Consultant, Agile Leader (Kubernetes)

If you’re passionate about being part of a dynamic organization that enables a Fortune 100 company with nearly $70 billion in annual sales to drive innovation and adopt new technologies that deliver business results, then Nationwide’s Technology team could be the place for you! At Nationwide®, “on your side” goes beyond just words. Our customers are at the center of everything we do and we’re looking for associates who are passionate about delivering extraordinary care.

This role will work a hybrid schedule coming into the Columbus, Ohio office 2 days per week on Mondays & Wednesdays.

We are seeking an Agile Leader to support our Kubernetes platform team. This role will report to the Platform Manager and will play a critical role in driving Agile execution, delivery discipline, and team effectiveness across the platform. The ideal candidate brings a strong technical foundation, hands-on experience working with or leading teams in Kubernetes-based environments, and deep knowledge of Agile practices.

This individual will serve as the primary facilitator of Agile team operations, helping the team plan effectively, manage work transparently, improve sprint outcomes, and continuously strengthen delivery practices. Just as importantly, this role requires hands-on Kubernetes experience so the individual can credibly engage with engineers, understand platform capabilities and constraints, capture technical requirements effectively, and independently decompose work into actionable stories and tasks when needed. A software development background is a plus, as is prior experience supporting highly technical platform or infrastructure engineering teams.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead all Agile ceremonies for the Kubernetes platform team, including daily standups, backlog refinement, sprint planning, retrospectives, and estimation/card sizing sessions

• Partner closely with the Platform Manager, engineers, product partners, and key stakeholders to maintain a healthy and prioritized backlog

• Capture technical and operational requirements and lead decomposition of large initiatives into actionable user stories, tasks, and deliverables the team can execute within sprint boundaries, including independently decomposing work when needed

• Drive strong Agile discipline and continuous improvement across team workflows, processes, and delivery practices

• Identify and remove impediments that affect team productivity, velocity, or delivery outcomes

• Coach the team on Agile principles, Lean thinking, iteration planning, and effective team collaboration

• Establish and reinforce consistent practices for story readiness, definition of done, sprint commitments, and retrospective follow-through

• Use Agile metrics and delivery insights to help the team improve predictability, throughput, quality, and transparency

• Support coordination across dependent teams when platform work spans multiple products, services, or engineering groups

• Help create an environment of accountability, focus, and continuous learning across the team

Required Qualifications

• Strong experience serving in an Agile leadership role such as Scrum Master, Agile Lead, Delivery Lead, or similar

• Demonstrated experience supporting technical teams in Agile environments

• Strong technical background with the ability to engage credibly with engineers and platform leaders

• Hands-on experience with Kubernetes, including the ability to understand platform architecture and engineering work, capture technical requirements, and independently decompose work into actionable stories and tasks

• Deep knowledge of Agile frameworks, principles, and ceremonies

• Strong facilitation, communication, and stakeholder management skills

• Proven ability to organize, prioritize, and drive execution in complex technical environments

• Experience with Agile planning and work management tools such as Jira, Azure DevOps, or similar platforms

Preferred Qualifications

• Direct people leadership or delivery leadership experience in a Kubernetes or platform engineering environment

• Industry-recognized Agile certifications such as Certified ScrumMaster (CSM), Professional Scrum Master (PSM), SAFe Scrum Master, SAFe Agilist, or equivalent

• Software development background or prior experience working in engineering delivery roles

• Experience supporting infrastructure, platform, DevOps, SRE, or cloud engineering teams

• Familiarity with modern engineering practices such as CI/CD, cloud platforms, infrastructure as code, and platform operations

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