Release Train Engineer

Scaled Agile, Inc.,  (https://www.scaledagile.com) is the provider of SAFe®, the world’s leading framework for enterprise agility.

Through learning and certification, a global partner network, and a growing community of over 450,000 trained professionals, Scaled Agile helps enterprises build better systems, increase employee engagement, and improve business outcomes.

Based in Boulder, Colorado, Scaled Agile is a member of the Pledge 1% corporate philanthropy movement, SAI contributes to the local community and seeks to inspire and encourage other companies to the same purpose.

Overview:

The Release Train Engineer (RTE) is a servant leader and coach for the Agile Release Train (ART). The RTE’s major responsibilities are to facilitate the ART events, overall company release processes and assist the teams in delivering value. The RTE communicates with stakeholders, escalate impediments, helps manage risk, and drive relentless improvement.  In this position, the RTE will act as the lead facilitator and SAFe coach for the Portfolio Leadership Team (PLT).

What you’ll be doing:

Collaborative Facilitation

• Create an environment where individuals and teams can work together to deliver high quality products
• Facilitate weekly portfolio leadership meetings to keep the business on track by a focus on an organizational strategy and execution
• Facilitate PI Planning readiness by fostering a Continuous Exploration process which drives the synthesis of the PI Business Context, Priorities, a Roadmap, and Backlogs, through Pre- and Post-PI Planning meetings
• Facilitate the PI planning event exemplifying SAFe core values of Transparency, Program Execution, Alignment and Built-in Quality
• Facilitate periodic ART synchronization and System Demos and Inspect and Adapt workshops to maintain alignment and identify improvement work.

Coaching and Relentless Improvement

• Facilitates seamless collaboration amongst the SAI teams and maximizes team performance by driving relentless improvement across the organization to ensure rapid timely delivery of business value and achievement of goals
• Coach leaders, teams, and Scrum Masters in Lean-Agile principles and practices
• Mentors and coaches Scrum Masters and works with portfolio leadership to instill Agile practices and mindset
• Fosters a growth mindset and spirit of continuous improvement and learning in the organization
• Optimize productivity by removing impediments that may obstruct the pursuit of the program goals and by preserving flexibility and ability to rapidly respond to change.

Operational Excellence

• Assist with economic decision-making by facilitating feature and capability estimation by teams and the roll-up to Epics
• Help manage risks and dependencies
• Escalate and track impediments to provide input on resourcing to address critical bottlenecks
• Utilizes feedback and metrics (quality, delivery rate, etc.) to identify areas of opportunity and partners with others to coach the program to continuously improve
• Work with Product Management, Product Owners, and other stakeholders to help ensure strategy and execution alignment
• Foster Communities of Practice and the use of  Built-In Quality practices.

Skills and experience important for the role:

• Bachelor, Master’s degree or equivalent,
• 5+ years of equivalent work experience in IT and 10 or more years of experience in business and/or Agile project management and/or program management
• At least 3 years in a Release Train Engineer role
• Deep knowledge and experience in Agile practices and principles
• Certified Scrum Master and/or certified SAFe Advanced Scrum Master
• Proven, advanced facilitation skills
• Excellent interpersonal skills and high integrity in managing confidential information.

Plusses:

• SAFe SPC or SPCT or Certified SAFe Release Train Engineer
• Lean knowledge
• Experience of organizational change management, team building and organizational design and growth.

Where you’ll be working:

This position is located in our corporate headquarters and learning center in Boulder, CO.

Why Scaled Agile?

We are a growing organization with a proven revenue model and a serious opportunity to be the global market leader in software and systems development knowledgeware.

This is a place for people who love technology environments, geek out on Methodologies and are always thinking about how things can be improved. While we have an amazing office with great benefits and lots of perks, foosball and free massages are not what we’re about.

We are a group of seasoned professionals and systems thinkers who are passionate about our mission of helping the biggest organizations in the world improve the way they produce software and creating real value. We're profitable, we're agile.

If you are looking for an opportunity to contribute to the direction and success of a vibrant business that is changing how the world develops software we'd love to hear from you. Please provide a resume, with a few thoughts on why you think you’d be a great fit. (We still read cover letters)