Release Train Engineer - Contract/Contract to Hire - Portland, OR

Software Guidance & Assistance, Inc., (SGA), is searching for an RELEASE TRAIN ENGINEER for a CONTRACT assignment with one of our premier AUTOMOTIVE clients in PORTLAND, OR .
The ideal candidate is a hands-on RTE who is highly proficient with Jira and Confluence, understands the software development lifecycle, and enjoys proactively coordinating across technical teams. This role requires strong communication skills and the ability to drive alignment and follow-through without direct authority.
Responsibilities

• Coordinate Agile planning and delivery activities across multiple software development teams.
• Serve as a central point of coordination between development teams, product stakeholders, Scrum Masters, and other cross-functional partners.
• Facilitate Agile ceremonies including planning sessions, cross-team synchronization, demonstrations, and retrospectives.
• Use Jira and Confluence extensively to maintain delivery plans, development status, capacity information, dependencies, risks, action items, and key decisions.
• Track development milestones and communicate progress, schedule changes, priorities, risks, and issues to stakeholders.
• Proactively engage team members to gather updates, resolve gaps, and ensure development activities remain aligned.
• Identify and manage cross-team dependencies, delivery risks, impediments, and capacity constraints.
• Coordinate development and change-management activities across globally distributed teams.
• Help stakeholders understand current development status, outstanding decisions, and potential impacts to delivery timelines.
• Drive follow-up on open actions and issues without requiring direct management authority.
• Improve planning effectiveness, delivery transparency, team communication, and overall workflow.
• Support consistent adoption of Agile processes and continuous improvement practices.
• Collaborate regularly with international teams and participate in early-morning meetings when required.

Required Skills

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Engineering, Computer Science, Project Management, or a related discipline.
• 3-7 years of professional experience as a Release Train Engineer or in a closely related Agile delivery leadership role.
• Strong hands-on Jira experience.
• Strong hands-on Confluence experience.
• Solid understanding of software development workflows, development milestones, and delivery lifecycles.
• Experience coordinating work across multiple Agile software development teams.
• Knowledge of Agile planning, delivery management, dependency tracking, risk management, capacity planning, and continuous improvement.
• Demonstrated ability to track development activities and clearly communicate progress and changes to stakeholders.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills with a proactive approach to engaging team members and driving follow-up.
• Strong facilitation, organizational, and stakeholder management skills.
• Ability to influence outcomes and maintain accountability across teams without direct authority.
• Experience collaborating with distributed, cross-functional, and international teams.
• Ability to occasionally participate in meetings beginning at 6:00 AM local time to accommodate global team collaboration.
• Ability to travel internationally if business needs require.

Preferred Skills

• Direct experience working as a Release Train Engineer within a scaled Agile environment.
• Experience supporting Agile software development programs.
• Previous Scrum Master or Agile program coordination experience.
• SAFe, Scrum, or project management certification.
• Experience coordinating multiple development teams with interconnected schedules, dependencies, and deliverables.
• Experience working with software engineering, development, product, and testing organizations.
• Experience collaborating with teams distributed across North America, Europe, and Asia.
• Familiarity with software change management and release coordination.
• Experience improving Agile delivery processes, development visibility, and cross-team collaboration.

By applying for a job with SGA, you agree to allow SGA to process your application for this and future opportunities in accordance with our Privacy Policy. Also, to ensure timely processing, you agree to be contacted by our AI recruiter via email, text, or phone. Message frequency varies and data rates may apply, but you can reply STOP to any SMS message to opt-out of texts and may contact SGA at to opt-out of AI communications. The choice not to engage with AI will not adversely impact your consideration for placement. AI is not used to make any hiring determinations.

SGA is a technology and resource solutions provider driven to stand out. We are a women-owned business. Our mission: to solve big IT problems with a more personal, boutique approach. Each year, we match consultants like you to more than 1,000 engagements. When we say let's work better together, we mean it. You'll join a diverse team built on these core values: customer service, employee development, and quality and integrity in everything we do. Be yourself, love what you do and find your passion at work. Please find us at .

SGA is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of Race, Color, Sex, Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, Religion, National Origin, Disability, Veteran Status, Age, Marital Status, Pregnancy, Genetic Information, or Other Legally Protected Status. We are committed to providing access, equal opportunity, and reasonable accommodation for individuals with disabilities in employment, and our services, programs, and activities. Please visit our company to request an accommodation or assistance regarding our policy.

#LI-VV1