Scrum Master II
As the Scrum Master II you work closely with Product Owners to refine and prioritize backlogs, drive continuous improvement through delivery metrics, and coach teams to higher levels of agile maturity. This role also contributes to cross-team coordination, dependency management, and mentoring junior Scrum Masters. Ideal candidates bring strong facilitation skills, a collaborative mindset (servant leader), communication, and experience working in Agile environment or a Scaled Agile Framework.
Key Responsibilities (What you contribute):
- Guide teams in mature Scrum practices and scaled environments.
- Facilitate deeper adoption of Agile principles, moving beyond basic Ceremonies to foster continuous improvement and agile thinking.
- Ensure teams are using Scrum artifacts (e.g., Definition of Done, Sprint Goals) effectively and consistently.
- Provide guidance in scaled Agile frameworks when working with larger programs or cross-functional teams.
- Support multiple Scrum teams or a highly complex team.
- Manage the unique needs of two or more Scrum teams simultaneously, ensuring each receives adequate coaching and facilitation.
- For complex teams (e.g., those with integrated tech stacks or multiple external dependencies), work closely with Product Owner to balance priorities, manage complexity, and ensure delivery.
- Coach Product Owners an scrum team on effective backlog refinement and prioritization.
- Partner with Product Owners to ensure backlogs are well-groomed, actionable, and aligned with strategic goals.
- Coach the team on breaking down epics and user stories, maintaining INVEST criteria (Independent, Negotiable, Valuable, Estimable, Small, Testable).
- Promote techniques like MoSCoW to prioritize high-value work.
- Foster team self-organization and proactive impediment resolution.
- Empower teams to take ownership of their work, plan effectively, and make data-driven decisions.
- Encourage the team to identify and solve blockers early, stepping in when escalations or broader support is required.
- Facilitate team health checks and retrospectives that lead to tangible, iterative improvements.
- Analyze and use delivery metrics to improve team performance.
- Track capacity, cycle time, and sprint predictability to identify trends and improvement areas.
- Use data to help teams plan better, adjust WIP (Work in Progress) limits, and improve delivery confidence.
- Share metrics transparently with Product Owner/Product Manager while protecting the team from misuse of data.
- Mentor junior Scrum Masters and help elevate team agile maturity.
- Share best practices, facilitate Agile workshops, or lead Communities of Practice (CoP).
- Drive efforts to increase organizational agility, including cross-training, job shadowing, or agile maturity assessments.
- Collaborate on dependency management and cross-team coordination.
- Identify and manage cross-team dependencies early, facilitating alignment through Scrum of Scrums or PI Planning (in SAFe).
- Work with Release Train Engineers (RTEs), Product Managers, or other roles to synchronize timelines, goals, and handoffs.
- Help teams adapt to shifting priorities by maintaining communication bridges across departments.
- Contribute to Agile Community of Practice
- Share learnings, tools, and techniques across the Scrum Master CoP.
- Participate in ongoing learning and certification opportunities to enhance skills.
- Support Organizational Agile Maturity
- Collaborate with leaders to improve Agile practices and support agile transformation goals.
- Model Agile leadership behaviors that inspire change and drive results.
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (What you're good at):
- Strong understanding of the Scrum framework and Agile methodologies.
- Working knowledge of Agile scaling models and their application in complex environments.
- Proficiency in backlog management tools (e.g., Azure DevOps, Jira, Rally) and agile metrics/reporting dashboards.
- Familiarity with software delivery lifecycle (SDLC), ADO, and product management practices
- Strong problem-solving and interpersonal skills to identify blockers and facilitate conflict resolution across teams.
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to translate technical concepts for non-technical audiences.
- Demonstrated ability to work cross-functionally with Product Owners, stakeholders, and other Scrum Masters to manage dependencies.
- Effectively support multiple Scrum teams or manage a single, complex team in a fast-paced environment.
- Understand product roadmaps and portfolio-level priorities, aligning team efforts to organizational objectives.
- PMI Project Management Professional (PMP), Certified Scrum Master (CSM) or similar Agile certification is a plus.
- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, or a related field required. Master’s degree preferred.
- Minimum of 3 years of relevant professional experience required; 5 or more years of progressive experience preferred.
Pay Range: $74,772 - $125,184
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About JAX:
The Jackson Laboratory is an independent, nonprofit biomedical research institution with a National Cancer Institute-designated Cancer Center and nearly 3,000 employees in locations across the United States (Maine, Connecticut, California), Japan and China. Its mission is to discover precise genomic solutions for disease and empower the global biomedical community in the shared quest to improve human health.
Founded in 1929, JAX applies over nine decades of expertise in genetics to increase understanding of human disease, advancing treatments and cures for cancer, neurological and immune disorders, diabetes, aging and heart disease. It models and interprets genomic complexity, integrates basic research with clinical application, educates current and future scientists, and provides critical data, tools and services to the global biomedical community. For more information, please visit www.jax.org.
EEO Statement:
The Jackson Laboratory provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment in all job classifications without regard to race, color, religion, age, mental disability, physical disability, medical condition, gender, sexual orientation, genetic information, ancestry, marital status, national origin, veteran status, and other classifications protected by applicable state and local non-discrimination laws.
