Release Train Engineer (RTE) -- FDA Food Safety Data Exchange (FSDX 2.0)

Job Description

Job Description

Description:

Position Summary

Precise Software Solutions, Inc. is seeking an experienced Release Train Engineer (RTE) to support a FDA modernization program. This is a high-visibility, senior Agile leadership role responsible for orchestrating the delivery of a major federal system modernization initiative — the consolidation of two legacy regulatory data exchange systems into a single, unified cloud-native platform deployed on FDA AWS GovCloud.

The RTE serves as the servant leader and coach for the Agile Release Train (ART), facilitating program-level planning and execution, managing cross-team dependencies, and driving continuous improvement in alignment with the FDA Enterprise Performance Life Cycle (EPLC) and Precise's Precise Way® Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) methodology. The successful candidate will operate across multiple concurrent workstreams — including Development, Modernization, and Enhancement (DME) and Operations and Maintenance (O&M) — while coordinating closely with FDA stakeholders, downstream contractor teams, and state regulatory partners.

Must be local to Rockville, MD for occasional on site visits. 

This position is contingent upon a contract award. 

Key Responsibilities 

Program Increment (PI) Planning and Release Execution

The RTE leads all Program Increment planning events, coordinating capacity, sequencing, and feature prioritization across the ART in alignment with program management, customer direction and COR guidance. The RTE maintains the Integrated Master Schedule (IMS) on a weekly basis, manages release-level Project Process Agreements (PPAs) in accordance with FDA EPLC requirements, and ensures all sprint plans reflect realistic team capacity and accurate task-level estimates. The RTE prepares and maintains release plan summaries, JIRA/ALM release plans mapped to sprint-level effort, and sprint status dashboards for review by the FDA Government IT PM.

Cross-Team Dependency and Coordination Management

The RTE serves as the primary integration point across all internal and external teams with dependencies on the program. The RTE proactively identifies cross-team blockers, facilitates resolution, and escalates impediments to executive leadership when necessary. The RTE drives participation from all impacted teams in end-to-end integration, regression, and UAT testing cycles for every FSDX release.

Agile Ceremonies and Continuous Improvement

The RTE facilitates all ART-level ceremonies, including PI planning, System Demos, Inspect and Adapt workshops, and Scrum of Scrums. The RTE coaches individual Scrum Masters and team-level Agile practices, fosters a culture of inspect and adapt, and drives measurable velocity improvements across the ART. The RTE tracks and reports sprint burn rates, planned versus actual story point delivery, and release velocity trends, escalating potential overages to the Government IT PM immediately upon detection.

Reporting and Governance

The RTE supports the Project Manager in preparing bi-weekly status reports, Monthly Status Reports (MSRs), and Monthly Financial Reports (MFRs) with accurate sprint metrics, burn rates, and risk indicators. The RTE supports the Executive Leadership Briefing packages on a weekly, bi-weekly, or ad hoc basis as directed by the COR, summarizing program health, critical risks, schedule status, and decisions required. The RTE maintains the program-level Risk Management Plan, the RACI chart, and the Change Request Log, ensuring all items are tracked through closure and reflected in subsequent governance reporting.

Risk and Impediment Management

The RTE maintains the program risk register and leads proactive risk identification, prioritization, and mitigation planning across all workstreams. The RTE facilitates cross-team risk reviews during weekly status meetings and ensures newly identified risks are surfaced to FDA stakeholders immediately. The RTE coordinates mitigation strategies for high-probability, high-impact risks including downstream team alignment delays, Oracle end-of-support deadlines, FedRAMP ATO dependencies, and evolving BRIDGE program requirements.

AI and DevSecOps Enablement

The RTE facilitates the integration of agency-approved AI tools and DevSecOps practices into the ART's delivery pipeline, supporting the program's commitment to leveraging AI for development efficiency, automated testing, intelligent workflow optimization, and documentation. The RTE tracks AI utilization metrics, cost-benefit outcomes, and timeline improvements in coordination with the technical team and reports these to the Government per SOW requirements.

Requirements:

• Minimum 5 years of experience in Agile program delivery, including at least 3 years in a RTE, Agile Coach, or Senior Scrum Master role on a program with multiple concurrent Agile teams.
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, Business, or a related field (Master's degree preferred). 
• Demonstrated experience leading Agile Release Trains (ARTs) using the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe); SAFe Release Train Engineer (SAFe RTE) or SAFe Program Consultant (SPC) certification required.
• Proven experience delivering complex federal IT programs with multiple external team dependencies, regulatory compliance requirements, and formal governance processes (EPLC, EVM, CPIC, or equivalent).
• Experience managing program-level release planning, IMS development, sprint tracking, and burn rate reporting using JIRA, Confluence, and/or ALM tools.
• Strong facilitation, conflict resolution, and servant leadership skills; ability to align stakeholders across government, contractor, and state partner organizations.
• Demonstrated experience with risk management, change management, and dependency tracking in a multi-team program environment.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills; ability to prepare and present executive-level briefing materials and status reports.

Preferred Qualifications 

• Experience supporting FDA, HHS, or other federal health agency IT programs; familiarity with FDA EPLC processes, PPA development, and EPLC stage gate governance strongly preferred.
• Experience with cloud modernization programs on AWS GovCloud, including coordination of FedRAMP ATO activities.
• Familiarity with DevSecOps practices, CI/CD pipeline coordination (Jenkins, GitLab), and AI-assisted development workflows.
• Experience supporting or leading system modernization/replatforming programs involving legacy Oracle systems and cloud migration.
• PMI Project Management Professional (PMP) certification.
• Familiarity with Section 508 compliance requirements and security frameworks (FISMA Moderate, NIST SP 800-53).

Security Requirements

All personnel assigned to this program must be U.S. citizen/GC holder and must successfully complete a background investigation at the Tier 2 / Moderate Risk (Public Trust) level, as required by the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and the FDA. Personnel must complete all required FDA security paperwork, including the FDA Non-Disclosure Agreement (Form 3398), and submit to fingerprinting and identity verification through the FDA Personnel Security Office. All personnel are required to complete mandatory FDA information security awareness, privacy, and records management training prior to beginning work and annually thereafter. Personnel in positions with significant security responsibilities must also complete role-based training commensurate with their access and responsibilities.

Location and Work Arrangement

The majority of work is performed remotely from the contractor's facility. The RTE will be required to travel periodically to FDA facilities in the Washington, DC metro area (Rockville, MD or Silver Spring, MD) for kickoff meetings, PI planning events, executive briefings, and other in-person engagements as directed by the COR. Work is performed during normal business hours, Monday through Friday, 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM Eastern Time, with occasional after-hours availability required for production deployments and critical issue resolution.

ABOUT US

Precise Software Solutions, Inc. is a mission-focused technology services company delivering secure digital platforms, infrastructure, and operational IT services to government organizations. A CMMI Level 3–appraised company, Precise partners with agency technology leaders and solution providers to design, build, operate, and modernize enterprise IT solutions that support critical public missions combining agility, innovation, and performance to deliver measurable results. 

Precise specializes in cloud and hybrid infrastructure, platform engineering, security operations and compliance, application modernization, and data platforms and analytics. The company is known for its agile, delivery-driven approach and innovative engineering practices, applying operational rigor and performance-focused execution to improve system resilience, security, and scalability across complex government environments.

BENEFITS AND PERKS: 

• Comprehensive Health Benefits (Medical, Dental and Vision) 
• Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) & Health Savings Account (HSA) 
• Retirement Plan with 4% match and discretionary match at year end
• Paid Time Off (PTO): 15 days of PTO accrued per year; 7 holidays+ 3 Floating holidays; 2 Innovation days (paid training days)
• Short Term and Long-Term Disability
• Paid Parental Leave 
• Paid Jury Duty leave 
• Life and AD&D Insurance 
• Critical Illness Insurance
• Training and Development 
• Wellness Incentives & Discount programs
• Employee Referral Program 
• Annual Charity Donation Match 
• Awards and Recognition

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

Precise Software Solutions is committed to providing a workplace free from discrimination and harassment. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, age, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, genetic information, protected veteran status, or other legally protected status.

We are an inclusive organization and actively promote equality of opportunity for all with the right mix of talent, skills and potential. We expect every member of the Precise community to do their part to cultivate and maintain an environment where everyone has the opportunity to feel included and is afforded the respect and dignity they deserve.