Release Engineering, Lead Associate

The Peraton Health, State and Local Sector is seeking a Product Owner to join us in supporting and maintaining the Medicare Fee For Service claims processing system. In this role, you will be a key member of one or more Agile Scrum teams providing maintenance and operations support for the Medicare Durable Medical Equipment (DME) contract. 

The Product Owner is a driven leader and relationship builder responsible for maximizing the value produced by the Agile team. You will define Stories, prioritize the Team Backlog, and ensure that all work meets the needs of users, CMS, and other stakeholders while complying with the Definition of Done. You will maintain the conceptual and technical integrity of Epics, Features, and components across the team's scope of work. 

The key to success in this position is the ability to build and sustain strong relationships — both within the Agile team and externally — including with Product Management, CMS customers, Business Owners, and other stakeholders. You will serve as the primary bridge between the development team and the broader program, translating customer needs and regulatory requirements into clear, actionable work items. 

You will work within a highly structured, rigorous development environment operating under the SAFe Agile/Scrum framework, supporting quarterly release cycles that are central to the DME program's delivery model. 

Responsibilities 

• Defines Stories and prioritizes the Team Backlog to streamline execution of program priorities while maintaining the conceptual and technical integrity of Epics, Features, and components. 

• Prepares for and actively participates in Quarterly (PI) Planning, ensuring team objectives are aligned with program priorities and CMS requirements. 

• Reviews and reprioritizes the backlog as part of Sprint Planning preparation, incorporating changing requirements, stakeholder input, and program direction. 

• Applies Behavior-Driven Development by collaborating with the team to detail Stories with clear, testable acceptance criteria. 

• Accepts completed Stories by working with the team to validate that acceptance criteria are met and that user value has been delivered. 

• Understands and supports enabler work by collaborating with System Architects, SMEs, and other stakeholders to assist with technical decision-making. 

• Participates in all Agile ceremonies including Sprint Planning, Daily Standups, Sprint Reviews, Demonstrations, and Retrospectives. 

• Collaborates with CMS customers and end-users to understand and anticipate their needs, translating and communicating these to the Scrum team. 

• Works alongside the Release Manager to contribute to product strategy and strategic decisions. 

• Assists with the creation and ongoing refinement of the product roadmap. 

• Assists with managing cross-team dependencies, negotiating and reprioritizing as appropriate. 

• Collaborates with client Product Owners to evaluate whether work adds sufficient value and supports team progress. 

• Bridges communication between Agile/project teams and key stakeholders by building and maintaining strong working relationships. 

• Collaborates with other stakeholders, including Product Owners, Release Managers, and Program Managers, to define and maintain consistent product goals and vision. 

• Monitors and evaluates product progress at each stage of the development process, communicating status and updates to stakeholders and customers. 

• Assists with designing, implementing, and performing user acceptance testing on new programs, services, and enhancements. 

• Works with the Scrum Master to identify and mitigate impediments to achieving sprint and release goals. 

• Serves as a liaison between the product team, CMS customers, and stakeholders to deliver timely information and updates. 

Required Qualifications 

• Bachelor's degree with 5 years of relevant experience, Master's degree with 3 years of experience. 

• Familiarity with the principles of Agile software delivery, Lean process management, and Scrum methodology. 

• Solid understanding of the product lifecycle and product management discipline. 

• Demonstrated ability to work with people at all levels of the organization, including outside consultants, vendors, and government clients, and to influence others without formal authority. 

• Demonstrated leadership, negotiation, and interpersonal skills. 

• Strong communication, presentation, and technical writing skills. 

• Ability to coordinate and prioritize multiple organizational priorities simultaneously. 

• Excellent organizational and time management skills; detail-oriented and self-directed. 

• Ability to identify and resolve complex issues independently. 

• Ability to oversee cross-site, cross-functional teams. 

• Familiarity with Atlassian product suite, including Jira and Confluence. 

• Basic understanding of software development practices and the software development lifecycle. 

• Must be able to obtain and maintain a Public Trust clearance. 
• US Citizen.

Preferred Qualifications 

• Experience with Medicare Fee For Service claims processing systems, particularly Medicare DME, Medicare Part A, Medicare Part B, or the Medicare Common Working File (CWF). 

• Experience working with or in support of CMS programs or contracts. 

• SAFe Agile experience and/or certification (SAFe Product Owner/Product Manager or equivalent). 

• Federal government IT program experience. 

• Knowledge of health care claims processing workflows, data structures, and regulatory requirements. 

• Experience with design thinking principles and human-centered design approaches. 

• Familiarity with GitHub or similar source code management and collaboration tools.