This is a job posting for a Senior Technical Lead at the Maryland Digital Service (MDDS), a government initiative to modernize digital services for Maryland residents. The role involves technical strategy, rapid prototyping within legacy systems, and mentoring state agency staff in modern engineering practices. It's a W-2 contract role with benefits, offering $140K-$175K.
What they want, where you stand, and the exact résumé edits to qualify.
Biggest lever: Develop and document a small training module or workshop for TDD/CI/CD, demonstrating the ability to mentor and transfer modern engineering practices.
A starter prompt for Claude Code, what you'll need, and how to reach them.
You are a seasoned technical lead preparing for an interview with the Maryland Digital Service (MDDS) for a Senior Technical Lead role ($140K-$175K, W-2 contract). MDDS aims to modernize digital services for Marylanders by deploying cross-functional teams to state agencies, focusing on technical strategy, architecture, rapid prototyping, and mentoring in DevOps, CI/CD, and TDD. Draft a comprehensive set of talking points and potential answers for common interview questions, specifically tailored to the MDDS description. Emphasize experience in modernizing legacy systems, working with diverse stakeholders (technical and non-technical), autonomous operation, and mentoring. Include how AI coding tools like Claude Code can accelerate rapid prototyping and demonstrate efficiency in a government context. Outline a plan for your first 90 days, focusing on discovery, quick wins, and establishing trust. Also, provide specific questions to ask the interviewers about MDDS's technical challenges, existing infrastructure, and success metrics.
Maryland Digital Service (MDDS) | Senior Technical Lead | Maryland Department of Information Technology | Maryland / Remote-friendly | $140K–$175K MDDS is building cross-functional Deployed Teams that work directly with state agencies to modernize how digital services are delivered. The role includes technical strategy, architecture decisions, rapid prototyping within legacy constraints, and mentoring agency staff in DevOps, CI/CD, test-driven development, and modern engineering practices. We are looking for senior engineers who can operate with autonomy, communicate well with technical and non-technical stakeholders, and help build accessible, inclusive digital services for Marylanders. These are annually renewable W-2 contractual roles, not 1099. They include subsidized health benefits, accrued PTO, and flexible remote/telework options. Apply: https://airtable.com/app9YxL1UZCYKvch4/pagDhaV7mZGvB5v5e/for... Questions: email david.holmes@maryland.gov and CC MDDS.recruiting@maryland.gov.
Create a small, open-source project that explicitly demonstrates TDD and CI/CD best practices from scratch. Document the process and key learning points as if preparing a workshop for junior engineers. Focus on a practical, shippable example over a theoretical one (e.g., a simple API with tests and a GitHub Actions workflow) (~20-30 hours).
Existing professional experience and documentation.
Utilize AI tools for mock interviews and question generation, standard for job applications.
Apply via the Airtable link provided: https://airtable.com/app9YxL1UZCYKvch4/pagDhaV7mZGvB5v5e/for... and email david.holmes@maryland.gov and CC MDDS.recruiting@maryland.gov for questions.
“Express keen interest in the MDDS mission to modernize public services and highlight a strong alignment with the technical lead requirements, emphasizing experience in rapid prototyping and mentoring, and offering to provide a portfolio of relevant projects.”
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