Scrum Master

Talentify; Charlotte (NC); Remote; USD 81,000 - 139,000; Full time

Job summary

ICF is seeking a Sr. Scrum Master to accelerate Agile delivery for a federal modernization program. This remote-ready role focuses on backlog refinement, sprint planning, reviews, and dependency management across multiple teams.

You will collaborate with product managers, engineers, security, governance, and QA to ensure readiness and delivery excellence, with strong emphasis on metrics and continuous improvement.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent professional experience as described in the job post.
• Minimum 4 years of experience aligned to the role responsibilities.
• Master's degree can substitute for two years of experience.

Responsibilities

• Facilitate Scrum ceremonies and Agile delivery for assigned streams.
• Coordinate backlog refinement, sprint planning, reviews, and retrospectives.
• Manage dependencies, risks, and delivery metrics across teams.
• Collaborate with product, engineering, security, governance, and QA stakeholders.
• Document decisions, risks, and delivery evidence for traceability.

Education

Bachelor's degree in Project Management, Information Systems, Business Administration, Computer Science, Agile Delivery, or related field

High school diploma with 4 years of relevant experience

Minimum 4 years of relevant experience

Master's degree may substitute for two years of relevant experience

Tools

Jira

Confluence

Azure DevOps

Miro

Job description

The Work

At ICF our Digital Modernization Division is an information technology and management consulting organization that delivers integrated, strategic solutions to federal clients. We bring expertise in cloud, cybersecurity, enterprise architecture, data modernization, and digital transformation to support mission-critical government programs.

Join a team accelerating the modernization of a large federal agency's enterprise data and analytics ecosystem. This cloud-based platform provides data storage, analytics, governance, and AI/ML capabilities that enable thousands of users to transform data into actionable insights. As demand continues to grow, the team is focused on migrating legacy workloads, streamlining onboarding and support, expanding platform capabilities, and helping organizations across the enterprise adopt modern data and AI solutions at scale.

The Scrum Master facilitates Agile delivery flow for assigned delivery streams by coordinating backlog refinement, sprint planning, sprint reviews, retrospectives, blocker removal, dependency management, team metrics, and release coordination. Ensures stories meet Definition of Ready before sprint commitment and that cross-team issues are surfaced quickly through Product Operations. Supports Functional Leads and Domain Product Managers while remaining independent enough to identify delivery risks, weak backlog readiness, and unresolved dependencies.

Job Location:

Remote, however, strong preference for candidates who live in the Washington DC Metro Area. There will be occasional onsite meetings on the client site in Washington, DC.

*If you accept this position, you should note that ICF does monitor employee work locations, blocks access from foreign locations/foreign IP addresses, and prohibits personal VPN connections.

What You Will Do:

• Facilitates Agile delivery flow for assigned delivery streams by coordinating backlog refinement, sprint planning, sprint reviews, retrospectives, blocker removal, dependency management, team metrics, and release coordination.
• Ensures stories meet Definition of Ready before sprint commitment and that cross-team issues are surfaced quickly through Product Operations.
• Supports Functional Leads and Domain Product Managers while remaining independent enough to identify delivery risks, weak backlog readiness, and unresolved dependencies.
• Apply Scrum/Agile delivery, sprint planning, refinement facilitation, dependency management, delivery metrics, blockers/escalation, release coordination, and SAFe/Agile experience preferred to support role delivery.
• Collaborate with relevant product, engineering, security, governance, quality, and customer-facing stakeholders as required by the role.
• Document work products, decisions, risks, and delivery evidence to support traceability and continuous improvement.

Basic Qualifications

• U.S. Citizenship is required due to federal contract requirements.
• Candidate must reside in the U.S., be authorized to work in the U.S., and all work must be performed in the U.S.
• Candidate must have lived in the U.S. for three (3) full years out of the last five (5) years.
• Bachelor's degree in Project Management, Information Systems, Business Administration, Computer Science, Agile Delivery, or related field; or a high school diploma with four (4) years of relevant experience in lieu of a bachelor's degree.
• Minimum 4 years of relevant experience aligned to the responsibilities of this role.
• Master's degree may substitute for two (2) years of relevant experience.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience facilitating Scrum ceremonies including sprint planning, backlog refinement, daily standups, sprint reviews, retrospectives, and release planning activities.
• Experience supporting Agile software, data, analytics, cloud, or platform modernization initiatives.
• Experience with backlog refinement, dependency management, risk identification, issue resolution, and escalation management.
• Experience tracking and reporting delivery metrics such as sprint progress, velocity, burn-down/burn-up, predictability, throughput, and team health indicators.
• Experience coordinating releases, managing cross-team dependencies, and supporting multi-team Agile delivery environments.
• Experience applying Agile, Scrum, Kanban, SAFe, or similar delivery frameworks in complex organizations.
• Experience coaching teams on Agile practices, continuous improvement, and delivery excellence.
• Experience facilitating collaboration across product management, engineering, architecture, security, testing, governance, and customer stakeholder groups.
• Experience utilizing Agile project management and collaboration tools such as Jira, Confluence, Azure DevOps, Miro, or similar platforms.
• Experience supporting Federal government, healthcare, or other highly regulated environments preferred.
• Scrum Master certification (CSM, PSM, SAFe Scrum Master, or equivalent) preferred.
• Experience working in cross-functional Agile delivery teams.

Professional Skills:

• Highly effective analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making capabilities.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to work effectively across technical and non-technical audiences.
• Strong organization, attention to detail, and the ability to prioritize and manage multiple responsibilities.
• Collaborative approach with a commitment to quality, accountability, and continuous improvement.

ICF is a global advisory and technology services provider, but we’re not your typical consultants. We combine unmatched expertise with cutting-edge technology to help clients solve their most complex challenges, navigate change, and shape the future.

We can only solve the world's toughest challenges by building a workplace that allows everyone to thrive. We are an equal opportunity employer. Together, our employees are empowered to share their expertise and collaborate with others to achieve personal and professional goals. For more information, please read our EEO policy.

We will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

Reasonable Accommodations are available, including, but not limited to, for disabled veterans, individuals with disabilities, and individuals with sincerely held religious beliefs, in all phases of the application and employment process. To request an accommodation, please email [e-mail] and we will be happy to assist. All information you provide will be kept confidential and will be used only to the extent required to provide needed reasonable accommodations.

about workplace discrimination rights or our benefit offerings which are included in the Transparency in (Benefits) Coverage Act.

Candidate AI Usage Policy

At ICF, we are committed to ensuring a fair interview process for all candidates based on their own skills and knowledge. As part of this commitment, the use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools to generate or assist with responses during interviews (whether in-person or virtual) is not permitted. This policy is in place to maintain the integrity and authenticity of the interview process.

However, we understand that some candidates may require accommodation that involves the use of AI. If such an accommodation is needed, candidates are instructed to contact us in advance at [e-mail]. We are dedicated to providing the necessary support to ensure that all candidates have an equal opportunity to succeed.

Pay Range

There are multiple factors that are considered in determining final pay for a position, including, but not limited to, relevant work experience, skills, certifications and competencies that align to the specified role, geographic location, education and certifications as well as contract provisions regarding labor categories that are specific to the position.

$81,499.00 - $138,549.00

Nationwide Remote Office (US99)