Systems Integration Specialist

NTT DATA is seeking a skilled Release Manager & Scrum Master to join our team in Hyderabad, India. This role is integral to managing the end-to-end release lifecycle of the ACE actuarial platform while leading agile delivery for a geographically dispersed team. The successful candidate will ensure releases are controlled, traceable, and production-ready, while fostering a high-performing agile culture through effective Scrum facilitation. This position acts as a vital link between Hyderabad and global stakeholders, requiring strong ownership, excellent communication, and the ability to manage complex delivery environments under pressure.

Key Responsibilities

- Own the complete release process for the ACE platform, including planning, scheduling, coordination, and deployment across multiple environments and components.
- Maintain release calendars, change windows, and release trains aligned with business and regulatory requirements.
- Coordinate release readiness among Engineering, Testing, and Business teams, ensuring all sign-offs, test evidence, and change management activities are completed before deployment.
- Manage hotfixes, emergency releases, and production incidents with clear communication to minimize disruption.
- Maintain detailed audit trails of releases using Azure DevOps, ensuring traceability from work item to deployment.
- Serve as the single point of accountability for release quality, risk assessment, and go/no-go decisions.
- Facilitate all Scrum ceremonies including sprint planning, daily stand-ups, sprint reviews, retrospectives, and backlog refinement.
- Remove impediments, protect the team from scope creep, and ensure realistic sprint commitments.
- Track and report sprint health, velocity, and delivery metrics, escalating risks proactively.
- Coach teams on agile principles and continuously improve delivery processes.
- Partner with Product Owners to maintain a well-ordered backlog with clear acceptance criteria.
- Enforce Definition of Ready and Definition of Done standards, ensuring compliance with governance requirements.
- Own and optimize Azure DevOps environments, including boards, pipelines, release management, and dashboards.
- Provide regular release and delivery status updates to global stakeholders and represent delivery status in governance forums.
- Apply AI-assisted tools to enhance sprint reporting, release documentation, risk identification, and communication.
- Drive continuous improvement initiatives to reduce release cycle times and improve delivery predictability.

Required Qualifications

- Minimum of 7 years’ experience in Release Management, Delivery Management, or Agile Scrum roles.
- Proven track record managing releases for complex, multi-component enterprise applications.
- Hands-on Scrum Master experience as the primary facilitator and impediment remover.
- Strong experience with Azure DevOps (boards, pipelines, release management, test plans, dashboards).
- Active Scrum certification such as Certified Scrum Master (CSM), Professional Scrum Master (PSM I/II), or SAFe Scrum Master.
- ITIL Foundation or equivalent release/change management certification.
- Experience in financial services, insurance, banking, or other regulated industries is highly preferred.
- Excellent communication skills with the ability to engage technical and non-technical stakeholders.
- Strong organizational skills to manage multiple concurrent releases and sprint streams.
- Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology, Engineering, Computer Science, or related field (or equivalent practical experience).

Preferred Qualifications and Benefits

- Experience with cloud platforms such as Azure or AWS and understanding of cloud infrastructure impacts on release planning.
- Familiarity with ITSM tools like ServiceNow or Jira Service Management.
- Certifications in SAFe Agilist, Release Train Engineer (RTE), or scaled agile frameworks.
- Exposure to AI-assisted productivity tools including Copilot and automation technologies.
- Experience working with geo-dispersed teams and managing cross-timezone communication.
- Opportunity to work on enterprise-critical platforms supporting IFRS and Group Reporting at Zurich.
- Involvement in a major AWS migration program aimed at modernizing actuarial systems.
- Collaborative global work environment with teams across Hyderabad, Barcelona, and other locations.
- Culture of ownership, accountability, and continuous improvement with clear KPIs and decision rights.

NTT DATA is committed to fostering an inclusive and innovative workplace where you can grow your career while contributing to impactful financial reporting and regulatory outcomes. Join us to be part of a forward-thinking organization driving transformation through agile delivery and release excellence.