Scrum Master

Leidos is hiring an energetic, motivated, innovative individual to be a part of our team supporting Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in Baltimore, MD. The Scrum Master works closely with the Program team, CMS Partners, and CMS Stakeholders to manage, maintain, and optimize project and service delivery to best support CMS and the general public. The Scrum Master will deliver solutions that ultimately ensure that the functions of Medicare, Medicaid, and Marketplace are carried out for the US citizen and contribute to efforts to reduce healthcare costs.

Key Responsibilities:

Agile Ceremony Facilitation:

• Lead and facilitate all core Agile ceremonies, including daily stand-ups, sprint planning, backlog refinement, sprint reviews, and retrospectives.
• Participate in sprint demonstrations and scrum-of-scrums to ensure alignment across multiple teams.
• Maintain and enhance information radiators (e.g., burndown charts, velocity charts) to provide visibility and transparency into team progress.
• Collect, analyze, and share team performance metrics (e.g., velocity, cycle time, throughput) to support data-driven decisions and continuous improvement.
• Identify and implement new metrics to better reflect team health and delivery quality.

Sprint and Release Planning:

• Ensure that sprint goals, scope, and product vision are well understood by all team members.
• Confirm team alignment with the Definition of Done (DoD) and Definition of Ready (DoR).
• Drive user stories to a “Ready” state prior to sprint planning to support predictable delivery.
• Collaborate closely with Product Owners and technical leads to maintain a healthy, prioritized product backlog.
• Assist in release planning, including dependency management and coordination across teams.
• Help define and refine clear, testable acceptance criteria for user stories.

Team Coaching & Support:

• Foster a collaborative, self-organizing, and accountable team environment.
• Empower the team to own their processes, be proactive, and take initiative throughout each sprint.
• Support the team through change, helping them navigate uncertainty and shifting priorities.
• Promote a culture of continuous improvement, encouraging experimentation and a fail-fast, learn-fast mindset.
• Facilitate the removal of impediments by working with Product Owners, leadership, and other stakeholders.
• Collaborate with the team to regularly revisit and update team working agreements, DoR, and DoD.
• Serve as a shield, protecting the team from outside interruptions and context-switching.

Cross-Team Collaboration & Stakeholder Communication:

• Act as a liaison between the Scrum team and external stakeholders, ensuring clear communication and expectation alignment.
• Facilitate cross-team coordination, manage dependencies, and escalate issues when needed.
• Provide timely updates on team progress, risks, and blockers to leadership and relevant stakeholders.
• Partner with configuration management and DevOps teams on environment readiness, code deployments, and release coordination.

Team Development & Agile Leadership:

• Coach the team and individuals on Agile principles and Scrum best practices to drive maturity and performance.
• Observe team dynamics, provide real-time feedback, and offer tailored coaching to strengthen team collaboration and efficiency.
• Encourage professional development through knowledge sharing, pair programming, and cross-training opportunities.
• Cultivate an inclusive, positive, and engaging team culture that supports innovation, psychological safety, and mutual respect.
• Promote creative problem-solving and critical thinking to help the team overcome challenges.
• Continuously assess team agility and lead initiatives to refine and evolve team practices.

Basic Requirements:

• Requires BS and 12+ years of prior relevant experience or Masters with 10+ years of prior relevant experience, additional years of experience will be accepted in lieu of a degree. 
• Experience-affecting change in organizations working towards agile adoption
• Certified Scrum Master (CSM) or similar agile project management certification (PMI-ACP)
• Experience using agile project management tools, preferably JIRA and Confluence
• Excellent written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills
• Manages time extremely well, can quickly sense when an issue needs to be discussed or triaged
• Strong attention to detail and focus on task completion is critical
• Must have an active Secret Clearance.

Preferred:

• Technology experience software development
• Experience working in with multi-disciplinary development teams
• Relevant understanding of CMMI Level 4 Concepts
• SAFe experience is a plus
• Experience as a Scrum Master at an organization that is committed to using agile as a core methodology to deliver business value
• Experience in any part of the software development lifecycle is a plus - as the developer, tester, analyst, product manager, project/program manager, etc.
• Experience with applying test automation, test-driven development, continuous integration, and continuous deployment to achieve built-in quality by the teams
• Ability to obtain a public trust clearance
• All candidates supporting the CMS programs must have lived in the United States at least three (3) out of the last five (5) years prior in order to be considered.

Original Posting:April 14, 2025

For U.S. Positions: While subject to change based on business needs, Leidos reasonably anticipates that this job requisition will remain open for at least 3 days with an anticipated close date of no earlier than 3 days after the original posting date as listed above.

Pay Range:Pay Range $126,100.00 - $227,950.00

The Leidos pay range for this job level is a general guideline only and not a guarantee of compensation or salary. Additional factors considered in extending an offer include (but are not limited to) responsibilities of the job, education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities, as well as internal equity, alignment with market data, applicable bargaining agreement (if any), or other law.