Scrum Lead

Job Description

Optum is a global organization that delivers care, aided by technology to help millions of people live healthier lives. The work you do with our team will directly improve health outcomes by connecting people with the care, pharmacy benefits, data and resources they need to feel their best. Here, you will find a culture guided by inclusion, talented peers, comprehensive benefits and career development opportunities. Come make an impact on the communities we serve as you help us advance health optimization on a global scale. Join us to start Caring. Connecting. Growing together.

As the Scrum Lead for our Data Science team, you will play a pivotal role in ensuring the team's success by facilitating Agile processes, removing impediments, and fostering a culture of continuous improvement. You will work closely with Data Scientists, Machine Learning Engineers, Data Engineers, Product Owners, and stakeholders to ensure project goals are met while maintaining Agile principles and best practices.

Primary Responsibilities:

- Facilitate Agile Ceremonies: Lead daily stand-ups, sprint planning, retrospectives, and other Agile ceremonies
- Remove Impediments: Identify and address roadblocks that could hinder the team's progress
- Coach the Team: Act as a mentor for the Data Science team in Agile principles and Scrum practices, ensuring alignment with organizational goals
- Support Product Owners: Collaborate with Product Owners to manage the product backlog, prioritize tasks, and ensure clarity and alignment on requirements
- Foster Collaboration: Promote open communication and collaboration between team members, stakeholders, and other departments
- Monitor Progress: Track and communicate team performance metrics, such as velocity and burn-down charts, to ensure transparency and accountability
- Encourage Continuous Improvement: Promote a culture of learning, adaptability, and process improvement by gathering feedback and driving actionable changes
- Agile Best Practices: Ensure the team adheres to Agile/Scrum principles while adapting to the unique needs of the Data Science workflow (e.g., research-heavy projects, iterative model development, etc.)
- Stakeholder Communication: Serve as the bridge between technical teams and business stakeholders, ensuring alignment on goals and expectations
- Drive Value Delivery: Help the team focus on delivering incremental business value in every sprint while balancing the exploratory nature of Data Science work
- Comply with the terms and conditions of the employment contract, company policies and procedures, and any and all directives (such as, but not limited to, transfer and/or re-assignment to different work locations, change in teams and/or work shifts, policies in regards to flexibility of work benefits and/or work environment, alternative work arrangements, and other decisions that may arise due to the changing business environment). The Company may adopt, vary or rescind these policies and directives in its absolute discretion and without any limitation (implied or otherwise) on its ability to do so

Required Qualifications:

- Certified Scrum Master (CSM) or Professional Scrum Master (PSM)
- SAFe Scrum Master (SSM) or other Agile certifications
- 7+ years of professional experience, including 4+ years as a Scrum Master, Agile Coach, or similar role
- Solid understanding of Agile methodologies (Scrum, Kanban, SAFe, etc.) and their application in software development and research-driven environments
- Proven experience in removing organizational and team-level impediments to support team delivery
- Proficiency with Agile project management tools (e.g., Jira, Confluence, Azure DevOps, etc.)
- Proven exceptional communication, facilitation, and stakeholder management skills
- Proven solid leadership skills with the ability to motivate and guide cross-functional teams
- Proven analytical mindset with the ability to identify bottlenecks and propose effective solutions
- Proven empathy and adaptability to work with diverse teams in a dynamic, fast-paced environment

Preferred Qualifications:

- Experience in managing Agile projects for Data Science, Machine Learning, or other technical teams
- Basic understanding of Data Science and Machine Learning concepts
- Familiarity with Data Science workflows, including model development, experimentation, and deployment

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