Release Train Engineer (RTE) SME

About Noblis

Noblis and our wholly owned subsidiaries, Noblis ESI, and Noblis MSD tackle the nation's toughest problems and apply advanced solutions to our clients' most critical missions. We bring the best of scientific thought, management, and engineering expertise together in an environment of independence and objectivity to deliver enduring impact on federal missions. Noblis works with a wide range of government clients in the defense, intelligence and federal civil sectors. Learn more at Noblis -About Us

Why work at a Noblis company?

Our employees find greater meaning in their work and balance the other things in life that matter to them. Our people are our greatest asset. They are exceptionally skilled, knowledgeable, team-oriented, and mission-driven individuals who want to do work that matters and benefits the public. Noblis has won numerous workplace awards. Noblis maintains a drug-free workplace.

*Remote/hybrid status is subject to change based on Noblis and/or government requirements

Commitment to Non-Discrimination

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, ethnicity, sex, age, national origin, religion, physical or mental disability, pregnancy/childbirth and related medical conditions, veteran or military status, or any other characteristics protected by applicable federal, state, or local law. If reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and/or to receive other benefits and privileges of employment, please contact us. EEO is the Law | E-Verify | Right to Work

Total Rewards

At Noblis we recognize and reward your contributions, provide you with growth opportunities, and support your total well-being. Our offerings include health, life, disability, financial, and retirement benefits, as well as paid leave, professional development, tuition assistance, and work-life programs. Our award programs acknowledge employees for exceptional performance and superior demonstration of our service standards. Full-time and part-time employees working at at least 20 hours a week on a regular basis are eligible to participate in our benefit programs. Other offerings may be provided for employees not within this category. We encourage you to learn more about our total benefits by visiting the Benefits page on our Careers site.

Compensation at Noblis is determined by various factors, including but not limited to, the combination of education, certifications, knowledge, skills, competencies, and experience, internal and external equity, location, clearance level, as well as contract-specific affordability, organizational requirements and applicable employment laws. The projected compensation range for this position is based on full time status. For part time or on-call staff, compensation is proportionately adjusted based on hours worked. While monetary compensation is important, it's just one component of Noblis’ total compensation package.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the lead authority on Agile Release Train (ART) operations, providing strategic guidance to optimize value delivery through Program and Solution Kanban management, information radiators, and advanced Agile performance metrics
• Design and direct Program Increment (PI) planning strategies, including readiness activities, vision alignment, backlog refinement, and pre- and post-PI planning sessions to maximize planning efficiency and execution success
• Lead and continuously enhance quarterly PI planning events, both virtual and onsite, by incorporating lessons learned, stakeholder feedback, and industry best practices
• Provide senior-level oversight of feature and capability delivery across enterprise applications, proactively identifying systemic challenges and driving corrective actions to improve program execution
• Drive economic decision-making by establishing estimation frameworks and facilitating feature and capability prioritization at the portfolio level
• Mentor and develop BSAs, Scrum Masters, Product Owners, and leadership in advanced Lean-Agile practices, mindsets, and SAFe principles
• Lead enterprise-level risk and dependency management, establishing proactive identification and mitigation strategies across the development ecosystem
• Own impediment resolution processes, escalating and tracking blockers with a focus on systemic root cause analysis and elimination
• Champion Continuous Delivery Pipeline and DevOps practices to accelerate value delivery through value streams
• Facilitate and elevate system demos and solution demos, ensuring alignment with stakeholder expectations and program objectives
• Design and lead Inspect and Adapt workshops, driving relentless improvement through data-driven retrospectives and actionable improvement backlog items
• Assess and benchmark the agility maturity of the ART and Solution Train, developing targeted improvement roadmaps for teams and leadership
• Establish and codify Agile best practices, playbooks, and standard operating procedures for the program
• Participate in hiring and onboarding of new team members
• Inspire teams, foster a positive culture, and drive performance
• Understand team member perspectives and goals, provide support, and foster a trusting, inclusive environment

Required Qualifications

• Active Top Secret (TS) clearance with SCI eligibility and ability to obtain a CI Polygraph
• US Citizenship is required
• One of the following combinations of education and experience, including 1 year of experience leading teams or managing staff and 3 years serving as a Release Train Engineer (RTE):
  • Bachelor’s degree with 10 years of experience applying Agile methodologies
  • Master’s degree with 6 years of experience applying Agile methodologies
  • PhD with 4 years of experience applying Agile methodologies
• Demonstrated expertise with SAFe Agile framework and methodologies, including leading SAFe adoption and mitigating organizational resistance to Agile transformation
• Expert-level proficiency with Agile project management tools (Jira, Kendis)
• Proven track record of driving Inspect and Adapt practices to achieve measurable continuous improvement outcomes
• Knowledge of DevSecOps practices and tools (GitLab or similar version control systems)
• Extensive experience in Program Increment planning, execution, and risk management and dependency tracking at scale
• Experience mentoring and developing other RTEs and Agile practitioners
• May require < 10% travel
• Willing and able to work onsite 4 days per week

Desired Qualifications

• SAFe Release Train Engineer (RTE) certification