Release Train Engineer (Hybrid)

At Selective, we don't just insure uniquely, we employ uniqueness.

Our Business

Selective is a midsized U.S. domestic property and casualty insurance company with a history of strong, consistent financial performance for nearly 100 years. Selective's unique position as both a leading insurance group and an employer of choice is recognized in a wide variety of awards and honors, including listing in Forbes Best Midsize Employers in 2023 and certification as a Great Place to Work in 2023.

Working at Selective

At Selective, we don't just insure uniquely - we employ uniqueness. Employees are empowered and encouraged to Be Uniquely You by being their true, unique selves and contributing their diverse talents, experiences, and perspectives to our shared success. Together, we are a high-performing team working to serve our customers responsibly by helping to mitigate loss, keep them safe, and restore their lives and businesses after an insured loss occurs. Employees receive comprehensive total rewards packages - including competitive compensation and performance awards, health benefits, and retirement savings - and professional development opportunities and flexible schedules to support their health, wealth, and well-being. Join our team and help make a difference.

Summary:

The Agile Leader provides leadership and coaching to delivery teams using the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) and other agile techniques. Coordinates and facilitates Agile Release Train (ART) and Scrum events, such as the Program Increment (PI) Planning Event, and acts as the next level escalation for obstacles reported by the individual Development Team members. Works closely with the other agile program leaders such as Delivery Lead, Product Manager, other Release Train Engineers, Solution Train Engineer, System Architect, Product Owner, and/or Scrum Master. Assists the delivery team with escalating and resolving issues related to delivery of features within an agile execution structure. Assists with overall organizational transformation including setting up new agile programs as well as communication and coaching with senior leaders.

Responsibilities:

• Agile transformation leadership, Spearhead the organization's Agile adoption strategy, facilitating the transition to Agile methodologies across teams and departments.
• Act as an agile leader and coach for one or more medium or large sized teams of moderate to high complexity, generally ranging in size from 50 - 125 individuals.
• Participate autonomously within ARTs and Scrum Teams as defined agile roles designated by SAFe, including Release Train Engineer and/or Scrum Master.
• Coach senior IT leaders through definition, planning, and execution of departmental agile transformation efforts.
• Facilitates and coaches teams on agile ceremonies such as Sprint Planning, Daily Standups, Sprint Review, Retrospective, PI Planning, System Demo, Scrum of Scrums, Product Owner Sync, and Inspect and Adapt. Coaching on all agile SAFe roles, including Release Train Engineer, in Lean/Agile values, practices, tools and methodologies.
• Participate in, facilitate, and lead program and team level planning, execution and continuous improvement.
• Accountable for delivery of moderate to large programs across the entire application lifecycle, aligned with an agile methodology. This includes project initiation, managing project scope, addressing dependencies across teams, providing status, and managing risks/issues.
• Facilitate the creation and maintenance of Product Vision and Roadmaps to enable teams to align execution to business value. Work with senior leadership to report status, escalate and resolve issues, and communicate changes in scope or execution. Work with senior leadership on aligning individual program roadmaps to overall departmental plans.
• Work with Product Manager / Owner and Development Teams to facilitate the refinement, estimation, planning, and execution of features and stories in alignment with Agile Best Practices .
• Drives continuous improvement on agile teams, programs, and departments using techniques such as Inspect & Adapt, Retrospectives, and Root Cause Analysis.
• Facilitate tracking and reporting of agile metrics at the team and program level, such as lead time, velocity, defect leakage, etc. in order to encourage transparency and continuous improvement.

Qualifications:

• Strong leadership and communication skills
• Ability to work directly with technical and product teams, as well as program and senior IT leadership
• Strong command of Scrum, Agile values and principles, and SAFe
• Deep understanding of SDLC, Project Management and Software Delivery
• Experience with end to end software development and delivery process
• Knowledge of modern Agile development techniques such as DevOps, test driven development, and test automation
• Sound problem solving skills
• Experience with Agile project management software especially Microsoft Azure DevOps
• Moderate technical domain proficiency
• Knowledge of Insurance Industry a plus
• Understanding and ability to execute and coach at the team and program levels of SAFe: e.g. RTE, Product Management, System Architect
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Management Information Science, Business Administration or related field
• 10+ years of experience in software development, with 4+ years of experience in coaching and mentoring Agile skills, the Scrum Framework, Scrum of Scrums leadership and working in SAFe
• SAFe SASM, CSP, PSC or other advanced Agile certification required
• PMP or PMI-ACP preferred
• Has been accountable for delivery of projects at least $1 million

Salary range: $116,000 - $167,000. The actual base salary is based on geographic location, and the range is representative of salaries for this role throughout Selective's footprint. Additional considerations include the candidate's qualifications and experience.

Selective is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. That means we respect and value every individual's unique opinions, beliefs, abilities, and perspectives. We are committed to promoting a welcoming culture that celebrates diverse talent, individual identity, different points of view and experiences - and empowers employees to contribute new ideas that support our continued and growing success. Building a highly engaged team is one of our core strategic imperatives, which we believe is enhanced by diversity, equity, and inclusion. We expect and encourage all employees and all of our business partners to embrace, practice, and monitor the attitudes, values, and goals of acceptance; address biases; and foster diversity of viewpoints and opinions.

Selective maintains a drug-free workplace.

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