Release Train Engineer, Manager

What Is the Role?  

The Product & Technology Group (PTG) at Blackbaud is seeking a strategic, forward-thinking, and experienced Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) Release Train Engineer (RTE) with additional expertise and experience in people management. This dual role will champion the effective use of SAFe within our Agile Release Trains (ARTs) as they support the continuous delivery of large-scale, cloud-based software solutions, while also contributing to the leadership and development of our team within the Portfolio Management Office (PMO).  

The desired candidate will possess exemplary project and program management skills; exhibit strong business acumen and operational excellence; has the proven ability to drive and support predictable and high-quality delivery across a large, geographically distributed, cross-functional team as they realize the product vision and provide value to the customer. This person will also have a passion for building empowered, high-performing teams; driving a culture of continuous improvement; and delivering secure, valuable, and high-quality solutions to customers.  
 
You will work in an exciting, supportive, and engaging agile environment where you will be encouraged to expand your skills, test your creative boundaries, share new ideas, and, most importantly, have fun.  

What Is the Product & Technology Group (PTG)?  

The Product & Technology Group (PTG) is dedicated to driving innovation, fostering best practices, and ensuring our teams are equipped with the tools and knowledge to achieve excellence in product and technical delivery. We aim to be at the cutting edge of technology while building a culture of collaboration, relentless improvement, and growth. Join us as we lead and redefine the future of tech in the social good space.  

What You’ll Do – RTE Responsibilities  

• Oversee overall delivery for the Agile Release Train (ART) including intake, evaluation, prioritization, planning, execution, dependency management, risk management, release management, and stakeholder management.  

• Plan, coordinate, and facilitate the major events and ceremonies within SAFe, including quarterly PI Planning, System Demos, and Inspect & Adapt Workshops.  

• Partner with the ART’s Product Manager to ensure backlog priorities are adjudicated and that conflicts are resolved prior to and throughout PI execution so the ART can limit WIP, drive quality, deliver on its commitments, and realize business value.  

• Be a senior-level agile coach for the Agile Release Train (ART), guiding teams to consistently leverage agile values, principles, practices, and ceremonies.  

• Manage and optimize the flow of value through the ART using tools like Miro, Azure DevOps (ADO), Dependency Charts, Program Boards, and the Program Kanban.  

• Resolve and escalate ART impediments, manage ART-level risks, and drive relentless improvement across the ART.  

• Foster a safe, collaborative environment where teams can deliver on commitments while feeling empowered to surface issues openly and honestly.  

• Ensure clear communication and alignment between agile teams, Product Managers, Product Owners, System Engineers, Architects, Business Stakeholders, Partners, Suppliers, and other dependent teams (may include waterfall delivery teams and agile teams who do not live on the ART).  

• Gather data from multiple sources, synthesize metrics, generate key insights, communicate ART-level data within the train and across the business.  

• Partner with other ART leaders to support the ART’s budget and spending through forecasting, resource allocation, and monitoring of spend. 

What You’ll Do – People Management Responsibilities 

• Lead, mentor, coach, and grow a team of agile PMO professionals.  

• Oversee your team’s performance, manage conflicts, promote continuous learning and professional growth/development.  

• Collaborate with Human Resources (HR) and other departments for activities related to recruiting, onboarding, coaching, and training.  

• Promote a positive and inclusive work environment, while upholding company values and culture.  

• Contribute to the strategic direction of the Portfolio Management Office (PMO) holistically, while aligning to enterprise and department-level goals.  

• Positively represent the value the PMO brings in organizational forums, while fostering a culture of togetherness, adaptability, continuous improvement, and innovation.  

• Collaborate with cross-functional teams, ensuring alignment and effective communication. 

• Engage with executive leaders and other stakeholders to ensure successful delivery.  

What We’re Looking For  

• Certified SAFe Program Consultant (SPC) or SAFe Release Train Engineer (RTE) preferred. 

• 7+ years of experience supporting cloud-based software development, software programs, or other technical delivery.  

• 5+ years of demonstrated people management and team development experience, with a focus on building, leading, and motivating high-performing teams.  

• 3+ years of practical, hands-on experience in an RTE role leading a large ART that is dedicated to mission critical programs with complex scope and interdependencies. 

• Adept at organizing and leading outcomes-focused large planning and problem-solving sessions. 

• Strong technical aptitude to drive accountability and quality outcomes, while fostering collaboration across product and engineering teams.  

• Experience leveraging, synthesizing, and clearly articulating agile metrics to glean insights on ART status and maturation. 

• Understanding of philosophies and methodologies for implementing agile at scale.  

• Experience working in an agile organization especially Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe), or other scaling model. 

• Experience using agile best practices (i.e., burndown charts, engaging retrospective formats, defect management, well-written User and Enabler Stories, Acceptance Test-Driven Development (ATDD), Test-Driven Development (TDD), Behavior-Drive Development (BDD), Continuous Integration / Continuous Deployment (CI/CD), automated testing, etc.).  

• Experience with Agile collaboration tools (e.g., SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, Azure DevOps, etc.) 

What We Offer 

• A dynamic role that bridges technical leadership with people management.  

• An opportunity to be at the forefront of scaled agile transformation.  

• An open, safe, collaborative, inclusive, and innovative working environment.