executive-level decision-making and navigating stakeholder conflict, building alignment in complex, multi-layered environmentsExperience managing subcontractors or partner organizations within a delivery teamFinancial acumen, including managing budgets, burn rates, and forecasting within a contractStrong ability to turn ambiguous, evolving requirements into clear plans, priorities, and actionable work for teams and stakeholdersExperience working at the intersection of policy, operations, and technology, with the ability to translate between non-technical and technical audiencesAbility to manage multiple concurrent workstreams or client engagements while maintaining high-quality, outcome-driven deliveryAbility to identify and remove blockers across policy, operational, and technical domains to keep teams moving forwardComfort working with technical systems, data flows, and legacy environments, with enough fluency to collaborate effectively with engineering and data teamsExperience working in or with government or other highly regulated environments, or the ability to quickly navigate complex regulatory contextsAbility to build trusted relationships with clients and partners, and communicate effectively in a professional services environmentCommitment to agile and iterative delivery approaches, especially continuous improvement, facilitating retrospectives and applying learnings to improve team performance and outcomesAbility to travel for work from time to timePassion for improving public outcomes through better government servicesA mindset and work approach that aligns with Skylight's core valuesNice-to-have qualificationsExperience working in the child welfare or broader human services domainExperience launching products in highly regulated or policy-constrained environmentsBackground in consulting or professional services, particularly in client-facing delivery rolesExperience with human-centered, trauma-informed design practices and working closely with design teamsFamiliarity with data-informed product development, including defining metrics and using data to guide decisionsExperience working on digital services that serve vulnerable or historically underserved populationsExperience working on digital services that serve youth and young adults, with youth and young adultsExperience scaling early-stage products or transitioning from 0–1 to more mature product phasesPrior experience working in the civic tech spaceOther requirementsAll 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.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.LocationThis is a hybrid positionSalaryWe 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 an Engagement Manager at Skylight, the current salary ranges are as follows:Associate Engagement Manager: $90,000–$125,000Engagement Manager I: $120,000–$140,000Engagement Manager II: $135,000–$160,000Senior Engagement Manager: $150,000–$185,000Staff Engagement Manager: $170,000–$203,000Principal Engagement Manager: $180,000–$230,000We 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.