Director, Agile Release Train Engineer

Job Number 24037054

Job Category Information Technology

Location Marriott International HQ, 7750 Wisconsin Avenue, Bethesda, Maryland, United States VIEW ON MAP

Schedule Full-Time

Located Remotely? Y

Relocation? N

Position Type Management

JOB SUMMARY

The Release Train Engineer (RTE) is a leader and coach for the Agile Release Train (ART) who possesses a strong understanding of Agile and can execute and manage Agile processes. Organizes and facilitates ART events and assist the teams in delivering value. Communicates with stakeholders, escalate impediments, helps manage risks, and drive relentless improvement. This specific position supports the Infrastructure and Cloud Delivery/Engineering team and has a dual reporting relationship to both the VP of Cloud Delivery and the Agile Center of Excellence.

CANDIDATE PROFILE

Required:

• Undergraduate degree or equivalent experience/certifications
• 8+ years progressive work related experience with demonstrated proficiency in multiple disciplines / technologies / processes
• 5+ years overseeing release cadences and aligning solutions, changes, and features to a release calendar
• 5+ years aligning with Product Managers and Enterprise Architects to provide an aligned delivery framework and promote a cohesive and scalable strategy
• 5+ years facilitating interaction and appropriate communication between scrum teams, architecture, and UX
• 3+ years managing teams and / or significant complex initiative as Release Train Engineer
• 3+ years working with DevOps teams and IT to develop a strategy with continuous integration and automation based on industry best practices

In addition , the ideal candidate will posses at least 3+ years demonstrated technical experience in some or all of the following areas:

• Managing/ facilitating the execution of ART processes

• Facilitating PI planning and delivery

• Using an SAFe Agile delivery model in order to streamline and improve CI/CD processes and delivery

• Providing oversight and guidance to Agile teams in terms of release planning, cross-team coordination, and dependencies management

• Supporting organizations using a defined DevOps execution model

• Defining controls and release phase gates for production and non-production environments

• Optimizing the flow of current application delivery through ART by applying Kanban principles and using other program management tools

• Supporting robust reporting and tracking mechanism tools, i.e. Jira

Preferred:

• Graduate Degree in a technical discipline

• SAFe Release Train Engineer or SAFe Program Consultant (SPC) certification

• Experience in developing and implementing strategic IT technologies and related processes, procedures, and decision support.

• Experience in developing technology roadmaps and strategies

CORE WORK ACTIVITIES

• Manage and optimize the flow of value through the ART using various tools, such as the Program and Solution Kanbans, etc

• Mastery of complex facilitation and dependency management technique to steer contributors through all the necessary ART ceremonies including program increment planning, demos, reviews.

• Drives ART delivery and continuous improvement by utilizing ART retrospective, assessment and metrics to identify areas of opportunity

• Creates a compelling vision, clear direction and strategy for the team

• Facilitate PI Planning readiness by fostering a Continuous Exploration process which drives the synthesis of a Vision, a Roadmap, and Backlogs, and through Pre- and Post-PI Planning events

• Coach leaders, teams, and Scrum Masters in Lean-Agile practices and mindsets

• Identifies resource gaps across the teams and ART and makes recommendations to portfolio leaders

• Escalate and track impediments and work to resolve escalated issues

• Provide input on resourcing to address critical bottlenecks Encourage collaboration between teams and System and Solution Architects/Engineering Work with Product Management, Product Owners, and other stakeholders to help ensure strategy and execution alignment

• Maintains agile tools and dashboards to track progress towards PI objectives and flow of value

• Improve the flow of value through value streams by improving and assessing the practices associated with DevOps and Release on Demand in the Continuous Delivery Pipeline

• Support the development of behavioral change management, communications and training as needed to drive process and tool adoption, implementation and compliance.

• Collaborate with key stakeholder groups to validate the effectiveness of standard processes and continuously improves process quality.

• Work with Marriott teams to ensure that process-related activities address company needs.

• Generates enthusiasm and understanding of the department's vision and how each role contributes to the achievement of that vision

• Ensure capabilities are developed and resources are aligned to support the strategy

• Creates and sustains a work environment that drives associate engagement and enables business success

• Ensures appropriate processes are in place and executed to drive collaboration and alignment within the team and with the broader IT organization

Skills, Knowledge & Abilities

• Servant leader with strong coaching and mentoring skills

• Hands on and comfortable with rolling up the sleeves to get the work done; at the same time well versed in building consensus and getting work done through others

• Excellent communication, facilitation, and interpersonal skills and the ability to work effectively with peers and team members

• Excellent personal organizational skills and prior experience using Agile management tools such as Jira/Confluence

• Knowledge of Application Development and Infrastructure technology best practices such as automation, CI/CD pipelines, etc.

• Strong technical aptitude and experience leading teams in delivering quality technology solutions

• Must have a solid grasp of how to scale Lean and Agile practices, and understand the unique opportunities and challenges associated with facilitating and continuously aligning a large technology program

• Functions as a strategic senior technical expert within the department.

• Develops specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish work.

• Champions leaders' vision for product and service delivery.

• Makes and executes the necessary decisions to keep moving forward toward achievement of goals.

• Provides direction and assistance to other teams regarding projects.

• Determines priorities, schedules, plans and necessary resources to promote completion of any projects on schedule.

• Analyzes information and evaluates results to choose the best solution and solve problems.

• Reviews vendor proposals and selects appropriate vendor for services/technologies/hardware.

• Thinks creatively and practically to develop, execute and implement new project plans.

• Generates and provides accurate and timely results in the form of reports, presentations, etc.

• Plans, develops, implements, and evaluates the quality of operations.

Delivering on the Needs of Key Stakeholders

• Understands and meets the needs of key stakeholders.

• Communicates concepts in a clear and persuasive manner that is easy to understand.

• Demonstrates an understanding of business priorities.

• Supports achievement of performance goals, budget goals, team goals, etc.

Providing Technical Support and Consultation

• Provides technical expertise and technical leadership within own and other teams.

• Provides recommendations to improve the effectiveness of processes and programs.

• Demonstrates advanced knowledge of job-relevant issues, products, systems, and processes.

• Demonstrates advanced knowledge of function-specific procedures.

• Applies knowledge/judgment to achieve business goals.

• Foresees, identifies and resolves problems.

• Keeps up-to-date technically and applies new knowledge to job.

• Performs other reasonable duties as required for this position

California Applicants Only: The salary range for this position is $110,550.00 to $245,238.00 annually.

Colorado Applicants Only: The salary range for this position is $110,550.00 to $222,943.00 annually.

Hawaii Applicants Only: The salary range for this position is $133,766.00 to $245,238.00 annually.

New York Applicants Only: The salary range for this position is $110,550.00 to $245,238.00 annually.

Washington Applicants Only: The salary range for this position is $110,550.00 to $245,238.00 annually. In addition to the annual salary, the position will be eligible to receive an annual bonus and restricted stock units/stock grants. Employees will accrue 0.04616 PTO balance for every hour worked and eligible to receive minimum of 7 holidays annually.

All locations offer coverage for medical, dental, vision, health care flexible spending account, dependent care flexible spending account, life insurance, disability insurance, accident insurance, adoption expense reimbursements, paid parental leave, educational assistance, 401(k) plan, stock purchase plan, discounts at Marriott properties, commuter benefits, employee assistance plan, and childcare discounts. Benefits are subject to terms and conditions, which may include rules regarding eligibility, enrollment, waiting period, contribution, benefit limits, election changes, benefit exclusions, and others.

Marriott HQ is committed to a hybrid work environment that enables associates to Be connected. Headquarters-based positions are considered hybrid, for candidates within a commuting distance to Bethesda, MD; candidates outside of commuting distance to Bethesda, MD will be considered for Remote positions.

The application deadline for this position is 42 days after the date of this posting, 03/04/2024.

Marriott International is an equal opportunity employer. We believe in hiring a diverse workforce and sustaining an inclusive, people-first culture. We are committed to non-discrimination on any protected basis, such as disability and veteran status, or any other basis covered under applicable law.

Marriott International is the world's largest hotel company, with more brands, more hotels and more opportunities for associates to grow and succeed. Be where you can do your best work, begin your purpose, belong to an amazing global team, and become the best version of you.