Sr Release Train Engineer

We are looking for a Senior Release Train Engineer to join our SchoolMessenger line of business under West. SchoolMessenger is the most trusted platform for school community engagement, serving over half of the schools in the US and Canada. Connecting schools and parents through communication technologies, SchoolMessenger helps to make a positive impact on education and student success.

The Release Train Engineer (RTE) is a servant leader and coach for the Agile Release Train (ART). You will be a strong promoter of Agile and the SAFe framework through every interaction with nearly every department at the company. In this role, you will ensure your Program Increment is progressing to plan, the teams on your Agile Release Train are following best practice Agile principles, and the obstacles and successes of your release train are widely communicated throughout the life of each Program Increment.

Day to day responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Leads the SAFe PI Planning preparation campaign from the product vision until the teams’ backlog
• Facilitates the PI Planning events and manages the PI execution and facilitates the SAFe rituals like Scrum of Scrums and System Demos
• Continuously measures and reports the progress of PI and teams in meeting their goals
• Encourages communication and collaboration inside and between ARTs
• Evaluates team metrics and make recommendations to teams and management for improvements
• Coaches’ leaders, scrum masters in lean-agile practices and mindsets
• Helps manage risks and dependencies
• Escalates, tracks and resolves impediments
• Provides visibility of team status and issues to senior management
• Assist with program resource bottlenecks
• Facilitates efficiency, and increases the probability of success in each iteration
• Drives continuous improvement via Inspect and Adapt sessions and via communities of practice (CoP)
• Other duties as assigned

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Education

• Bachelor's Degree in Business Management, MIS, Computer Science or a related field required, however equivalent experience can be substituted for educational requirements
• Certified SAFe Release Train Engineer preferred, but not required

EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS

• Minimum 5 years increasingly responsible project management experience required, with an emphasis on technical capabilities and Release Train Engineer experience
• Minimum 1 year experience in an Information Technology role (e.g. operations development, support, etc.) preferred
• Minimum one year experience with estimating projects and resource allocation preferred

Other

• Ability to thrive in an environment with a high degree of change
• Experience working independently with minimal supervision and guidance
• Experience in Agile methods and techniques
• Experience in a variety of software development, program and project management methodologies and techniques
• Experience in leading large-scale agile projects and teams
• Experience coaching SAFe is a plus
• Project Management Professional (PMP) Certification preferred
• Intermediate knowledge of the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) may be required based on departmental need
• Intermediate knowledge of Word, Excel, SharePoint and PowerPoint required
• Advanced knowledge of MS Project required

BENEFITS & COMPENSATION:

Want to love where you work? At West, we offer a comprehensive benefits package that includes what you’d expect (medical, dental, vision, life and disability coverage, paid time off, a 401(k) retirement plan with company match and flexible spending accounts), and several that go above and beyond – tuition reimbursement paid parental leave, access to a robust library of personal and professional training resources, employee discounts, critical illness, hospital indemnity and pet insurances, identity protection and more! Apply today to join us in work worth doing!

The starting salary for this position is anticipated between $90,000 and $125,000 per year and will be commensurate with experience.