United States Digital Service | Senior Software Engineers, Senior Site Reliability Engineers, Senior Designers, and more! | Washington, DC | ONSITE https://www.usds.gov/
The best of technology. The best of government. And we want you. We're looking for the most tenacious designers, software engineers, product managers, and more, who are committed to untangling, rewiring and redesigning critical government services. You'll join a team of the most talented technologists from across the private sector and government. No government resume required! We work on some of the biggest issues affecting the American people there are, immigration, veterans service, students, health care, and more. We're especially looking for talented senior engineers to join us to help shift move government tech in the right direction.
See one of our Reports to Congress for examples of what you could be working on:
If you'd like to get a feel for the sorts of folks we have at USDS, our Medium account is a pretty good place to start, too: https://medium.com/@USDigitalService
It depends on the team! This shutdown, only two of our teams are affected -- the DHS Digital Service and the SBA Digital Service. We work when our parent agencies work, and we shutdown with them for the most part.
When furloughed, yes, we are not paid -- however, so far, Congress has always passed legislation to pay back employees who were furloughed.
If only you guys were able to offer a relocation stipend or on-site outside of DC. Upending your life to move to an expensive city for, at most, a 12 month commitment? No bueno.
I'm not generally a fan of remote work so really what I'd like to see change is along the lines of: housing assistance, relocation stipend, a path to non-term-limited employment, and/or positions on-site outside of DC.
(and that whole drug testing thing, but one step at a time)
Just to address the "that's a lot of changes to make for a 12 month commitment" aspect, you can sign up for a two year term at USDS, which can be renewed, so you can work at USDS for up to four years if things are going well. We're just at the point where the first set of folks are reaching their four year mark.
For folks who don't know, USDS salaries for digital service experts typically top out at the "GS 15 step 10" cap for government salaries, which is a little over $164,000/year.
One of the ways I've looked at public vs private sector jobs is that you trade salary for stability and benefits (USDS is no exception). So it's good to hear that there is a longer-term potential, and it would good to see the copy on your site updated as such. The way it reads now seems like "that's a lot of changes to make for at most a 12 month commitment"
Likewise the USDS site indicates that the TSP is a maybe. That's a big negative any way you slice it. Aside from being idealistic a government job is again about stability and predictability. Some way of figuring out a way to ensure all USDS gigs are eligible for TSP would be a big comfort. Either that or some sort of more clear indication about what sorts of jobs would or would not qualify.
That said, topping out at $164k is about average in terms of base pay for the Bay Area (dunno how much cheaper DC is). It's actually pretty disappointing to see that the comment about salary uncertainty get downvoted into oblivion. Not everyone who wants to do good things in the world has the financial security to weather missing paychecks.
It's unfortunate that trump and the republicans have brought such unprecedented instability to the federal government, but that's where we as a country are at right now. Coming from the private sector world, I haven't worried about whether my paycheck would bounce in over a decade and have zero interest in going back to those days.
Personally I'm starting to think about looking around for an ops gig again. From my point-of-view 18F seems more in line with what compromises I'm willing to make. Obviously USDS (or any other federal gig) will never be exactly like a private sector job, but it would go a long way towards making someone like me polish my résumé if USDS were closer to what other federal gigs offer.
The best of technology. The best of government. And we want you. We're looking for the most tenacious designers, software engineers, product managers, and more, who are committed to untangling, rewiring and redesigning critical government services. You'll join a team of the most talented technologists from across the private sector and government. No government resume required! We work on some of the biggest issues affecting the American people there are, immigration, veterans service, students, health care, and more. We're especially looking for talented senior engineers to join us to help shift move government tech in the right direction.
See one of our Reports to Congress for examples of what you could be working on:
https://www.usds.gov/report-to-congress/2017/07/
Apply here:
https://www.usds.gov/join