Consultant, Agile Leader (Kubernetes)

Consultant, Agile Leader (Kubernetes) Location: Ohio - Columbus, Three Nationwide Plaza 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 Success Profile ​A strong Agile practitioner who can lead with structure, discipline, and adaptability Comfortable operating in a highly technical Kubernetes environment and partnering credibly with engineering teams through hands-on platform knowledge Skilled at translating complex work into manageable sprint-ready tasks Effective at facilitating discussions, resolving blockers, and improving team flow Passionate about helping teams mature their Agile practices and deliver high-value outcomes Why This Role Matters This role is essential to helping the Kubernetes platform team operate with greater clarity, consistency, and speed. By bringing strong Agile leadership and technical credibility, this individual will help the team improve execution, strengthen backlog management, and create the conditions for reliable platform delivery. #LI-AC1 Job Description Summary If you’re enthusiastic about delivering secure technology solutions to support a company providing extraordinary care to its customers, then Nationwide Technology is the place for you. Nationwide's industry-leading technology workforce embraces an agile work environment and a collaborative culture to deliver outstanding solutions and results. If that sounds like something you aspire to, we want to hear from you! As an Agile Lead, you will coach a robust, self-organized Agile Team(s) responsible for building software solutions with the best technology, processes, and tools. You will collaborate to deliver business outcomes, using appropriate software delivery practices (e.g., Scrum, Kanban, Lean) to continuously improve software delivery efficiency, and quality. You will play a key role in guiding delivery from idea inception to implementation and participate in user communities to learn and implement optimal practices. Job Description Key Responsibilities: Influences, coaches and mentors team members on Agile practices and principles. Removes impediments to the team’s progress; escalate obstacles requiring outside resolution. Identifies risks and issues that might have an impact on delivery and provides thought leadership, facilitation, and communication on a mitigation strategy. Responsible for applying secure software and systems engineering practices throughout the delivery lifecycle to ensure our data and technology solutions are protected from threats and vulnerabilities. Collaborates at the highest level to prioritize work to maximize value towards business outcomes. Collaborates with the Agile Team(s) to provide guidance in the areas of analysis, design, development, testing, automation, and deployment while ensuring the usage of the best capability practices. Guides and enables DevOps, DataOps, AI/MLOps through the adoption and refinement of Agile practices on our most complex and strategic efforts. Monitors and reports on team progress and performance through enterprise and industry metrics while maintaining data quality supporting metric accuracy. Collaborates with senior leadership on demand and financials. Actively participates in variable staffing functions for the line. Facilitates team cadences on business critical, complex efforts (e.g., retrospective, daily standups, and show-and-tell meetings) to encourage collaboration, communication, and feedback within the team; promote a learning culture and challenge the team to be innovative. May perform other responsibilities as assigned. Reporting Relationships: Reports to Technology Manager/Director. Education: Undergraduate studies in computer science, management information systems, mathematics or related field is preferred. Agile certification (Certified ScrumMaster – CSM, SAFe ScrumMaster Certification - SSM, Professional ScrumMaster Certification - PSM) and proven experience across multiple teams is a plus. Experience: Typically, Six years of experience in Agile including three years as an Agile Leader or similar role. Strong technical expertise in one or more Agile practices and frameworks, including Scrum, Kanban, and Lean. Plus, a technical background in Software Engineering. Three or more years working with ALM tools and Microsoft Office Suite. Knowledge, Abilities and Skills: Demonstrated ability to coach and mentor team members and peers. Ability to manage multiple teams and lead cross team initiatives. Strong candidates will put the team first, have excellent communication skills, robust problem-solving ability, conflict resolution skills and be active in the industry. Insurance and/or financial services industry knowledge a plus. Other criteria, including leadership skills, competencies and experiences may take precedence. Staffing exceptions to the above must be approved by the hiring manager’s leader and Human Resource Business Partner. Values: Regularly and consistently demonstrates the Nationwide Values. Job Conditions: Overtime Eligibility: Not Eligible (Exempt) Working Conditions: Hybrid to normal office environment. Associates may have on-call responsibility after normal working hours and/or on weekends. ADA: The above statements cover what are generally believed to be principal and essential functions of this job. Specific circumstances may allow or require some people assigned to the job to perform a somewhat different combination of duties. Benefits We have an array of benefits to fit your needs, including: medical/dental/vision,life insurance, short and long term disability coverage, paid time off with newly hired associates receiving a minimum of 18 days paid time off each full calendar year pro-rated quarterly based on hire date, nine paid holidays, 8 hours of Lifetime paid time off, 8 hours of Unity Day paid time off, 401(k) with company match, company-paid pension plan, business casual attire, and more. To learn more about the benefits we offer,click here. Nationwide is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive culture where everyone feels challenged, appreciated, respected and engaged. Nationwide prohibits discrimination and harassment and affords equal employment opportunities to employees and applicants without regard to any characteristic (or classification) protected by applicable law.