Release Train Engineer
About The Position
Providing for loved ones, planning rewarding retirements, saving enough for whatever lies ahead – our policyholders count on us to be there when it matters most. It’s a big ask, but it’s one that we have the power to deliver when we work together. We collaborate and innovate – pushing one another to transform not just Pacific Life, but the entire industry for the better. Why? Because it’s the right thing to do. Pacific Life is more than a job, it’s a career with purpose. It’s a career where you have the support, balance, and resources to make a positive impact on the future – including your own. We’re actively seeking a talented Release Train Engineer to join our Consumer Markets Division (CMD) Portfolio and Program Management Office (PPMO) team in Newport Beach, CA. The Release Train Engineer (RTE) is a delivery orchestration leader responsible for coordinating execution across multiple teams, facilitating planning and alignment events, managing dependencies and risks, establishing a reliable delivery cadence, improving end-to-end delivery flow, enabling continuous improvement, and ensuring business, product, and technology teams remain synchronized in pursuit of shared outcomes.
Requirements
- Proven experience as an agile practitioner, especially in Product Management, Release Train Engineering, Portfolio Management, or Program Management.
- Expertise in using Scrum, Kanban, and the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe).
- Strong track record of implementing agile techniques in various work cultures and environments.
- Excellent communication and leadership skills.
- Ability to facilitate learning and development through individual and team coaching.
- Experience in managing projects utilizing both waterfall and agile methodologies.
Nice To Haves
- A strong understanding of the technology development and delivery processes.
- Ability to identify and analyze organizational impacts for internal stakeholders affected by new initiatives.
- Knowledge of Annuity or Life Insurance business.
- Related industry and role experience.
Responsibilities
- Collaborate with leadership to translate high-level objectives into actionable, prioritized roadmaps, setting clear outcomes and value delivery expectations.
- Continually align program activities with business needs, adapting plans as necessary to maximize impact and ensure strategic relevance.
- Lead Lean-Agile planning and alignment events to coordinate execution across teams, maintain a predictable delivery cadence, and foster a high-performing, adaptable environment.
- Lead PI Planning preparation and execution, including alignment on objectives, program risks, dependencies, and milestones across participating teams.
- Actively remove delivery obstacles and drive continuous improvement initiatives, using flow signals to address bottlenecks, reduce delays, and maintain a consistent pace of value delivery.
- Establish and reinforce an integrated program cadence for planning, synchronization, reviews, demos, and retrospectives so teams operate with shared milestones, clear decision points, and consistent feedback loops.
- Orchestrate collaboration around the program backlog with a focus on value-driven prioritization, balancing immediate needs with long-term objectives to ensure sustained impact on business goals.
- Work closely with cross-functional teams to translate requirements into actionable tasks, fostering alignment on business priorities and expected outcomes.
- Partner with Technology and business units to strengthen alignment, tailoring Lean-Agile practices to meet the maturity and needs of each portfolio.
- Lead cross-team synchronization forums to align priorities, surface blockers, confirm ownership, and keep teams coordinated through delivery execution.
- Act as a mentor in Lean principles, fostering a culture of agility and responsiveness that enables teams to scale and adapt effectively.
- Utilize tools such as Azure DevOps, Power BI, and Planview to provide real-time insights into program performance, delivery flow, dependencies, and commitments, ensuring data transparency.
- Define and track KPIs focused on outcome-based value delivery and flow, including predictability, throughput, cycle time, work in progress, and impediment aging, to guide program adjustments and continuous improvement.
- Identify and mitigate program-level risks across teams and portfolios, proactively managing cross-team dependencies, sequencing constraints, and integration points to sustain delivery momentum and quality.
- Serve as an escalation point for complex issues and unresolved dependencies, driving timely decisions, clear ownership, and solutions that support both near-term commitments and long-term strategic goals.
- Maintain transparent dependency and risk views with accountable owners, target dates, and mitigation plans; facilitate cross-team forums to surface conflicts early and confirm that critical handoffs and integration needs are reflected in delivery plans.
Benefits
- Medical
- Dental
- Vision
- Wellbeing Reimbursement Account
- Paid Time Off
- Holiday Schedules
- Financial Planning Time Off
- Paid Parental Leave
- Adoption Assistance Program
- Competitive 401k savings plan with company match and an additional contribution regardless of participation
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
Education Level
No Education Listed
