Nava Apprenticeship Guide: Program Tracks, Salary, Conversion, Hiring Process, Interview Prep, Reviews, and FAQs
To Nava, facilitating the effective delivery of government services is more than a corporate mission; it's a civic duty. This organization is designed to lead positive structural changes in the public sector. By creating a technology-driven environment that welcomes individuals and ideas from diverse backgrounds, Nava believes it can significantly empower the government to make essential services accessible to all citizens. Like Code for America and New America, Nava PBC has turned to apprenticeships to bridge the gap in digital skills in the public sector and restore trust in public institutions.
If you’re interested in launching a career in public-interest technology, you might want to consider applying to Nava’s apprenticeship program. Nava’s apprenticeship program is perfect for aspiring engineers and designers looking for an enabling environment that allows them to use their creativity to develop digital solutions that facilitate government processes. Read our detailed guide to learn more about Nava’s apprenticeship program tracks, salary and benefits, hiring process, and reviews from past Nava apprentices.
Nava is a public benefit corporation (PBC) that offers advanced engineering, research, design, product management, agile delivery, project management, and strategic consulting services to federal, state, and local agencies to ensure that government services are simple, accessible, and effective. For example, Nava PBC has worked with agencies like the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and States like California, Vermont, and Massachusetts to build digital solutions and equitable systems that facilitate access to health care, social welfare, and unemployment benefits.
Nava’s 2022 Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Report revealed it had 200 employees and 97 management staff. The report also showed that 42% of all Nava’s team are male, and 54% are female. In addition, Nava PBC has 44% BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) employees. The data also revealed that 18% of its workers identify as LGBTQIA+ workers, 18% are disabled, and 4% are current or former military personnel. Nava’s corporate headquarters is on New York Avenue, NW Suite 300, Washington, DC. It also has two offices in San Francisco, CA, and Brooklyn, NY.
Although the corporation was launched in 2015, its story dates back to October 2013 when the Obama Administration invited its team of founders to fix HealthCare.gov, the Affordable Care Act website, after it had experienced some issues with its takeoff in July 2010. Rather than place a band-aid on the problem, the team decided they could create autonomous structures to improve the site’s capability and optimize user experiences.
Beyond creating products and systems that made healthcare insurance accessible to millions of Americans, the HealthCare.gov project enabled the growth of internal technical teams like 18F and USDS that build software that serves public interests. In addition, it exposed the inefficiencies of some of the legacy systems and policies in place and made arrangements for new methods, vendors, and systems.
From that point, the founding team realized they could take the project one step further by partnering with government agencies at all levels to create software applications and systems that facilitate government services and restore the people's trust in public institutions. So, in 2015, Nava was incorporated as a Public Benefit Corporation by Rohan Bhode, Kalvin Wang, Christian Monaghan, and Sha Hwang, with a mission to improve the simplicity, access, and efficiency of government services.
Between 2015 and 2023, Nava PBC worked with several federal and state government agencies to improve public service. For example, in 2020, this company collaborated with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to build its first Paid Family and Medical Leave program. As a result, it has disbursed over $1 billion in benefits to people experiencing critical life situations like pregnancy or sickness. Nava also collaborated with the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs to launch software that reduces the time it takes to process disability claims for veterans from 80-100 days to 3-6 days for claims that don't need exams and 25 days for claims that do.
In 2022, it partnered with the State of California to launch a claim status tracker. Within three weeks, the online tracker got five million views. Since 2018, Nava has been partnering with the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services to serve over 60 million beneficiaries. In October 2022, Nava won a prime contract worth $17.6 million to collaborate with The Center for Disease Control and Prevention in creating, ReportStream, a data pipeline for the U.S. Public Health Infrastructure. States like Montana and Nebraska have also benefited from Nava's technical prowess. In February 2023, the company announced it had been listed in the Office of Personnel (OPM) Digital Blanket Purchase Agreement to modernize OPM IT products.
Nava’s mission is to make it easier for people to access social safety net programs.
The following core values guide Nava’s approach to its mission.
Nava PBC is a civic technology consulting company that leverages its technical expertise to reduce inefficiencies in government operations and restore trust in public agencies. As a PBC, Nava generates revenue from creating on-premise and cloud-based solutions, including web and mobile applications, to bridge the gap between essential government services and the citizens who need them. Nava’s services include product development, product design, product management, agile delivery & project management, and strategic consulting.
Nava uses user-centric technologies to build digital tools that allow the government to serve its citizens better. Nava's engineering team uses modern technologies such as Terraform, Docker, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Salesforce, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform, GitHub, Java, .NET Core, Python, GoLang, Node/React, Jest, NewRelic, ELK Stack, Docker, Steel Central, Honeycomb, Google Suite, Zoom, and Slack.
Nava launched an apprenticeship in July 2019 to break down the barriers to entering a civic tech career in the public sector. Nava’s apprenticeship features on-the-job training, an industry-standard salary, and a path toward full-time employment. Nava aims to build internal teams of passionate change-makers that reflect the diverse communities it serves. It draws inspiration from organizations like Code for America, Coding it Forward, and New America, whose workforce development programs are impacting the growth of civic technology.
Nava’s apprenticeship typically targets underserved individuals with diverse backgrounds and life experiences who can bring innovative change to government work. In August 2019, this public benefit company started its apprenticeship with a software engineering cohort of three apprentices. By 2021, it had extended its program tracks to include a frontend design apprenticeship.
The full-time paid front-end design and software engineering apprenticeships at Nava span four months and may lead to a full-time entry-level position. During this period, Nava apprentices will be paired with experienced engineers and designers within the company and collaborate with government stakeholders on real-world public interest projects. The apprentices will also receive dedicated mentorships and ongoing feedback throughout the program.
While no two days are alike, part of your day will include attending meetings and debriefing sessions to learn more about government contracts and the product development lifecycle. In addition, you’ll write codes, conduct research, and interview/educate real users as an apprentice. According to Alysia–a 2020 Nava apprentice–you’ll work with technologies such as Redux, Rails, Django, Flask, and Storybook. While you may start in front-end engineering, you can explore areas in product design, back-end engineering, and infrastructure.
As a software engineering apprentice, you’ll work on real-impact projects, like building websites for Veteran Affairs, scalable cloud infrastructure to optimize Medicare & Medicaid users’ experience, and public benefit claim trackers, for government agencies alongside experienced Nava engineers. You’ll also collaborate with government stakeholders, product teams, and independent contractors to build new systems with modern technologies or improve the functionality of existing systems. In addition, you’ll write and review codes, troubleshoot bugs, and recommend new tools and practices.
As a front-end design apprentice, you’ll be assigned to a front-end development team at Nava, where you’ll contribute to building fast, secure, and scalable infrastructure for government agencies. Your tasks will include collaborating with cross-functional teams to develop or iterate existing prototypes, conducting user research, building & maintaining web services, designing human-centered interfaces, and deploying new systems. You should expect to work with frameworks like Angular, React, and Ember.
Although Nava has yet to provide a detailed report on the outcome of its early apprenticeship cohorts, a quick LinkedIn search revealed that all three females apprentices hired in the first cohort, which ran from August 2019 to November 2019, converted to full-time employees and are still working at Nava as at 2022/2023.
For some reason, Nava hasn’t released the official earning for its apprentices. However, apprentices who convert to full-time front-end developers can look forward to earning between $72,250 and $92,700. According to Glassdoor, software engineers at Nava earn an average of $113,136 annually. This figure covers $100,059 as base pay and $13,077 as bonus pay. Designers at Nava earn an average of $85,892 annually. This figure includes $78,107 base pay and $7,784 additional pay.
Nava apprentices receive attractive salaries, mentorships & feedback, peer support, invites to internal events, and the opportunity to transition to full-time roles at the end of four months. In addition, as a Nava employee, you can look forward to health and wellness packages, including medical, vision, and dental benefits, sick time off, 16-week fully paid parental leave, six weeks unpaid sabbatical leave after three years of service, life insurance, fully-remote work, 4% 401k salary match, 37 paid day offs per year, $2,000 budget for professional development, and employee resource groups.
Nava Apprenticeship Selection: How Are Cohorts Chosen?
Nava chooses apprentices based on their background and skill set. To be considered for this position, you should have graduated from college or a coding bootcamp. It doesn’t matter if you have a computer science or engineering degree, has worked at a tech company in a similar role, or have significant GitHub contributions. Nava wants candidates who, beyond having a solid foundation in software engineering or product designing, have a visible passion for civic technology, strong communication skills, sound judgment, and team spirit.
You should know that Nava may require that its apprentices reside in Washington, DC, San Francisco, or New York. The company also expects you to have a work permit to work in the United States before applying for any position. As at the last apprenticeship, the program was fully remote.
Nava Apprenticeship Program Interview: Is the Nava Interview Hard?
Interviews at Nava have a 3.0 difficulty rate. To become an apprentice at Nava, visit the Open Roles page to scan available apprenticeship positions. Next, you submit an online application that may include a resume, essay, and portfolio. If accepted, you’d be invited to interview at Nava. The first interview may be a phone screening by a Nava recruiter where you’ll be asked generic questions like why you’re interested in civic technology and apprenticing at Nava. The goal of this interview is to measure your cultural fit.
In the next stage, you may be invited for an interview with some engineering or design team members. This interview may include hands-on simulation with peer coding and troubleshooting. Finally, the hiring team may request a portfolio review after the whiteboarding exercise. This review is a chance to display your work experience and skill set, and it’s mainly reserved for design and front-end development candidates. Although called an “onsite” interview, it may be conducted via video series. The interview may span for an hour and includes any follow-up questions you may have. The whole process, including the offer, shouldn't take more than four to eight weeks.
At the moment, Nava PBC recruits below ten apprentices in a given cohort. For example, in July 2019, it recruited only three software apprentices–Shannon Alexander-Navarro, Alsia Plybeah, and Rubaiyat Rashid–out of over 350 applicants. Nava announced in October 2020 that it was recruiting more apprentices for its front-end design and software engineering teams. However, it did not report the number of apprentices hired in January 2021.
Nava Apprenticeship Cohort Frequency: How Often is a Cohort Hired?
Nava PBC recruits new apprentices at least once yearly, albeit at varying seasons. In 2019, It recruited the first cohort in August and commenced the apprenticeship later that year. In 2020, the company called for new apprentices between October and November and announced that the cohort would resume officially in January 2021.
Yes, Nava is an excellent company to work for if you're passionate about civic technology and would like to create digital solutions that help the U.S. government meet the needs of its citizens. According to employee reviews from Glassdoor, Nava has a 4.6 out of five-star rating for providing impactful work, cordial employees, considerate and passionate leaders, good benefits, flexible schedules, progressive work environment, employee support networks, and work-life balance. Eighty-nine percent of reviewers agree to recommend Nava to a friend, and 95% approve of the CEO.
Yes, your salary will increase significantly after your apprenticeship ends. At the end of your training, you’ll either be rehired as a full-time entry-level employee at Nava PBC or allowed to pursue other adventures outside the organization. As a full-time entry-level employee, the terms of your employment will be renegotiated, enabling you to take advantage of the benefits of being a full-time employee at Nava.
Can I work while in the Nava apprenticeship program?
No, the Nava apprenticeship program is a full-time paid position, so you won’t be allowed to take on another job while an apprentice at Nava PBC. However, like most full-time apprenticeships, you’ll be expected to spend eight to nine hours–daily–collaborating with cross-functional teams and working on internal projects.
You’re not guaranteed a job after the apprenticeship, but you can earn it. Nava ensures all apprentices receive adequate compensation and benefits, including mentorship and impactful real-world tasks that prepare them for full-time roles in Nava’s design and engineering departments. In addition, a dedicated mentor will monitor your progress and provide feedback, so you’ll know where you stand before the apprenticeship ends.
The Nava Careers page is ideal for learning more about Nava’s mission, values, benefits, employee welfare, and work culture. Nava's Events page contains updates on past and upcoming virtual sessions on civic technology and related topics. Nava's Newsroom provides details on the latest company announcements. Finally, the Nava Engineering Blog on Medium covers articles on the latest internal projects, team schedules, tech stack, and advice for aspiring engineers.
You should visit the Nava DEI page to review Nava PBC’s latest diversity, equity, and inclusion report and discover the corporation’s progress in building a diverse workforce.
You can get news about available Nava apprenticeship roles from the Nava Jobs or Twitter page.
If you don’t want to track and monitor the Nava apprenticeship program for yourself or are looking for support in an apprenticeship application, you can join apprenticeship.io to learn more and get support to land an apprenticeship program.
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