Scrum Master/Team Lead

Custom Software Systems Inc.; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 140,000 - 170,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Health Savings Account (HSA)

Dental

Vision

Long-term disability

Short-term disability

Life insurance

Simple IRA

Parking/Commuting expense

Training/Education

Job summary

Custom Software Systems, Inc. in Washington, DC is seeking a Senior Scrum Master to serve as a servant leader for Agile teams, facilitating ceremonies, removing impediments, and coaching teams toward self-organization and high performance.

You will partner with the Agile Coach and Product Owner to align with the playbook while navigating organizational complexity and guarding the team from disruptions, driving continuous improvement and accountability across programs.

Qualifications

• At least ten years leading projects or initiatives.
• Seven years as Scrum Master for multiple teams in complex, matrixed orgs.
• Two years IT portfolio and customer relationship management experience.
• Knowledge of Agile approaches including Kanban and SAFe.

Responsibilities

• Engaging and coaching product teams to help them recognize self-organization and continuous improvement.
• Work closely with Product Owners to scope and plan current and future work.
• Build self-organizing, empowered teams that own commitments and sprint goals.
• Identify and remove team-level impediments quickly and maintain transparent tracking.

Skills

Scrum Master

Agile coaching

Team facilitation

Stakeholder management

Conflict resolution

Change management

SAFe

Kanban

User stories

CI/CD

Education

Bachelor’s Degree in Business, Computing Information Systems, Computer Science, or relevant technical discipline

Job description

Custom Software Systems, Inc. (CSS) is seeking a Senior Scrum Master to serve as a servant leader for the Agile team, facilitating Scrum ceremonies, removing impediments, and coaching the team toward self-organization and high performance. This role is responsible for navigating resistance to Agile practices within the team, addressing team conflicts and dysfunctions, building psychological safety, and increasing cross-team collaboration. The Senior Scrum Master works closely with the Agile Coach and Product Owner to ensure the team operates effectively within Agile principles while delivering predictable value. This role operates independently with the team on day-to-day execution but adheres to the organization's Agile playbook, standards, and guidance from the Agile Program Manager. This role requires the ability to navigate organizational complexity, shield the team from external disruptions, and drive a culture of continuous improvement and accountability.

Responsibilities

• Engaging and coaching product teams to help them recognize the effectiveness of self-organization and continuous improvement.
• Work closely with Product Owners to properly scope and plan current and future work.
• Team Self-Organization & Accountability: Build self-organizing, empowered teams that take ownership of commitments, foster accountability for sprint goals and delivery.
• Impediment Removal & Escalation: Identify and remove team-level impediments quickly, ... maintain transparent impediment tracking and resolution.

• Continuous Improvement Culture: Facilitate meaningful retrospectives that drive action, implement improvements based on team feedback, and foster experimentation and learning mindset.

Citizenship

• US Citizenship

Required Qualifications

• Minimum of ten (10) years of experience leading projects or key business initiatives.
• At least seven (7) years of hands‑on experience as a Scrum Master serving multiple teams in complex, matrixed organizations.
• Two (2) years of IT portfolio and customer relationship management experience.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• Knowledge of approaches discussed in the Agile space: Kanban and SAFe.
• Knowledge and/or experience with Agile techniques, including User Stories, Continuous Integration, Continuous Testing, Pairing, Automated Testing, Agile Games.
• Experience executing as a scrum master in an agile transformation.
• Proven track record building self-organizing teams, navigating resistance to Agile adoption, and driving measurable improvements in team velocity and predictability.
• Demonstrated ability to address team conflicts, build psychological safety, and guide teams through cultural and mindset shifts.
• Strong facilitation, conflict resolution, change management, and stakeholder management skills.
• Experience working within established organizational playbooks while coaching teams to Agile maturity.

Education

• Bachelor’s Degree in Business, Computing Information Systems, Computer Science, or relevant technical discipline.

Certificates

• At least one of the following or its equivalent:
  • PMP Certification, PMI-ACP, or Scaled Agile Framework or CSM (Certified Scrum Master).

Preferred Qualifications

• Government or highly regulated industry experience preferred.

Compensation & Benefits

• Wage Range: $140,000 -170,000
• General Benefits: Custom Software Systems, Inc. offers our employees a competitive benefits package that may include:
  • Health insurance plans
  • Health Savings Account (HSA)
  • Dental
  • Vision
  • Long-term disability
  • Short-term disability
  • Basic term life insurance
  • Supplemental term life insurance for employees, spouses, and dependents
  • Simple IRA
  • Parking/Commuting expense reimbursement
  • Training/Education

[1] Compensation range must be coordinated with and approved by the CSS Chief Operating Officer (COO).

[2] Compensation & Benefits information is required for all Maryland Employers effective October 1, 2024.