Sprint Lead Job Description

Responsibilities:

· Facilitate all Agile ceremonies, including Daily Scrum, Sprint Planning, Backlog Refinement, Sprint Reviews, and Retrospectives, etc., ensuring consistent cadence, clear objectives, and strong team engagement.

· Partner with Architects, Business Leads, Data Leads, Developers, and Testers to create, refine, and maintain a high‑quality sprint backlog composed of well‑defined user stories, acceptance criteria, and tasks aligned to business and technical value.

· Provide coaching and guidance to Agile teams and delivery leaders on Agile principles and practices across SAFe, Scrum, and Kanban frameworks.

· Drive continuous improvement by identifying and removing impediments, optimizing team flow, and reinforcing Agile best practices that enhance delivery predictability and overall team performance.

· Increase Agile maturity across teams by fostering a culture of transparency, collaboration, accountability, and data‑driven decision making.

· Track, analyze, and communicate team performance metrics to stakeholders, using tools such as Jira dashboards and Power BI for visibility and progress reporting.

· Coordinate cross‑team dependencies, aligning sprint goals across product, engineering, QA, and business stakeholders to ensure smooth and predictable delivery cycles.

· Act as the primary escalation point for sprint‑level risks, blockers, and scope concerns, driving timely resolution through collaboration with leaders and support teams.

· Strengthen relationships with product, technical, and business partners through consistent communication, expectation setting, and alignment on sprint priorities.

· Champion Agile delivery discipline within hybrid, distributed, and multi‑time‑zone teams to maintain consistency, effectiveness, and high‑quality delivery outcomes.

Qualifications

· X-YY years of relevant experience in Agile delivery roles (Scrum Master, Sprint Lead, Release Train Engineer, or Agile Project Manager) with at least Z years facilitating Agile ceremonies in a complex, multi‑team environment.

· Demonstrated expertise in SAFe, Scrum, and Kanban methodologies, with prior experience coaching teams and leaders to improve Agile maturity.

· Strong facilitation skills with the ability to guide discussions, resolve conflicts, and drive alignment across technical and business stakeholders.

· Hands‑on experience with Agile delivery tools such as Jira or Azure DevOps, including creating dashboards, managing sprint boards, and supporting backlog refinement.

· Experience leveraging analytics and Agile metrics (velocity, burndown, flow metrics, etc.) to enhance performance, identify bottlenecks, and support continuous improvement.

· Ability to thrive in fast‑changing, ambiguous environments with a strong bias for action and a commitment to driving clarity, prioritization, and delivery focus.

· Excellent communication, interpersonal, and organizational skills with the ability to influence without authority.

· Demonstrated ability to balance multiple workstreams, manage cross‑team dependencies, and coordinate across distributed or hybrid teams.

· Prior experience supporting digital transformation or cloud‑related delivery initiatives is a plus.

· Agile certifications preferred (e.g., CSM, SAFe Scrum Master, SAFe Practitioner, PMI-ACP), but not required.

The Cognizant community:
We are a high caliber team who appreciate and support one another. Our people uphold an energetic, collaborative and inclusive workplace where everyone can thrive.

• Cognizant is a global community with more than 300,000 associates around the world.
• We don’t just dream of a better way – we make it happen.
• We take care of our people, clients, company, communities and climate by doing what’s right.
• We foster an innovative environment where you can build the career path that’s right for you.

About us:
Cognizant is one of the world's leading professional services companies, transforming clients' business, operating, and technology models for the digital era. Our unique industry-based, consultative approach helps clients envision, build, and run more innovative and efficient businesses. Headquartered in the U.S., Cognizant (a member of the NASDAQ-100 and one of Forbes World’s Best Employers 2025) is consistently listed among the most admired companies in the world. Learn how Cognizant helps clients lead with digital at www.cognizant.com

Cognizant is an equal opportunity employer. Your application and candidacy will not be considered based on race, color, sex, religion, creed, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, genetic information, pregnancy, veteran status or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

Disclaimer:
Compensation information is accurate as of the date of this posting. Cognizant reserves the right to modify this information at any time, subject to applicable law.

Applicants may be required to attend interviews in person or by video conference. In addition, candidates may be required to present their current state or government issued ID during each interview.