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Job Title: Scrum Master / Program Manager - AI Initiatives
Location: - onsite - Minneapolis, MN
Type: Contract
Role Summary
Lead enterprise AI and digital transformation initiatives while serving as Scrum Master for cross-functional teams. Drive discovery, delivery, governance, stakeholder alignment, and AI adoption across business and technology organizations.
Key Responsibilities
- Facilitate all Scrum ceremonies including Sprint Planning, Daily Stand-ups, Reviews, Backlog Refinement and Retrospectives.
- Serve as Scrum Master for Agile teams and ensure adherence to Agile principles and delivery excellence.
- Drive discovery, planning, roadmap creation and execution for AI-enabled business initiatives.
- Partner with Product Owners, Architects, Engineering Leads, Data Scientists, UX teams and business stakeholders to define priorities.
- Track dependencies, risks, issues and impediments across teams and vendors.
- Manage program level reporting, governance, status updates, metrics and executive communication.
- Coach teams on Agile maturity, continuous improvement and self-organization.
- Ensure timely delivery of discovery artifacts, user stories, solution designs and business outcomes.
- Lead PI planning, release planning and roadmap reviews using Jira and roadmap tools.
- Coordinate onsite-offshore teams and multi-vendor delivery models.
AI & Innovation Responsibilities (Preferred)
- Identify opportunities to leverage Generative AI, Machine Learning and Intelligent Automation within financial services processes.
- Coordinate AI proof-of-concepts, pilots and production deployments.
- Work with AI Engineering and Enterprise AI Council to translate business problems into AI use cases.
- Facilitate AI backlog prioritization using business value, risk and feasibility criteria.
- Support responsible AI practices including governance, model risk awareness, explainability and compliance considerations.
- Track AI adoption KPIs, business value realization and operational impact.
- Help establish AI operating models, delivery frameworks and best practices.
Required Qualifications
- 5+ years of Scrum Master experience with at least 2 years managing enterprise programs or portfolios.
- Certified Scrum Master (CSM), PSM or equivalent Agile certification preferred.
- Strong experience in Jira and Agile planning/reporting tools.
- Experience working in Banking, Wealth Management, Financial Services or Insurance domains.
- Experience leading discovery and requirements definition activities.
- Excellent stakeholder management, communication and facilitation skills.
- Experience managing distributed onsite-offshore teams.
- Strong understanding of Agile, Scrum, Kanban and scaled Agile delivery models.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience supporting AI, Data Analytics, Machine Learning or Generative AI initiatives.
- Exposure to Azure AI, OpenAI, Copilot, cloud data platforms or MLOps environments.
- Knowledge of model lifecycle management and AI governance frameworks.
- Experience managing business cases, benefits tracking and executive presentations.
- SAFe certification, PMP or Program Management certification is a plus.
Screening Criteria
- Examples of AI/GenAI projects led or coordinated.
- Experience resolving complex cross-team delivery dependencies.
- Ability to communicate with senior business leaders and technical teams.
- Metrics-driven approach to Agile delivery and continuous improvement.