Scrum Master SME

Job Title: 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.