_posts/2015-08-12-18f-consulting-is-hiring.md
---
title: "18F Consulting is hiring technical architects and more"
date: 2015-08-12
layout: post
authors:
- jamie
- kara
- chrisc
tags:
- hiring
- acquisition services
- transformation services
excerpt: "As 18F grows, so does the 18F Consulting team. Given the significant demand for our services, we’re looking to our grow team in these specific areas: engagement manager, design and product strategist, technical architect, practical dev, data architect, and acquisition specialist."
description: "As 18F grows, so does the 18F Consulting team. Given the significant demand for our services, we’re looking to our grow team in these specific areas: engagement manager, design and product strategist, technical architect, practical dev, data architect, and acquisition specialist."
image: /assets/blog/bechdel/team.jpg
published: false
---
As 18F grows, so does
the [18F Consulting]({{ site.baseurl }}/consulting/) team. The way we
operate is to roll-up our sleeves alongside our federal partners and
help them solve the biggest challenges facing their agency. These
challenges range from reducing the disability claims backlog to giving
Americans new ways to save for retirement. They’re simply too important
*not* to be solved or improved.
To this end, our
consulting team offers federal agencies a variety of high-impact
services. Some are short-term, from two days to four weeks, such as
[agile
workshops](https://18f.gsa.gov/2015/02/11/a-story-of-an-agile-workshop/),
[protosketching](https://18f.gsa.gov/2015/01/06/protosketch/), and
[RFP
ghostwriting](https://18f.gsa.gov/2015/03/30/new-rfp-ghostwriting-service-to-improve-contract-success/).
Others are mid- to long-term, from four to 12 months, such as agile
acquisitions, [cloud
migrations](https://18f.gsa.gov/2015/06/22/avoiding-cloudfall/), and
[vendor marketplace
development](https://18f.gsa.gov/2015/01/08/creating-a-federal-marketplace-for-agile-delivery-services/).
Given the significant demand for our services, we’re looking to our grow
team in these specific areas: [engagement
manager](https://pages.18f.gov/joining-18f/who-we-are-hiring/positions/engagement-manager/),
[design and product
strategist](https://pages.18f.gov/joining-18f/who-we-are-hiring/positions/design-and-product-strategist/),
[technical
architect](https://pages.18f.gov/joining-18f/who-we-are-hiring/positions/technical-architect/),
[practical
dev](https://pages.18f.gov/joining-18f/who-we-are-hiring/positions/practical-dev/),
[data
architect](https://pages.18f.gov/joining-18f/who-we-are-hiring/positions/data-architect/),
and [acquisition
specialist](https://pages.18f.gov/joining-18f/who-we-are-hiring/positions/acquisition-specialist/).
## A little more about how 18F Consulting works
As part of 18F, the Consulting team helps federal agencies adopt modern
approaches to managing and delivering digital services. We're a
cross-functional team of digital specialists, with wide-ranging
experience inside and outside the federal government. Whether it’s with
an agency’s program manager, contracting officer, lawyer, or chief
information officer, we partner with them to deliver the greatest value
possible to the public.
**Whom we work for and with.** First and foremost, we work for the
American people. Your friends, family, and neighbors. The woman in front
of you at the grocery story. The guy on the bus who gives up his seat
for a young family. We're here to make sure the system works for them.
**How we work.** We’re all over the country, so the need for
face-to-face time means all our meetings are video unless otherwise
agreed upon. We also work across the different 18F Consulting teams, so
you’ll often be working with, and sometimes leading, cross-functional
teams.
## How we talk about our open jobs
Unlike a traditional job description — which can seem as lengthy as a
Broadway overture — we create performance profiles. Performance profiles
focus on what the person needs to do, as opposed to the experience a
person needs to have. It highlights what the job entails and what’s
expected in the day-to-day cadence of the role.
**Performance profile for technical architect**
>
As a member of the 18F Consulting team, Technical Architects face the daunting challenge of bridging the gap between two technological
worlds within the federal government — the old and the new. In the
old, federal agencies depend heavily on legacy technology stacks, data
silos, and tightly-coupled systems to support critical operations. In
fact, it isn’t uncommon to come across systems built using Delphi or
COBOL. In the new, agencies are exploring the use of more “modern”
technologies such as Node.js, Ruby on Rails, and cloud platforms as
well as architectural patterns such as API-first design and
microservices. Your job — and it will be a tough one — is to help
federal agencies transition to more modern technical environments that
would earn the admiration of any engineer. By doing so, you’ll greatly
increase the government’s overall capacity to spend scarce IT budget
resources on innovative projects, as opposed to “keep the lights on”
activities.
>
You’ll work alongside a small, yet focused team of other 18F
Consulting specialists. They are experts in design, product strategy,
technical architecture, software engineering, data science, and
procurement. In addition, you will be part of the broader network of
all of 18F, which includes over a 100 digital specialists.
>
You’ll work on different types of projects that could come from any
federal agency. Some projects will improve services that millions of
people use and others might be important processes that a few hundred
use, but in turn affects how government works. Depending on the nature
of the work and the methods that you use, you can affect change in
just a few months, and sometimes in just a few days.
**Interested in applying?**
By this point, we hope we’ve piqued your interest. We invite you to take
a look at the performance profiles for all of our open roles:
- [Engagement manager](https://pages.18f.gov/joining-18f/who-we-are-hiring/positions/engagement-manager/)
- [Design and product
strategist](https://pages.18f.gov/joining-18f/who-we-are-hiring/positions/design-and-product-strategist/)
- [Technical
architect](https://pages.18f.gov/joining-18f/who-we-are-hiring/positions/technical-architect/)
- [Practical
dev](https://pages.18f.gov/joining-18f/who-we-are-hiring/positions/practical-dev/)
- [Data
architect](https://pages.18f.gov/joining-18f/who-we-are-hiring/positions/data-architect/)
- [Acquisition
specialist](https://pages.18f.gov/joining-18f/who-we-are-hiring/positions/acquisition-specialist/)
Then email join18F@gsa.gov with the subject “I’m your next 18F
consultant,” and include your resume, which role you’re interested in,
and a few sentences about why you’d be a good fit for our culture. If
you’re eligible for veterans preference, please indicate so in your
response.
By the way, we’re also looking to fill a [director-level
position](https://pages.18f.gov/joining-18f/who-we-are-hiring/positions/director-of-biz-dev-and-products/)
who will lead 18F Consulting’s business development activities. If
you’re interested in this position, please include “I’m your next
Director of Business Development” in the subject line of your email.
18F is working to transform the way government builds and buys digital
services, and the 18F Consulting team is a big part of that
transformation. If you’re ready to be a part of the team, we’d love to
hear from you.