Job Title: Sr. Scrum Master
Client Industry: Travel / Airline
Duration : 05 months Contract on W2
Location: Chicago, IL (Local Candidates Only – Hybrid)
Interview Type: Video Interview
Expected Start: Within 2 Weeks

Job Summary

We are seeking an experienced Sr. Scrum Master to lead Agile delivery for enterprise software development initiatives within the Travel/Airline industry. The ideal candidate will have extensive experience facilitating Agile ceremonies, driving continuous improvement, and coordinating delivery across multiple Agile teams in a SAFe (Scaled Agile Framework) environment. Airline industry experience is highly preferred.

The Scrum Master will partner with Product Owners, Engineering Managers, Architects, and cross-functional teams to ensure successful sprint execution, remove delivery impediments, and promote Agile best practices across the organization.

Required Qualifications

• Scrum Master Certification (CSM, PSM, SAFe Scrum Master, or equivalent)
• 7+ years of experience as a Scrum Master, Technical Project Manager, or Agile Delivery Lead supporting software engineering teams
• Proven experience working in a Scaled Agile (SAFe) environment
• Hands-on participation in Program Increment (PI) Planning / Big Room Planning
• Strong knowledge of Agile, Scrum, Kanban, and Lean methodologies
• Experience facilitating Sprint Planning, Daily Stand-ups, Sprint Reviews, Sprint Retrospectives, and Backlog Refinement
• Experience managing cross-team dependencies and coordinating delivery across multiple Agile workstreams
• Ability to coach Agile teams and stakeholders on Agile principles and continuous improvement
• Strong understanding of modern software development practices
• Familiarity with:
  • Java applications
  • AWS Cloud
  • REST APIs
  • CI/CD and DevOps concepts
• Strong communication, leadership, conflict resolution, and stakeholder management skills

Preferred Qualifications

• Airline or Travel industry experience
• SAFe Scrum Master (SSM) or SAFe Advanced Scrum Master certification
• Experience supporting distributed Agile teams
• Experience using Jira, Confluence, Azure DevOps, or similar Agile tools

Key Responsibilities

• Facilitate all Scrum ceremonies and ensure adherence to Agile best practices
• Support multiple Agile teams within a SAFe delivery model
• Coordinate Program Increment (PI) Planning and execution
• Remove blockers and impediments impacting team delivery
• Track sprint progress, team velocity, and delivery metrics
• Manage cross-team dependencies and risks
• Collaborate with Product Owners to maintain healthy product backlogs
• Coach teams on Agile maturity and continuous improvement
• Communicate project status, risks, and milestones to leadership
• Foster collaboration among engineering, QA, architecture, and business stakeholders
• Support successful delivery of cloud-native applications built using Java, AWS, and API technologies

Required Skills

• Scrum Master
• Agile
• SAFe
• Program Increment (PI) Planning
• Sprint Planning
• Agile Coaching
• Jira
• Confluence
• Java
• AWS
• REST APIs
• Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC)
• Risk Management
• Stakeholder Management
• Cross-functional Team Leadership

Nice to Have

• Airline domain experience
• Travel industry experience
• Azure DevOps
• DevOps/CI-CD knowledge
• Release Management experience