Release Train Engineer

CGI•Fairfax, VA

20h•Hybrid

About The Position

The Release Train Engineer (RTE) serves as a servant leader and coach for the Agile Release Train (ART). They ensure the smooth operation of ART events and practices and assist Agile Teams in their success. The RTE facilitates communication with stakeholders, problem-solving, and risk management. The RTE also manages impediments and fosters continuous improvement. They are integral to the ART leadership, collaborating with Product Management, the System Architect, and Business Owners to achieve effective outcomes on the ART. Beyond the ART, RTEs aid in the broader Lean-Agile transformation by coaching leaders and teams across the organization. The RTE plays a pivotal role in guiding our Agile Release Trains (ART) and driving the successful delivery of large-scale programs. You'll bring Lean Agile experience, coaching capabilities, and remarkable facilitation skills to foster collaboration, remove impediments, and ensure smooth execution across teams. You'll help shape the direction of the program by championing continuous improvement, orchestrating critical ART events, and supporting our teams in delivering high quality outcomes. This position is located in our Fairfax, VA office; however, a hybrid working model is acceptable.

Requirements

BA/BS in Business Administration, Information System, Computer Science, System Engineering or an equivalent education
At least 5 years of previous experience leading and managing agile IT development projects.
Certified Scrum Master (CSM), SAFe Scrum Master (SSM), SAFe Agilist (SA), SAFe RTE or similar agile project management certification (PMI-ACP).
Experience working with an Agile software development program and managing project deadlines
Hands-on experience using Agile project management tools (e.g., Jira, VersionOne, Rally, IBM ELM).
Excellent leadership, communication, and interpersonal skills
Experience briefing leadership on key aspects of project status and progression
Experience communicating with and providing status updates to external stakeholders, including customer representatives
Strong time-management skills with the ability to quickly recognize when issues require discussion, escalation, or triage
Excellent written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills
Must be detail-oriented with a focus on driving tasks to completion.
Must be self-motivated and have the ability to multi-task and solve problems independently and innovatively.
Demonstrated ability to quickly grasp technical concepts and communicate them effectively to both technical and non-technical audiences, and understand the tasks that the development team have to deliver
Expertise managing and orchestrating Agile development and O&M teams
Proactive self-starter demonstrating a positive, willing attitude
Proven ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment, working across diverse systems and stakeholder groups
Experience with conflict resolution to create collaborative environment

Nice To Haves

Experience with Azure DevOps Agile Project Management tool
Hands-on experience across the software development lifecycle
Previous Release, Project, Program or Product Management experience
Experience affecting change in Agile organizations
Experience working with multi-disciplinary development teams
Experience or Understanding of lean agile techniques / practices
Experience with different Agile frameworks (scrum, Kanban, etc)

Responsibilities

Facilitate Agile Planning and Events: Accountable to ensure readiness across scope, content and logistics to deliver value through facilitation of team of teams events.
Facilitates and coordinates Agile Release Trains (ARTs) to ensure that multiple teams within a program are aligned and delivering value efficiently.
Support Planning Execution: Manage dependencies, remove impediments, and execute the planning and Program Increments.
Monitor planning execution, facilitate periodic synchronization events, and support cross-team backlog refinement to ensure strategic alignment to program/mission goals.
Coach Cross-Team Agile: Provide coaching to teams and Scrum Masters on cross-team agile principles, team events, and practices
Mitigate Risks: Identify and track cross-team dependencies and risks, ensuring mitigation to support delivery of outcomes.
Accountable to remove blockers.
Stakeholder Management: Facilitate stakeholder collaboration, build trust with stakeholders, and drive stakeholder alignment
Champion Ways of Working: Champion Ways of Working and Agile culture, creating a safe and trusting environment for team members to share ideas and take appropriate risks.
Foster collaboration across teams, ensures alignment with business objectives, and drives continuous improvement in large-scale Agile environments.
Coordinate Interlock and Dependency Management: Drive partnership and synchronization across teams to facilitate release management across stakeholder groups.
Accountable for effective readiness and communication
Optimize Flow: Drive towards relentless improvement and ensure value delivery by monitoring delivery status, ensuring technology use and data quality, addressing bottlenecks, and serving as a point of escalation
Metrics and Reporting: Track and report key metrics to team, program management and executive leadership to provide progress reporting and ensure continuous delivery improvement; evaluate agility metrics to increase delivery efficiency