Scrum Master

Job Description

Job Description

Title: Scrum Master

Location: Phoenix, Arizona – Hybrid / Primarily Remote; Local Candidates Only

Type: Contract

Compensation: Up to $71.16/hour

Position Overview

We are seeking an experienced Scrum Master to support a large, multi-phase enterprise system implementation within a highly regulated environment. This role will partner closely with cross-functional teams and stakeholders to facilitate Scrum practices, remove delivery obstacles, and help guide a team transitioning from a traditional Waterfall environment to an Agile delivery model.

The ideal candidate brings extensive experience with complex system implementations, 3–5+ years of Scrum Master experience in a software development environment, and demonstrated success supporting Waterfall-to-Agile transformations. Experience with financial, tax, public-sector, fintech, or other regulated technology environments is particularly valuable.

This is a 40-hour-per-week contract engagement expected to last at least one year. The position is primarily remote with periodic onsite meetings in Phoenix, Arizona. Candidates must be local at the time of submission and available for an in-person interview.

Key Responsibilities

• Facilitate Scrum ceremonies, including daily stand-ups, sprint planning, sprint reviews, retrospectives, and backlog refinement.
• Serve as an Agile coach and change agent, helping the team transition from Waterfall practices to an Agile delivery framework.
• Coach and mentor team members on Agile principles, Scrum practices, and effective ways of working.
• Support Agile teams in planning, prioritizing, and delivering work against defined objectives.
• Identify and help remove technical, organizational, vendor, integration, and cross-team impediments that affect delivery or timelines.
• Partner effectively with technical teams, business stakeholders, Product Owners, program leadership, external vendors, and other cross-functional groups.
• Manage complex dependencies associated with a large, multi-phase enterprise implementation.
• Promote effective Agile and Scrum practices while adapting to the governance and compliance requirements of a regulated environment.
• Track team progress, risks, dependencies, and delivery commitments and communicate relevant updates to stakeholders and program leadership.
• Partner with the Product Owner on backlog refinement, prioritization, requirements, and recommendations for process improvement.
• Encourage continuous improvement, team accountability, and effective collaboration.
• Help teams navigate organizational change and resistance while maintaining alignment with established controls and standards.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience working on large, complex, multi-phase system implementations, preferably involving tax or financial solutions.
• 3–5+ years of experience as a Scrum Master within a software development environment.
• Demonstrated experience supporting a team's transition from Waterfall to Agile.
• Experience managing complex dependencies associated with large-scale, multi-phase enterprise implementations.
• Strong understanding of Scrum principles, Agile methodologies, and iterative software delivery practices.
• Strong technical aptitude with the ability to support complex financial or enterprise technology platforms.
• Demonstrated ability to facilitate discussions and coordinate across technical teams, business stakeholders, and external vendors.
• Strong communication, organization, problem-solving, change-management, and stakeholder-management skills.
• Ability to operate effectively within a structured environment involving governance, compliance, and regulatory considerations.
• Must be local to the Phoenix, Arizona area at the time of submission.
• Must be available for an in-person interview and able to begin within two weeks of an offer.

Preferred Skills

• Experience with Jira, Azure DevOps, or similar Agile work-management tools, including complex technical backlog management, queries, progress reporting, and work-item organization.
• Experience with Commercial Off-the-Shelf (COTS) product implementations.
• Experience implementing complex, multi-phase solutions within a regulated industry, particularly public sector or fintech environments.
• Prior software development experience; previous experience serving as both a Scrum Master and software developer is a plus.
• Familiarity with end-to-end data management, including integrations, data conversion, cleansing, compatibility, and data-integrity practices.
• Experience managing dependencies across multiple Agile teams or workstreams.