Agile Practitioner

AMERICAN SYSTEMS is an employee-owned federal government contractor supporting national priority programs through our strategic solutions in the areas of Information Technology, Test & Evaluation, Program Mission Support, Engineering & Analysis, and Training.

As an Agile Practitioner for the CODIS Unit, you will implement and oversee SAFe (Scaled Agile Framework) processes for all teams to ensure alignment with industry best practices and delivery of sustained customer value. You will be a servant leader and coach for Agile Release Trains (ARTs), working closely with Government and contractor teams, overseeing PI Planning, Agile ceremonies, and supporting migration between toolsets.

Support the creation and adherence to the SAFe implementation roadmap.
• Participate as an active member of agile teams employing SAFe methodology.
• Assist Government personnel with the creation, modification, and documentation of all SAFe-required process and project materials.
• Develop, coordinate, and maintain Planning Intervals (PI) that capture user stories, story points, releases, and release dates in cooperation with all stakeholders.
• Lead and facilitate PI Planning, establish SMART PI objectives, and set iteration-level goals in alignment with program priorities.
• Clearly document and communicate PI work, goals, and intended outcomes.
• Provide team demonstrations of completed work at sprint/iteration boundaries and during PI reviews.
• Conduct Inspect and Adapt events to improve processes at the conclusion of each PI.
• Champion SAFe Core Values, Mindsets, and Principles-including the visualization and limitation of work-in-progress (WIP), optimization of batch sizes, queue management, and cadence alignment.
• Facilitate the linking of strategy and execution via architectural vision and roadmaps.
• Ensure continuous delivery of high-quality products; foster a DevOps/DevSecOps culture including test-first practices and continuous pipeline adherence.
• Enable fast feedback and rapid validation through MVPs, backlog management, and refinement of acceptance criteria at both Epic and User Story levels.
• Drive metrics collection, analysis, and relentless improvement across ARTs.
• Provide coaching and guidance during daily Scrums, ART Sync ups, and portfolio-level ceremonies.
• Foster exceptional collaboration and communication across Agile teams and portfolios.
• Support migration of Agile artifacts from Azure DevOps/GitLab to Atlassian Suite (Jira, Confluence).

• Active Secret Clearance (U.S. Citizenship Required for the purposes of obtaining/holding a U.S. security clearance)
• Bachelor's degree and 8-10 years of related work experience -or- Master's degree and 6-8 years of related work experience
• Secret Clearance
• 3+ years of experience as an Agile Practitioner, Scrum Master, or Release Train Engineer in a SAFe environment.
• Demonstrated proficiency and hands-on leadership within Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe).
• Experience leading PI Planning, managing agile backlogs, and driving continuous delivery in a technology-focused organization.
• Strong skills in Agile toolsets: Azure DevOps, GitLab (for CODIS Cloud), and Atlassian Suite (Jira, Confluence).
• Knowledge or experience in DevOps/DevSecOps processes and continuous delivery pipelines.
• Excellent facilitation, stakeholder management, documentation, and communication skills.
• Experience working within or supporting government, law enforcement, or forensic science environments, especially pertaining to CODIS or similar DNA systems.
• [Preferred] SAFe certification (e.g., SAFe Practitioner, SAFe Scrum Master, SAFe Release Train Engineer