Location: Washington, DC (100% Onsite)
Clearance: Top Secret/SCI
Job Type: Full-time
Target Salary Range*: $235,000 - $265,000
*This represents the potential salary range for this position depending on education level, years of experience and/or certifications in addition to other position specific requirements which may impact salary
Position Overview
The Release Train Engineer supports a fast-paced Agile environment by enabling effective Program Increment execution, optimizing delivery flow, managing risks and impediments, and ensuring consistent value delivery. This role facilitates Agile Release Train ceremonies, coaches teams in Lean-Agile practices, and helps tailor the Scaled Agile Framework to organizational needs.
The Release Train Engineer coordinates cross-team planning and execution, tracks delivery performance, manages dependencies, supports release readiness, and provides leadership and customer stakeholders with visibility into program progress, risks, testing, and deployment status.
Key Responsibilities
Agile Release Train Leadership
- Lead Agile Release Train activities and drive Lean-Agile practices to improve delivery flow.
- Facilitate Program Increment Planning and continuous exploration activities, including pre- and post-PI sessions.
- Coordinate cross-team collaboration through Scrum of Scrums and other forums.
- Consolidate team PI objectives and publish program-level objectives.
- Promote teamwork and alignment to Program Increment goals.
Release Planning and Execution
- Plan and manage software and architecture release schedules.
- Track feature and capability execution using metrics across Agile and DevOps teams.
- Brief customers and leadership on progress, testing, deployment status, and release readiness.
- Understand the program’s complex system architecture to assess risks and customer concerns.
Coaching and Agile Maturity
- Coach teams, Scrum Masters, Product Owners, and leaders in Agile maturity and Lean-Agile practices.
- Help tailor SAFe practices to organizational and program needs.
- Support continuous improvement across Agile teams and program execution activities.
Risk, Dependency, and Resource Management
- Escalate and manage impediments affecting delivery.
- Coordinate critical dependencies across teams and workstreams.
- Provide resourcing and planning input to resolve delivery bottlenecks.
- Collaborate with the Program Management Office on program execution and test data needs.
Qualifications
Education
- Bachelor’s degree with 8–12 years of relevant experience; or
- Master’s degree with 6–10 years of relevant experience.
- Relevant experience may be considered in place of a degree.
Experience
- Experience supporting Agile software development teams in roles such as Scrum Master or project lead. [Required]
- Experience briefing leadership and customer stakeholders. [Required]
- Experience using Agile project management tools such as Jira. [Required]
Skills
- Strong written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills. [Required]
- Strong time-management skills. [Required]
- Strong attention to detail. [Required]
Certifications
Clearance
Other Requirements
- Ability to work full-time onsite in Washington, DC. [Required]
- Ability to pass and maintain additional suitability screenings as required by the customer. [Required]
Preferred Qualifications
- 3–5 years of ServiceNow administration or configuration experience.
- Experience with ServiceNow Automated Test Frameworks.
- ITIL Foundation knowledge or certification.
- AWS cloud certifications.
- Knowledge of Agile methodologies, Jira, and Confluence.
