SCRUM Master

Aquent is proud to partner with a leading financial services organization that is revolutionizing how individuals and institutions achieve their financial aspirations. This industry innovator is at the cutting edge of technological advancement, continuously evolving its platforms and services to deliver unparalleled value. Joining this forward-thinking team means contributing to a mission that positively impacts millions, driving innovative solutions within a highly collaborative and supportive culture. Your expertise will directly influence the future of financial technology, creating seamless, efficient, and groundbreaking experiences for all users.

Are you a passionate servant leader eager to ignite innovation and empower high-performing engineering teams? This pivotal opportunity invites you to guide cutting-edge AI-native development teams, cultivating an environment where creativity, collaboration, and continuous improvement flourish. You will be instrumental in elevating software development processes, ensuring that impactful business value is delivered efficiently and effectively. Directly influencing the success of critical projects, you will coach teams to master Agile principles, deftly remove obstacles, and foster a culture of excellence and autonomy within an advanced AI development landscape. This is your chance to make a significant impact, shaping the evolution of groundbreaking financial technology and empowering teams to achieve their highest potential.

What You'll Do

• Act as a dedicated servant leader, prioritizing the success and growth of your teams.
• Proactively identify and remove impediments, ensuring smooth progress toward Sprint goals.
• Ensure transparency and radiate critical information (e.g., backlogs, burndown/up charts) to all stakeholders, keeping everyone informed of team progress and successes.
• Provide comprehensive support to Product Owners, assisting with backlog refinement, release planning, and communication of updates.
• Cultivate an environment that empowers development teams, fostering creativity and self-organization.
• Champion continuous improvement in engineering practices and tools, ensuring teams have the resources and knowledge needed to excel.
• Facilitate clear and consistent communication across the team, Product Owners, and various stakeholders.
• Lead and coach 2+ Agile teams simultaneously, guiding them to adopt and mature strong Scrum processes in alignment with the Scrum Guide.
• Organize and facilitate all key Scrum ceremonies, including backlog grooming, Sprint planning, daily Scrum, Sprint review, and Sprint retrospective.
• Encourage teams to regularly inspect their processes and adapt for optimal performance.
• Assist teams in establishing a consistent and predictable cadence, leading to reliable velocity.
• Collaborate with Product Owners to develop, manage, and continuously refine the product backlog.
• Partner with Product Owners to track and communicate vital information to stakeholders, such as team velocity, Sprint/release progress, and team achievements.
• Coordinate with Project Managers to facilitate seamless cross-team collaboration for complex projects.

What You'll Bring

Must-Have Qualifications:

• Demonstrated servant leadership capabilities, earning respect and actively supporting teams.
• Exceptional communication and social skills, fostering strong team relationships.
• High enthusiasm and energy, inspiring and motivating teams.
• Proven success in scaling AI-assisted software development across multiple teams.
• A commitment to continual improvement, constantly learning and growing your craft and your teams.
• A strong attitude of transparency, building trust between business and development.
• Bachelor's degree in computer science, engineering, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.
• Full understanding and practical application of the Scrum process as defined by the Scrum Guide.
• A deep appreciation and understanding of the Agile values and principles.
• Thorough understanding of:
  
  
  
  • Backlog grooming and relative estimating techniques.
  • Release planning strategies.
  • Effective Sprint planning.
  • Scrum metrics such as Sprint burndown, release burnup, and velocity.
  • Best practices and techniques for Sprint reviews.
  • A variety of retrospective techniques.
  
  
  
  
• 5+ years of experience in a software development environment, with a preference for roles involving cross-team dependencies.
• Must have significant experience working in an environment with AI-led teams.
• 3+ years of experience in managing customer expectations, project schedules, status reporting, and change management.
• 5+ years of experience as a leader in Agile methodologies.
• Experience leading teams within a large, complex enterprise setting where projects often involve multiple Agile teams.
• Ability to apply a diverse range of patterns and techniques to ensure team success.
• Solid knowledge of project management fundamentals.
• Strong conflict resolution skills, adept at facilitating discussions and resolving issues effectively.
• Proven facilitation skills, capable of leading and demonstrating value-add principles.
• Assertive in ensuring adherence to Agile and Scrum concepts, acting as a voice of reason and authority.
• Situationally aware, quick to notice and address issues as they arise.
• An attitude of empowerment, guiding teams toward self-organization.
• A strong grasp of software development methodologies and technology.

Nice-to-Have Qualifications:

• Scrum Master certification.
• Experience with one or more scaled Agile frameworks (e.g., SAFe, LeSS, DAD, Nexus).
• Previous experience as a traditional project and/or program manager.
• DevOps experience, including continuous integration, continuous build, and continuous delivery tools and techniques.