Release Train Engineer

Release Train Engineer

We're determined to make a difference and are proud to be an insurance company that goes well beyond coverages and policies. Working here means having every opportunity to achieve your goals and to help others accomplish theirs, too. Join our team as we help shape the future. We are seeking a high-caliber, self-driven Release Train Engineer to lead the end-to-end execution, governance, and flow of the middle & large business product transformation value stream. This is not a traditional "ceremony facilitator" RTE role. You will operate as the COO of the value stream, owning delivery, predictability, risk posture, budgeting alignment, dependency management, and cross-functional orchestration across engineering, product, architecture, underwriting, and shared service teams. The ideal candidate is a systems leader who brings structure, clarity, and calm execution to complex programs, while championing an engineering-centric culture grounded in flow metrics, technical excellence, and accountability. You will be trusted to manage the value stream without requiring daily oversight from the VS leader presenting information at the right altitude (CIO-ready high-level to deep operational detail) and demonstrating full control over scope, timelines, and risks. This role will have a hybrid work schedule, with the expectation of working in an office (Columbus, OH, Chicago, IL, Hartford, CT or Charlotte, NC) 3 days a week (Tuesday through Thursday).

Key Responsibilities

• Value Stream Leadership & Execution
• Own end-to-end delivery execution of epics and capabilities across multiple ARTs and teams.
• Drive predictable delivery through flow metrics, capacity planning, dependency mapping, and risk management.
• Ensure budget adherence, resource utilization visibility, and proactive forecasting.
• Operate with a mindset of continuous improvement and operational excellence.
• Strategic Program Management
• Translate VS strategy into executable roadmaps and PI objectives.
• Run pre-PI activities to eliminate ambiguity before planning.
• Coordinate sequencing, scope negotiation, and trade-offs with product, engineering, and architecture.
• Ensure intake ? estimation ? prioritization ? execution ? release is smooth, scalable, and data-driven.
• Risk, Issue & Dependency Management
• Build a proactive risk culture, not reactive fire-fighting.
• Identify systemic blockers early using flow metrics, not opinions.
• Maintain a transparent, no-surprises cadence with leadership.
• Resolve multi-team conflicts with clarity, data, and executive presence.
• Engineering-Centric Delivery Culture
• Promote engineering fundamentals design, quality, observability, testing, and technical debt visibility.
• Ensure RTE function supports engineering, not substitutes for it.
• Never operate as a "status collector"; own the details personally through systems, metrics, and direct engagement.
• Give full credit to engineering leads and team members; reinforce high trust and high ownership culture.
• Clear, Audience-Appropriate Communication
• Present status differently depending on audience :
• CIO-level : outcomes, risks, decisions needed, high-level flow indicators.
• Value Stream Leader : timeline, budget, cross-team risks, dependencies, bottlenecks, mitigation clarity.
• Engineering / Team level : scope, impediments, alignment, actions, next steps.
• Drive alignment without noise and create a predictable flow of communication.
• Coaching & Influence
• Coach and manage Scrum Masters, Program Teams, and Product partners on Lean-Agile practices and flow optimization.
• Improve team health, team accountability, and cross-team collaboration.
• Shift culture from "ceremony-driven" to data-driven, system-driven, and outcome-driven.

What Great Looks Like

Someone who has previously managed Scrum Masters. Operates two steps ahead of risks and escalations. Manages complex dependencies calmly and intelligently. Speaks to executives with confidence and clarity. Understands architecture, engineering fundamentals, and delivery pipelines. Uses WSJF and flow metrics to drive decisions. Makes the system better without waiting for direction. Drives accountability in a respectful, people-first way. Allows the VS leader to focus on strategy, not daily program management. The VS leader does not need to get involved in day-to-day execution. CIOs and business partners consistently see clear, confident updates. Engineering feels supported, not burdened. PI planning is quiet, tight, and predictable not chaotic. Risks are surfaced early and mitigated before escalation. The value stream becomes predictable, efficient, and high-trust. The RTE becomes a true business + engineering partner, not an event facilitator.

Required Qualifications

7+ years of experience as a Release Train Engineer in a large-scale Agile environment. Proven ability to run complex ARTs / value streams across multiple products, teams, and domains. Deep experience with : flow metrics (flow time, load, efficiency, predictability), WSJF prioritization, risk and dependency management, PI Planning orchestration, executive-level communication, strong understanding of engineering processes (DevOps, CI / CD, testing, cloud, observability), exceptional facilitation, conflict resolution, and influence without authority, ability to own delivery outcomes end-to-end with minimal oversight, calm under pressure, thinks in systems, not tasks, obsessed with predictability and flow, data-driven, not opinion-driven, empathetic, but drives accountability, able to challenge product, engineering, and architecture respectfully, high integrity; gives credit to engineering, never steals spotlight, executive presence with humility and clarity.

Candidate must be authorized to work in the US without company sponsorship. The company will not support the STEM OPT I-983 Training Plan endorsement for this position. Compensation The listed annualized base pay range is primarily based on analysis of similar positions in the external market. Actual base pay could vary and may be above or below the listed range based on factors including but not limited to performance, proficiency and demonstration of competencies required for the role. The base pay is just one component of The Hartford's total compensation package for employees. Other rewards may include short-term or annual bonuses, long-term incentives, and on-the-spot recognition. The annualized base pay range for this role is : $136,800 - $205,200 Equal Opportunity Employer / Sex / Race / Color / Veterans / Disability / Sexual Orientation / Gender Identity or Expression / Religion / Age