Job Role

The squads within an agile release train (ART) define, design, build, test and deliver changes to ensure continuous business improvement, and ensure their integration into existing business processes.

• The Release Train Engineer (RTE) has a solid grasp of how to scale lead agile practices and understands the unique opportunities and challenges associated with continuously aligning a large development program.
• Manage and optimize the flow of value through the ART.
• Facilitate the ART events & processes and assist teams in delivering value.
• Communicate with a wide range of stakeholders, escalate impediments, help manage risk and drive relentless improvement.

Responsibilities

• Manage and optimize the flow of value through the ART using various tools such as the program kanban and other dashboards.
• Establish and communicate the annual calendars for iterations and program increments (PIs).
• Facilitate PI Planning readiness by fostering a continuous exploration process which drives the synthesis of a vision, roadmap and backlogs, and through pre and post PI Planning meetings.
• Facilitate the PI Planning event (end state).
• Summarize squad PI objectives into program PI objectives and publish them for visibility and transparency.
• Assist in tracking the execution of features and capabilities.
• Facilitate periodic synchronization meetings including the ART sync at the essential level.
• Assist with economic decision making through facilitating feature and capability estimation by squads and the roll up to epics.
• Assist in enabling leaders, teams and agile facilitators with lean agile practices and mindsets.
• Help manage risk and dependences across squads within the ART.
• Escalate and track impediments.
• Provide input on resourcing to address critical bottlenecks.
• Encourage collaboration between squads.
• Work with product management, product owners and other stakeholders to ensure strategy and execution alignment.
• Improve the flow of value streams by enhancing and assessing the practices associated with DevOps and release on demand in the continuous delivery pipeline.
• Understand and operate with lean budgets and ensures adherence to guardrails.
• Facilitate system demos.
• Drive relentless improvement via inspect and adapt workshops; assess the agility level of the ART on an ongoing basis.
• Foster communities of practice and the use of engineering and built-in quality practices.

Requirements

Qualifications

• Matric
• Any relevant IT Qualification (IT Diploma or Degree) will be a strong recommendation.
• RTE certification recommended.

Experience

Management of Release

• At least 4 years of working in an Agile environment.
• At least 2 years of coordinating a sizeable release train.
• Knowledge/Experience within the Life Assurance Industry (or in broader Financial Services industry).

Knowledge/Skills

• Thorough knowledge of Agile practices, rituals and ceremonies.
• Good understanding of engineering practices.
• Thorough knowledge of Jira and Confluence.
• Good understanding of how agile works at scale.
• Thorough understanding of how to utilize dashboards, KPI/metrics & burn down charts.
• Good understanding of Behavior Driven Development methodology.
• Solid grasp of how to scale lean and agile practices.
• Understanding of the unique opportunities and challenges associated with facilitating and continuously aligning a large development program.
• Servant leadership
• Systems thinking
• Problem solving
• Influencing
• Strong facilitation skills
• Negotiation