On March 1st, 2025 at midnight ET, I received notice of a “reduction in force (RIF)” from the Technology Transformation Services. While frantically reading the email and processing what it meant, I was getting texts and calls from my coworkers saying they’d received the same letter. Within the next hour, we’d slowly realize that everyone within our office, 18F, had received the notice. We’d all been put on administrative leave, and locked out of systems, immediately.
Some context on 18F: Founded in 2014, 18F was a federal agency office that helped other government agencies build, buy, and share technology products. We worked in the open and collaborated with other agencies to fix technical problems, build products, and improve public service through technology. 18F completed more than 450 projects for over 30 agencies as well as work with states and the judiciary. 18F’s name is short for the address of GSA’s headquarters, which is at 1800 F Street in Washington, D.C.
I was hired to join 18F in the spring of 2021 as a consulting software engineer. My background prior to joining had been in “site reliability engineering” and I had absolutely no consulting or government experience. Part of the design of 18F was to bring clueless yet technically experienced folks like me into rooms where the decisions about government investment in technology were being made. Often, this was the first time people with our backgrounds had been brought into the fold like this. We were learning immense amounts as we went, and teaching at the same time. It was the most fun and expansive experience I’ve had in my career. I got to work with amazing people over the last four years: Civil rights lawyers, meteorologists, election security officials, state benefits coordinators, and other technologists like me buried within agencies, calling for our help.
We were sent out to other agencies, but we always had a home: TTS. And within that home, you would find the most supportive group of humans in the world, with a wide range of experience in and out of government. Together we held team coffees, bookclubs, trainings, and brought together guilds across our disciplines. We always tried to make the resources that came out of our discussions public so that everyone could benefit from the culture we created. Having a home within TTS with the kind of culture we built, made it so that we could go back out to our partners and deliver even better products, advice, and programs.
We were not always successful. Sometimes we didn’t arrive at the right time, with the right people, or the right resources. It’s a long haul, and you were lucky if you showed up at the end of it. We often were just planting the seeds, or there to water the garden, or to provide shade to prevent the whole thing from becoming dust.
At 18F we also worked under tremendous constraints. I was shocked at the difference between what I had access to in the private sector versus government. Often, we did not have the tools, resources, funding, or the political will to accomplish projects assigned to us. We fought hard for access to basic things like source control, and even when we won, a short time later you would have to relitigate and fight all over again.
I often joked that 18F was like a wandering pack of border collies: If you didn’t get us a job to do, we’d systematically uproot all the plants in your garden. This is the most intense group of problem solvers you could ever meet. It is not a surprise, then, when this hurricane of destruction hit our agency, that they saw the response they did. We make unworkable situations work all the time – how was this any different?
Since January 20th, I’ve been so amazed by my coworkers and how we’ve come together for each other, for our partners, and for the public. For many of us, the first reaction to the news of our being laid off has been, “but what will happen to our project?” It has been incredibly hard for those of us on inflight projects to come to terms with the fact we will not be able to finish the work, at least not right now.
“The F stands for Feelings” we’d often say about our (admittedly confusing) name, but it’s also a sort of motto about our culture. We feel deeply about this work and it is hard to accept that 18F is over. I try to keep a healthy boundary between myself and work, but the truth is 18F was so intrinsically tied with a vision of the world I’m working towards. We cultivated a culture of curiosity, humility, empathy, and service. We worked hard to make things better, not just “more”. My only hope is that the scattered ashes become a sort of fertilizer for our future – one that is kinder, more inclusive, and works for everyone.