VP, Release Train Engineer

Job Description:

Company Overview

Company Overview: Synchrony (NYSE: SYF) is a leading consumer financing company that has been at the heart of American commerce and opportunity for nearly a century. Synchrony delivers credit and banking products that empower tens of millions of consumers to improve their financial lives and access what matters most. Leveraging innovative solutions that are shaping the future of retail commerce, Synchrony supports the growth and success of some of the nation’s most respected brands, alongside hundreds of thousands of small and midsize businesses, including health and wellness providers. Committed to excellence in service and culture, Synchrony is proud to be named as #3 as a Great Place to Work® in India and is honored to be ranked the #1 Best Company to Work For® in the U.S. by Fortune magazine and Great Place to Work®. For more information, visit www.synchrony.com.

Organizational Overview

This role will be a part of the Payments Technology Team which is responsible for delivering the next generation of payments capabilities, including digital wallets, tokenization, and modern payment experiences. The team partners closely with Product Managers, Architects, and Engineering teams to translate product strategy into scalable technical solutions, while also collaborating with Client, Strategy, and Partnership teams to identify new opportunities, shape concepts, and drive strategic integrations that expand Synchrony’s payments ecosystem and drive business growth.

Role Summary / Purpose

The Release Train Engineer will be responsible for leading and coaching the Emerging Payments Agile Release Train, developing new capabilities and releasing these capabilities with our partners. The release train engineer will also be responsible for driving process improvements for the train with the goal of increased speed to market of new features and capabilities.

The release train engineer will work across multiple agile teams with the goal of leading innovative payments and banking solutions to production. This role is responsible for collaborating with scrum masters, product owners, Product managers, program manager and business leaders in setting the agile roadmap for this train, driving new innovations, and leading the agile teams to deliver technical capabilities in partnership with other teams within the company.

The Emerging Payments Agile Release Train is a key part of the digital organization and this role will be responsible for cross train collaboration in planning and managing dependencies across various teams and trains within the company, ensuring that resources are properly aligned and dependencies prioritized across the stakeholder group.

You are the right candidate if you…

●      Have strong knowledge of The Scaled Agile Framework and have been on or led an Agile Release Train

●      Have a proven track record of leading and executing critical business initiatives

●      Are passionate about working with large cross functional teams to deliver cutting edge features to clients

●      Have creativity, enthusiasm, and energy with a strong "can do" attitude and are result oriented

●      Have superior oral and written communication skills, as well as the ability to manage expectations of the business, clients, team members, management, and external groups

●      Are a hands on, self motivated professional with the ability to effectively prioritize multiple initiatives

●      Have a curiosity driven mindset—ask meaningful questions, challenge ambiguity, and pursue solutions until issues are fully resolved

Key Responsibilities:

Release Train Engineer (RTE) Responsibilities

• Lead large/enterprise agile initiative, utilizing Scaled Agile Methodology

• Facilitate PI planning events

• Directly manage team of scrum masters

• Lead, manage and direct cross functional resources (IT and Business) as required throughout agile lifecycle

• Manage collaboration across agile team/s, ART, Large Solution, Dependency teams, 3rd Parties, waterfall teams and any other area that aligns with the team’s PI Commitments

• Track execution of features and capabilities

• Plan and communicate with business, Technology leadership, and other key stakeholders regarding agile program status, milestones, issue resolution and escalation.

• Manage risks, dependencies and priority or scope changes that are introduced to the ART

• Manage multimillion dollar budget

• Coach leaders and teams in lean agile practices and mindset

• Develop effective communication strategy across projects and constituencies

Additional Responsibilities: Tech Product Lead (As Needed):

• Act as Tech Product Lead (as needed) in addition to core RTE responsibilities

• Ensure teams have clarity on outcomes, requirements, and operational readiness for Emerging Payments delivery

• Demonstrate a curiosity driven mindset .ask meaningful questions, validate assumptions with data, remove ambiguity

• Partner with Product, Engineering, Architecture, Risk/Compliance, and Operations to clarify outcomes and drive execution

• Work closely with the Product Manager to translate Emerging Payments problems into technical epics/features

• Lead rapid triage of issues (e.g., provisioning/transaction failures, latency spikes) and drive root cause analysis and ensure sustainable fixes are implemented

Required Skills/Knowledge:

• Bachelor's Degree and 10 years of Technology experience or equivalent leadership program experience or in lieu of degree High School Diploma/GED and 12 years of IT experience, experience in developing and implementing information systems and project management experience

• Proven experience delivering payment solutions, with understanding of end-to-end payment flows

• Minimum of 8 years of experience in developing and implementing information systems

• Minimum 8 years of experience in project management and/or scrum master with strong understanding of Agile

Desired Skills/ Knowledge:

• Good listening and communication 

• Problem solver and conflict resolver 

• Analytical and strong problem solving with a common sense approach to resolving problems

• Excellent negotiation skills and ability to execute at a high level with a sense of urgency

• Excellent organizational skills and ability to collaborate with other team members to achieve cooperative global results

• Self motivated and ability to work independently with minimal direction

• Ability to shepherd multiple concurrent priorities to completion without significant guidance.

• Superior oral, written and client communication skills

Eligibility Criteria:

Bachelor's Degree and 10 years of Technology experience or equivalent leadership program experience or in lieu of degree High School Diploma/GED and 12 years of IT experience, experience in developing and implementing information systems and project management experience 

Work Timings:

This role qualifies for Enhanced Flexibility offered in Synchrony India and will require the incumbent to be available between 03:00 PM to 12:00 AM IST. This window is for meetings with India and US teams. We are proud to offer flexibility at Synchrony. Our way of working allows you the option to work from home or workspaces in our Regional Engagement Hubs—Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Pune, Kolkata, or Delhi/NCR. Occasionally you may be required to commute or travel to Hyderabad or one of the Regional Engagement Hubs for in person engagement activities such as business or team meetings, trainings, and culture events.

For Internal Applicants:

• Understand the criteria or mandatory skills required for the role, before applying

• Inform your manager and HRM before applying for any role on Workday

• Ensure that your professional profile is updated (fields such as education, prior experience, other skills) and it is mandatory to upload your updated resume (Word or PDF format)

• Must not be on any corrective action plan (First Formal/Final Formal, LPP)

• L10+ Employees who have completed 12 months in the organization and 12 months in current role and level are only eligible.

• L10+ Employees who have completed 18 months in the organization and 12 months in current

role and level are only eligible.

• L10+Level Employees can apply.

Job Family Group:

Information Technology