Scrum Master SME

Location: Falls Church, VA - Hybrid Remote

Eligibility: Candidate must possess an active Secret Clearance

Job Description:

Release Train Engineer (RTE) & Scrum Master

Turn complexity into clarity and deliver innovative applications as a

Release Train Engineer (RTE) & Scrum Master. The work you’ll do will be

to lead and coordinate Agile excellence through SAFe practices, Agile

coaching, program execution, scrum team management and release train

management with a particular focus on technically complex programs,

cross-system integration, and DevOps enablement practices. The role

emphasizes driving IT modernization, aligning engineering teams with

business goals, and ensuring technically scalable and high-performance

solutions.

Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership and Alignment:

- Drive organizational change during Agile transformations and ensure

alignment with enterprise objectives and strategic priorities.

- Serve as a change agent to build nimble, adaptive organizations

focused on delivering measurable business value.

- Lead SAFe adoption and enterprise-level Agile practices.

- Collaborate with leadership to implement Lean Portfolio Management

(LPM) and redefine financial management practices.

- Establish alignment between SAFe principles and enterprise

objectives.

Program Execution and Coordination:

- Coordinate complex, cross-team program execution efforts by applying

Lean-Agile principles.

- Facilitate SAFe ceremonies, including PI Planning, I&A workshops,

and Scrum of Scrums.

- Develop program-level roadmaps and ensure alignment with task order

requirements.

- Manage cross-task order feature dependencies.

Integration and Dependency Management:

- Oversee task order integration to deliver seamless, fully integrated

solutions across systems.

- Develop integration strategies and facilitate end-to-end testing.

- Leverage system thinking to identify, manage, and resolve

cross-system dependencies across Task Orders and teams.

Team Enablement and Development:

- Coach and train Agile teams, stakeholders, and other Scrum Masters

in SAFe best practices.

- Mentor less experienced team members and foster a culture of

transparency and high performance.

- Cultivate Agile coaching strategies and promote continuous learning

across teams throughout the organization.

-

• Enable teams to adopt DevOps and continuous delivery pipelines as

part of their Agile practices.

Risk and Impediment Management:

- Proactively identify and resolve risks, bottlenecks, and

organizational impediments.

- Lead Lean problem-solving workshops with stakeholders and teams to

tackle systemic challenges.

Stakeholder and Relationship Management:

- Act as a liaison between Agile Release Trains (ARTs), business

owners, and senior leadership.

- Foster collaboration across cross-functional teams and stakeholders.

- Create and strengthen partnerships with external stakeholders to

support enterprise system integration and delivery.

Governance and Compliance:

- Ensure adherence to organizational standards, SAFe principles, and

regulatory requirements.

- Establish governance frameworks for Lean Portfolio Management,

ensuring visibility into enterprise prioritization and resource

allocation.

Metrics and Continuous Improvement:

- Track performance using Agile metrics and facilitate Agile maturity

assessments.

DevOps and Delivery Optimization:

- Advocate DevOps practices (e.g., automation, continuous delivery

pipelines) across teams and task orders.

- Develop strategies to integrate Agile practices with DevOps

approaches, driving faster and more reliable delivery cycles.

Required Qualifications

- Education: Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Business, or

related discipline.

- Certifications preferred:

- SAFe Program Consultant (SPC)

- Certified ScrumMaster (CSM)

- Experience:

- 10 years experience with 5+ years in roles such as Scrum Master,

RTE, or Agile Coach, with at least 4 years in complex

environments.

- Proven experience in leading enterprise-wide SAFe

transformations and establishing strategic alignment across

multiple ARTs/ Task Orders/ Teams.

- Proven record of leading enterprise Agile transformations and

implementing SAFe, Scrum, Kanban, and Lean frameworks.

- Advanced certifications such as SAFe Scrum Master (SSM), SAFe

Agilist (SA), or Advanced Certified ScrumMaster (A-CSM).

- Expertise in Lean Portfolio Management and Agile tools (e.g.,

Jira, Confluence, Rally).

- Strong ability to engage and influence senior leadership.

- Experience coaching enterprise teams through cultural shifts and

Agile maturity.

- Demonstrated success with facilitating large-scale Agile

ceremonies (e.g., PI Planning, Stakeholder Demos).

- Expertise in DevOps practices and tools (e.g., GitLab,

ServiceNow, Azure IT Service Management).

- Deep understanding of Agile coaching techniques and team

enablement strategies.

- Experience leading organizations during IT modernization and

Agile-at-scale portfolio transformations.

Clearance: Active security clearance required.