Release Train Engineer

Leidos is looking for a Release Train Engineer to join a high performing agile team using the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) methodology to support a nationally significant and fast-paced cryptographic key management program. Program execution follows DEVOPS best practices and employs robust development, test and production environments. We are using Test Driven Development (TDD) and test automation tools alongside a full suite of team collaboration tools. Leidos is the prime contractor providing system engineering, development, test, integration and operational support. This new 5 year program is focused on injecting new technology and adding advanced capabilities while continuing to support an on-going mission and operational system.

Job Description

The Agile Release Train Engineer will serve as the leader for an Agile Release Train (ART) executing on a program implementing Large Scale SAFe. He/she will report to a Solution Train Engineer (STE) in the Large Scale SAFe structure and will facilitate the ART events and processes that assist the team in delivering value. The selected candidate will serve as a project engineer/project manager over the ART and focus on ensuring the ART’s Feature commitments are met. This includes working with the teams to determine if teams will complete the Features, understand why something might not complete and help mitigate issues preventing Features from completing. The ART Engineer will facilitate horizontal and vertical communication across teams and identify any impediments that may hinder team progress while working mitigation plans as needed. The selected candidate will be responsible for sensing, determining, and leading discussions when issues need to be analyzed or triaged. Strong attention to detail and focus on task completion is critical.

Primary Responsibilities

• Manage and optimize the flow of value through an Agile Release Train (ART)
• Manage schedule execution and plan the software/architecture releases for the program
• Ensure that new projects are within scope and remain within scope
• Facilitate Program Increment (PI) Planning readiness by fostering a Continuous Exploration process which drives the synthesis of a Vision, a Roadmap, and Backlogs, and through Pre- and Post-PI Planning meetings
• Facilitate Program Increment (PI) Planning, including logistics and technical preparation
• Facilitating cross-team collaboration within program via Scrum of Scrums meeting and other less formal forums in support development, testing, and deployment efforts
• Summarize Team PI Objectives into Program PI Objectives and publish them for visibility and transparency
• Assist tracking the execution of features and capabilities through Metrics across program’s agile and DevOps teams
• Briefing customer on development progress throughout PI cycle and on the status of testing, deployment, and release readiness
• Work closely with the STE and operations team to coordinate release trains, assess the impact to other DevOps processes, and schedule release timelines for those fixes
• Acquire in-depth understanding of the large complex software system, and assess risk and understand varied customer needs
• Assessing skillset needs and collaborating with leadership to staff program openings
• Coaching teams, Scrum Masters, Product Owners, and Project/Program Leaders in agile practices
• Promote teamwork to achieve PI goals
• Lead the teams towards agile maturity
• Ability to thrive in a fast paced environment, across diverse systems and groups
• Assist with economic decision-making by facilitating feature and capability estimation by teams and the roll-up to Epics, where necessary Coach leaders, teams, and Scrum Masters in Lean-Agile practices and mindsets
• Escalate and track impediments
• Manage resources and provide input on program resource allocation to address critical bottlenecks
• Work with the contractor Program Management Office (PMO) on program execution
• Understand and operate within budgets provided by the CAM/TTOM and ensure adherence to Guardrails
• Drive relentless improvement via Inspect and Adapt workshops; assess the agility level of the ART and help them improve
• Foster Communities of Practice and the use of engineering and Built-In Quality practices

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university and at least 12+ years of relevant work experience
• At least 5 years of experience supervising or leading teams or projects
• Previous Release, Project, or Program Management experience
• Experience working with SAFe Agile software development teams and managing project deadlines (ideally in a Scrum Master, Product Owner, or Development Lead role)
• Experience with briefing leadership and/or customers of key status of project progression
• Experience communicating with and briefing status to external stakeholders, including customer/government representatives
• Experience-affecting change in organizations working towards agile adoption
• Certified Scrum Master (CSM), SAFe Scrum Master (SSM) or similar agile project management certification (PMI-ACP)
• Experience using agile project management tools (e.g. Jira, VersionOne, Rallye, IBM RTC)
• Experience working with multi-disciplinary development teams
• Must have the ability to understand technical concepts and communicate them effectively to both technical and non-technical audiences
• Excellent written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills, and time management skills are a must
• Must have an active TS/SCI with Polygraph to be considered for this role.

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or Master’s degree in a technical field such as System Engineering, Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering Science, Engineering Management, or related discipline
• Experience working with large software systems including hardware integration and test
• Experience using SAFe as the agile development methodology including experience participating in Program Increment Planning sessions
• Scaled Agile certification such as SAFe Agilist (SA) or SAFe RTE
• Experience in the software development lifecycle - as the developer, tester, analyst, product manager, project/program manager, etc.
• Experience with applying test automation, test-driven development, continuous integration, and continuous deployment to achieve built-in quality by the team

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