Principal Agile Coach

3Core Systems , Inc•Chicago, IL

2d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Principal Agile Coach operates at the program and portfolio level to establish and scale Agile, product management, and product ownership capabilities. The role guides product teams through discovery activities such as customer journey mapping, persona development, product strategy, value stream identification, and epic and feature prioritization, while supporting organizational transformation. The Coach conducts Agile assessments, evaluates team and program maturity, identifies improvement opportunities, and helps develop transformation roadmaps. Through education, mentorship, leadership development, content creation, assessment, and facilitation, the role helps teams and leaders improve organizational effectiveness and internalize Agile principles rather than simply adopting processes. The Coach also develops Agile guidance, playbooks, coaching content, maturity models, and thought leadership materials for use across the organization, and supports adoption of AI-enabled coaching capabilities.

Requirements

At least 10 years of experience coaching Agile product management and organizational transformation within large financial institutions.
At least 10 years of experience creating leadership communications, Agile guidance, playbooks, training materials, or similar content.
Direct experience leading scaled-Agile execution for financial services technology portfolios; framework experience may include SAFe, LeSS, DAD, Spotify, Scrum@Scale, or similar approaches.
Ability to identify and nurture value streams at the portfolio level, including direct experience converting traditional waterfall project silos into lean-Agile value streams.
Experience establishing portfolio-level workflow structures, operating models, and transformation roadmaps.
Experience creating playbooks, maturity models, guidance materials, and coaching frameworks that support Agile adoption at portfolio, program/project, and team levels.
Direct experience establishing and reinforcing an Agile adoption lifecycle at portfolio, program/project, and team levels.
Highly flexible, dynamic, consultative, and problem-solving work approach.
High aptitude for interaction with business owners and polished communication skills.
Excellent feedback, conflict management, and mentoring skills.
Exceptional written communication skills, including experience producing high-quality published content.

Nice To Haves

Experience developing, implementing, or experimenting with AI assistants, AI agents, or generative AI solutions.
Experience designing, configuring, or developing AI-enabled solutions, AI assistants, or AI agents.

Responsibilities

Help teams, programs, and leaders improve organizational effectiveness through Agile principles, product thinking, continuous improvement, and Lean practices.
Lead with influence across the organization, including senior technology, operations, and line-of-business leadership, and guide cultural and process change.
Assess program maturity using knowledge of Lean-Agile frameworks, industry, and technology, and recommend and establish consistent Agile practices across portfolios and programs.
Coach Product Owners and Business Analysts on backlog management, product discovery, customer value, and the creation and elaboration of Features and Epics.
Facilitate Solution Architects and Development Leads as they explore features and develop sufficient definition and design.
Coach Solution Architects and Development Leads in Systems Thinking and help establish architectural guidelines and guardrails that enable decentralized decision-making.
Promote healthy product backlog prioritization and refinement, release planning, and iteration or sprint planning practices.
Develop Agile enablement content, including playbooks, guidance materials, coaching frameworks, assessments, maturity models, articles, and training resources.
Support the creation and adoption of AI-enabled Agile coaching capabilities, including experimentation with AI agents, assessment automation, knowledge management solutions, and productivity tools.
Collaborate with stakeholders to identify opportunities for AI to improve coaching effectiveness, assessments, planning, reporting, and organizational agility.
Assess program Agile practices using health assessments, maturity models, predictability measures, flow metrics, WIP measures, and other indicators of organizational effectiveness.
Deliver key metrics to stakeholders to demonstrate continuous improvement and alignment in coaching and Agile practices.
Routinely review team practices with team coaches and Scrum Masters to establish team coaching and transformation plans.
Establish team health and maturity measurements.
Establish a coaching and transformation backlog and share progress with key stakeholders.
Demonstrate continuous improvement in program predictability and delivery as Agile adoption increases.