SAFe Practice Consultant

Spry Methods•Stafford, VA

About The Position

PAE MCEN is seeking two SAFe Practice Consultants (SPC) who can also serve as Release Train Engineers (RTE). These individuals will be certified experts and change agents responsible for implementing, driving, and sustaining Lean-Agile transformations within the enterprise using the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe). The primary focus is on assisting PAE MCEN with implementing lean portfolio management, requiring resources who can teach, certify, and actively work with the organization to implement the framework as closely to doctrine as possible, adapting it to their specific mission and operational environment. Relevant operational experience is crucial for these roles.

Requirements

Bachelor's Degree in Engineering, Physics or Mathematics discipline
10 years of professional experience in operations research while assisting in the coordination and management of large organizations that require the effective use of money, materials, equipment, and people.
Ability to enable MCEN leadership to actively use LPM to make faster, better-funded decisions.
Ability to ensure ARTs are delivering predictable, high-quality value aligned to strategic priorities.
Ability to ensure teams and leaders independently applying SAFe principles correctly.

Nice To Haves

Certified SAFe Practice Consultant (SPC)
Certified Release Train Engineer (RTE)
Experience implementing Lean Portfolio Management (LPM)
Experience in a mission-driven environment
Experience adapting SAFe to specific operational contexts

Responsibilities

Partner directly with MCEN senior leaders and portfolio stakeholders to advance Lean Portfolio Management (LPM) practices, including Portfolio Kanban flow, strategic theme alignment, and investment funding and participatory budgeting.
Provide direct, sometimes firm, guidance to leaders to help them shift from traditional governance to Lean-Agile decision-making.
Identify misalignment between current practices and SAFe doctrine and constructively challenge the status quo to drive change.
Act as the Release Train Engineer for one or more Agile Release Trains, facilitating ART ceremonies (PI Planning, System Demos, Inspect & Adapt).
Manage dependencies, risks, and impediments across teams to ensure predictability, flow, and value delivery.
Actively coach Product Management, System Architects, Scrum Masters, and Product Owners on roles, responsibilities, and SAFe best practices.
Use metrics (flow, predictability, outcomes) to drive fact-based conversations and corrections.
Deliver hands-on coaching and workshops to reinforce Lean-Agile principles at the team, ART, and portfolio levels.
Teach and, when required, certify SAFe roles (execs, LPM, RTEs, Scrum Masters, Product Owners).
Apply operational experience to translate SAFe theory into practical execution that works in a mission-driven environment.
Work shoulder-to-shoulder with MCEN staff to build internal capability, not dependency on consultants.
Serve as a change agent, balancing diplomacy with the authority to push for adherence to the framework.
Identify organizational friction points and intervene early and decisively.
Ensure SAFe is being implemented with intentionality, consistency, and sustainability, not watered down or cherry-picked.
Collaborate closely with a second SPC/RTE to maintain alignment and momentum across portfolios and ARTs.