Release Train Engineer

Point of Contact: Satish Tilekar - -

Title          : Release Train Engineer PM

Location  : Richmond, VA (Hybrid)

Duration : 12 Months  

Job Description:

VDOT ITD is looking for a passionate and result oriented individual who will take over the Scaled Agile train as Release Train Engineer (RTE). This RTE should be able to empower teams, facilitate the ART events, effectively communicate with stakeholders, coach teams to ensure Agile processes are being followed, support teams with self-organization, escalate and help resolve impediments, and continuously improve teams / train to maximize value delivery. Candidate should also be able to perform Scrum Master / Project Manager duties as needed. Ideal candidate should be well versed, have led projects using Traditional and Agile methodologies, and be comfortable with autonomously leading in a matrixed environment.

Responsibilities:

• Plan, lead, organize, and motivate agile and traditional project teams to achieve a high level of performance and quality in delivering projects that provide exceptional business value to the internal and external stakeholders.
• Drive consistent project delivery through the entire project lifecycle, including Project plans, Release plans, Resource allocation, and management of project risks, schedule, budget, and delivery of value.
• Provide leadership in the establishment and development of project base line budgets, resource allocation, and schedules.
• Track and communicate project's progress from a schedule, cost, and risk perspective to the project team, stakeholders, and management.
• Manage and optimize the flow of value through the ART using various tools, such as the Program Kanban and other information radiators.
• Establish and communicate the annual calendars for Iterations and Program Increments (PIs).
• Facilitate PI Planning readiness, PI Planning event, and PI execution e.g. Roadmap, Backlogs, Risks, Dependencies, and PI Objectives, etc.
• Assist feature prioritization, tracking the execution of features e.g. Train level metrics.
• Facilitate synchronization meetings e.g. Scrum of Scrums and Program Committee Meetings.
• Coach Managers, Teams, and Scrum Masters in Lean-Agile practices and mindsets.
• Escalate and track impediments, help identify and address critical bottlenecks.
• Encourage collaboration between teams, Engineering, and Enterprise Architects.
• Help ensure strategy and execution alignment (Product Management and Stakeholders).
• Assess practices with DevOps, etc. and help improve Continuous Delivery Pipeline.
• Conduct Inspect and Adapt workshops, facilitate System Demos, assess the agility level of the ART and help them improve.
• Ability to take on additional responsibilities such as Scrum Master, Community of Practice, etc.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• PMP and Scrum Master Certification is required.
• SAFe SPC or RTE Certification is preferred.
• 2-3 years of RTE experience is required.
• An understanding of creating and maintaining Program Increment Backlogs.
• Ability to lead and direct the software development teams through program increment and program iteration planning.
• Experience with agile software development for complex Information Technology systems.
• Strong interpersonal skills including mentoring, coaching, collaborating, and team building.
• Strong analytical, organizational and decision-making skills.
• Strong verbal/written communication skills with the ability to simplify and communicate complex issues to multiple audiences.
• Ability to work with customers, understand their business practices and manage their expectations.
• Expertise with Project Management tools such as Microsoft Project, Visio, and MS Office.
• Experience with Agile collaboration tools such as Team Foundation Server, JIRA, Version One, etc.