Agile Delivery Lead

Agile Delivery Leader (ADL) – Infrastructure & OperationsLocation: Remote from MexicoJob Type: Contract 12 months (extendable)
Position OverviewWe are seeking an experienced Agile Delivery Leader (ADL) to lead delivery across an Infrastructure & Operations (I&O) environment. This role requires a strong delivery leader who can create alignment across technical teams, proactively manage risks and dependencies, and drive predictable outcomes while maintaining a healthy, self-managing team.The ideal candidate will have expert-level Scaled Agile / SAFe experience, excellent communication skills, and the ability to integrate seamlessly into an established organization. This individual will play a key role in backlog preparation, PI Planning, SAI planning, delivery execution, risk management, dependency management, and stakeholder communication.This is a critical role where the ability to quickly establish credibility, build relationships, and deliver results is essential.
Key ResponsibilitiesAgile Delivery & Scaled Agile LeadershipLead Agile delivery across complex Infrastructure & Operations initiatives.Apply SAFe, Scrum, Kanban, Lean, and other Agile practices pragmatically based on the team's operational environment.Facilitate and support backlog preparation, refinement, prioritization, Sprint planning, PI Planning, and SAI planning.Partner with Product Owners, Scrum Masters, engineering teams, architects, infrastructure teams, security, and other stakeholders to establish clear delivery objectives.Help shape roadmaps and sequence work to achieve measurable business and technology outcomes.Ensure Sprint and Program Increment plans reflect operational realities, including maintenance windows, compliance requirements, security activities, and KTLO work.Drive accountability for commitments while empowering teams to make decisions and manage their own work.
Leadership & Team EnablementBuild and coach high-performing, self-managing Agile teams.Establish an environment of accountability, transparency, and psychological safety.Identify and address team dysfunctions such as handoff issues, silos, unclear ownership, bottlenecks, and communication gaps.Coach teams to identify problems independently and develop sustainable solutions.Balance team autonomy with clear expectations and accountability for delivery outcomes.Foster strong collaboration across technical and business teams.Risk & Dependency ManagementProactively identify delivery risks before they impact milestones or business outcomes.Maintain a living risk and dependency management process, ensuring risks are actively tracked, owned, mitigated, and escalated.Identify and manage dependencies across infrastructure, security, application, architecture, operations, vendors, and other teams.Establish clear ownership and accountability for cross-team dependencies.Escalate issues appropriately and early, providing leadership with clear options and recommended actions.Translate technical risks and dependencies into understandable business impact.Delivery & Flow EfficiencyUse Agile and Lean metrics to improve delivery predictability and team performance.Monitor metrics such as WIP, cycle time, throughput, lead time, predictability, and delivery reliability.Identify bottlenecks and eliminate unnecessary handoffs and process waste.Improve flow and reduce delivery lead times through data-driven continuous improvement.Balance KTLO (Keep the Lights On) activities with project and strategic delivery commitments.Identify trends that may impact delivery and proactively adjust plans.Stakeholder & Business AlignmentServe as a trusted delivery partner to technical leadership, Team Leaders, Product Owners, and business stakeholders.Provide clear, concise, proactive, outcome-oriented communication.Establish realistic expectations around scope, timelines, risks, dependencies, and delivery commitments.Manage competing priorities and urgent requests without compromising strategic objectives.Ensure delivery priorities remain connected to business outcomes rather than simply ticket completion.Communicate escalations with clarity, context, impact, and recommended actions.Required QualificationsProven experience as an Agile Delivery Leader, Agile Program Lead, Senior Scrum Master, Release Train Engineer, or similar delivery leadership role.Strong experience working in Infrastructure & Operations (I&O) or other technically complex environments.Expert-level knowledge of Scaled Agile / SAFe.Hands-on experience with backlog preparation, refinement, PI Planning, SAI planning, Sprint planning, and Agile delivery ceremonies.Demonstrated ability to manage complex risks, issues, dependencies, and cross-functional delivery.Strong understanding of Scrum, Kanban, Lean, and Agile delivery principles.Experience using flow metrics, including WIP, cycle time, throughput, lead time, and predictability.Demonstrated experience balancing KTLO and project/strategic work.Excellent written and verbal communication skills.Ability to communicate effectively with both technical teams and senior stakeholders.Strong facilitation, coaching, conflict-resolution, and influencing skills.Demonstrated ability to quickly integrate into an existing team and establish strong working relationships.Preferred QualificationsSAFe certification such as SAFe Agilist, SAFe Scrum Master, Release Train Engineer, or equivalent.Experience working with infrastructure, cloud, security, networking, platform engineering, or enterprise technology organizations.Experience coordinating delivery across internal teams and external vendors.Experience supporting enterprise transformation or large-scale Agile initiatives.Experience with Agile delivery tools such as Jira, Azure DevOps, Rally, or similar platforms.What Success Looks LikeThe successful candidate will:Quickly establish credibility and integrate effectively with the team.Create clear visibility into backlogs, risks, dependencies, and delivery commitments.Help teams become more autonomous while maintaining strong accountability.Improve delivery predictability and flow.Proactively identify and resolve risks before they become critical issues.Successfully coordinate dependencies across infrastructure, security, vendors, and other technical teams.Ensure PI/SAI plans are realistic, actionable, and aligned to business outcomes.Provide leadership with concise, reliable information about delivery status, risks, and decisions required.Demonstrate measurable improvements in lead time, throughput, reliability, and delivery predictability.Ideal Candidate ProfileWe are looking for someone who goes beyond Agile ceremony facilitation. The ideal ADL is a true delivery leader who understands technology, operations, people, and business priorities.You should be able to demonstrate specific examples of:Taking ownership of a delivery risk before it became an issue.Managing complex cross-team or vendor dependencies.Turning an underperforming team into a more self-managing organization.Using metrics to improve delivery flow.Balancing operational/KTLO demands with strategic initiatives.Challenging unrealistic expectations while maintaining strong stakeholder relationships.Translating technical challenges into clear business impacts.Successfully preparing and executing Scaled Agile / PI/SAI planning.Strong communication, executive presence, collaboration, and the ability to integrate effortlessly with the existing team are critical to success in this position.