5 ms·

United States Digital Service | Senior Software Engineers, Senior Site Reliability Engineers, Senior Designers, and more! | Washington, DC | ONSITE https://www.

United States Digital Service | Senior Software Engineers, Senior Site Reliability Engineers, Senior Designers, and more! | Washington, DC | ONSITE https://www.usds.gov/ 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: https://www.usds.gov/report-to-congress/2017/07/ https://www.usds.gov/report-to-congress/2017/07/ Apply here: https://www.usds.gov/apply https://www.usds.gov/apply

Matt_Cutts 8y ago
And if you have questions about the sort of work we do, USDS folks will keep an eye on this thread. For example, we recently worked with Veterans Affairs to launch a new va.gov site that makes it easier for Veterans to access their benefits. We're looking for engineers, product managers, and designers!
- Matt_Cutts 8y ago
  P.S. Here's an article about the va.gov rollout and how it improves user experience: https://www.federaltimes.com/it-networks/2019/02/14/how-a-quick-fix-skyrocketed-vagov-satisfaction-scores/ https://www.federaltimes.com/it-networks/2019/02/14/how-a-qu...
tarabanga 8y ago
FYI for anyone reading the parent: > All U.S. Digital Service positions require U.S. citizenship.
randomnumber314 8y ago
What's the story with Mollie the crab?
- Matt_Cutts 8y ago
  So we have a logo that's a shield with wings: https://www.usds.gov/assets/img/usds-logo-horizontal.png https://www.usds.gov/assets/img/usds-logo-horizontal.png . For an off-site last year in the Chesapeake Bay, our designer Ellen Butters came up with a crab made out of the logo. Ellen named the crab Mollie in honor of Mollie Ruskin, the designer who came up with the original USDS logo. Now Mollie sometimes gets special outfits for special days, much like the Google doodle. For May 4th, for example, Mollie got light sabers: https://slate.com/technology/2018/05/u-s-digital-service-debuts-an-unofficial-star-wars-crab-logo-on-twitter.html https://slate.com/technology/2018/05/u-s-digital-service-deb... It might sound silly, but we actually got an application from that Slate article. A little whimsy can go a long way in government. We have a lot of crab-themed decorations around the USDS townhouse in DC. I even have a crab drawing my nephew made hanging right next to my desk.
  - randomnumber314 8y ago
    Nice. Thanks. I saw the light saber version is in ASCII in the source for usds.gov, I figured there was a meaningful back story. One more observation: If I were to want to work for the USDS, there aren't job listings (that I saw) nor would I know what I was applying for by clicking the "Apply Now" button. I have been out of Fed. Gov. for about a decade, but the hiring process was very complex and confusing back then, the "rule of thumb" was for people to apply to as many as thirty jobs, and expect to wait a month for a response. I'd recommend explaining how (if) USDS is different. I certainly wouldn't fill out the "Apply Now" form not knowing what I'd be interviewed for, in DC, with a response sometime in the next month.
    - Matt_Cutts 8y ago
      That's good feedback--thanks. We use a special hiring authority, which allows us to avoid a lot of the complex and confusing bits of the Federal hiring process. The bottom line is that we are always looking for strong designers, engineers, and product managers and we can hire them quickly (in government terms). Glad you noticed the easter egg in the source code! You know that means you have to apply now. :)
mont 8y ago
Were you affected by the recent government shutdown?
- Matt_Cutts 8y ago
  Not much. Half of USDS sits in the Office of Management and Budget, and that team wasn't affected. About half of USDS is hired directly into agencies like DoD, VA, CMS, and DHS. The DHS team was affected by the shutdown. But even then, the DHS folks received backpay after they came back.

Matt_Cutts 8y ago

And if you have questions about the sort of work we do, USDS folks will keep an eye on this thread. For example, we recently worked with Veterans Affairs to launch a new va.gov site that makes it easier for Veterans to access their benefits. We're looking for engineers, product managers, and designers!

Matt_Cutts 8y ago
P.S. Here's an article about the va.gov rollout and how it improves user experience: https://www.federaltimes.com/it-networks/2019/02/14/how-a-quick-fix-skyrocketed-vagov-satisfaction-scores/ https://www.federaltimes.com/it-networks/2019/02/14/how-a-qu...

tarabanga 8y ago

FYI for anyone reading the parent: > All U.S. Digital Service positions require U.S. citizenship.

randomnumber314 8y ago

What's the story with Mollie the crab?

Matt_Cutts 8y ago
So we have a logo that's a shield with wings: https://www.usds.gov/assets/img/usds-logo-horizontal.png https://www.usds.gov/assets/img/usds-logo-horizontal.png . For an off-site last year in the Chesapeake Bay, our designer Ellen Butters came up with a crab made out of the logo. Ellen named the crab Mollie in honor of Mollie Ruskin, the designer who came up with the original USDS logo. Now Mollie sometimes gets special outfits for special days, much like the Google doodle. For May 4th, for example, Mollie got light sabers: https://slate.com/technology/2018/05/u-s-digital-service-debuts-an-unofficial-star-wars-crab-logo-on-twitter.html https://slate.com/technology/2018/05/u-s-digital-service-deb... It might sound silly, but we actually got an application from that Slate article. A little whimsy can go a long way in government. We have a lot of crab-themed decorations around the USDS townhouse in DC. I even have a crab drawing my nephew made hanging right next to my desk.
- randomnumber314 8y ago
  Nice. Thanks. I saw the light saber version is in ASCII in the source for usds.gov, I figured there was a meaningful back story. One more observation: If I were to want to work for the USDS, there aren't job listings (that I saw) nor would I know what I was applying for by clicking the "Apply Now" button. I have been out of Fed. Gov. for about a decade, but the hiring process was very complex and confusing back then, the "rule of thumb" was for people to apply to as many as thirty jobs, and expect to wait a month for a response. I'd recommend explaining how (if) USDS is different. I certainly wouldn't fill out the "Apply Now" form not knowing what I'd be interviewed for, in DC, with a response sometime in the next month.
  - Matt_Cutts 8y ago
    That's good feedback--thanks. We use a special hiring authority, which allows us to avoid a lot of the complex and confusing bits of the Federal hiring process. The bottom line is that we are always looking for strong designers, engineers, and product managers and we can hire them quickly (in government terms). Glad you noticed the easter egg in the source code! You know that means you have to apply now. :)

mont 8y ago

Were you affected by the recent government shutdown?

Matt_Cutts 8y ago
Not much. Half of USDS sits in the Office of Management and Budget, and that team wasn't affected. About half of USDS is hired directly into agencies like DoD, VA, CMS, and DHS. The DHS team was affected by the shutdown. But even then, the DHS folks received backpay after they came back.