Lead Software Engineer (Remote)

At 8th Light, we bring life to the best ideas.

Founded in 2006 and headquartered in Chicago, we are a technology solutions provider that partners with organizations to solve meaningful challenges and drive sustainable growth. From early‑stage startups to global enterprises, we work across industries to optimize our clients’ digital products through product strategy innovation, experiential design, AI solutions, and deep engineering expertise.

Our commitment to quality means we deliver solutions we’re truly proud of, while our curiosity sparks innovation and breakthrough thinking. 8th Lights thrive in an environment that champions continuous education, fueling our growth through mentorship and hands‑on work. We foster an open, collaborative culture grounded in honesty that builds trust, and believe true success is measured by the outcomes we create for our clients.

If this kind of work and our kind of people energizes you, you’ve found the right place.

Who You Are

You’ve shown long‑term repeated success on a variety of projects, typically over the course of 7+ years. You can be the go‑to leader for any software development engagement. You have a broad and deep range of expertise that allows you to make an immediate impact on projects. In your previous experience, you have :

• Successfully led high‑stakes consulting engagements from discovery to production
• Built high‑quality, maintainable software collaboratively, incrementally, and through an approach tailored towards the unique needs of the clients you’ve served
• Leveraged AI‑assistive development tools for tasks like scaffolding, refactoring, debugging, test generation, and documentation
• Experience building or integrating AI / ML‑powered features into products or systems (e.g., recommendation engines, NLP models, computer vision, predictive analytics)
• Used context‑appropriate automated testing to inform software design choices and catch bugs
• Debugged and refactored pre‑existing code to incrementally improve it
• Collaborated with teams using Git, MacOS / Linux, and CI / CD
• Remedied architecture‑level concerns such as scalability, security, reliability, and performance
• Brought together people from different functions and perspectives in forums that encourage idea sharing, collaboration, and problem solving
• Made thoughtful recommendations and set direction in the face of ambiguity
• Mentored and shared knowledge with colleagues
• Actively sought out and effectively given feedback
• Communicated empathically with stakeholders and colleagues
• Collaboratively led stakeholders to balance technical considerations with product and user needs

What You’ll Do At 8th Light

As a lead technologist on projects, you’ll work with a variety of clients, typically one to two in a year, through a variety of technologies and frameworks over the course of your career with us. You’ll lead more complicated projects, leading teams to do so. You’ll work with colleagues who share your passion for technology solutions. You’ll invest time developing your skills and sharing what you know. You’ll be responsible for :

Strongly Preferred Skills

We work across many areas, and encourage anyone with the experience listed above to apply. We would particularly like to encourage applicants with experience in the following areas :

Building a truly diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace is an ongoing journey, and we’re excited to keep learning and growing together. We have a proud tradition of hiring talented colleagues with real‑world career experiences.

How You’ll be Supported

At 8th Light, we believe our people are our greatest asset. Their growth, well‑being, and success shape our future.

Our wellness package is designed with the Whole YOU in mind and includes :

At 8th Light, we are committed to a compensation philosophy that is transparent, fair, and helps us attract and retain top talent in alignment with our company’s strategic growth goals and clients’ needs.

We benchmark our salaries using Geographic Structures to establish competitive pay ranges within the regions where 8th Lights live. Our pay ranges for our Lead Engineer position within our four US structures are as follows :

As a remote‑first company, 8th Light's culture is rooted in strong connections that extend across our teams, regions, and beyond client work. We are a distributed team across the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, with hubs in Chicago, London, Los Angeles, New York, and Seattle.

If you are hired into a hub, you will be a part of a team with regular rituals around co‑working and community building. For team members outside of those cities, we offer access to coworking spaces to foster continued collaboration and connection across our global team.

We hope to see you apply!

Voluntary Self‑Identification

As set forth in 8th Light’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

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