Agile Technical Project Manager / Scrum Master

IBSS is seeking highly qualified candidates to potentially provide Agile program and project management services for NOAA’s Modeling Moonshot Initiative. The work supports multi-organization scientific R&D programs with substantial software components and is distinct from IT program management.

The multi-year NOAA Modeling Moonshot Initiative advances U.S. leadership in Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) through GPU-accelerated modeling, continuous data assimilation (DA), AI-augmented ensemble prediction, and NOAA’s transition to the Model for Prediction Across Scales (MPAS) dynamical core.

Its Research-to-Operations (R2O) focus prioritizes moving advanced capabilities into NOAA’s operational forecast suite through coordination among NOAA offices, federal laboratories, and scientific partners.

The Moonshot encompasses four interconnected technical focus areas:

• MPAS integration into the Unified Forecast System (UFS) for the next-generation Global Forecast System (GFS).
• Continuous DA using a global km-scale Joint Effort for Data Assimilation Integration (JEDI)-MPAS system.
• GPU acceleration and UFS refactoring for advanced hardware, cloud, and high-performance computing.
• AI for NWP (AI4NWP), including emulation, hybrid physics/AI models, and training datasets.

The services will operate across all four areas, providing WPO with program visibility, dependency and risk management, R2O tracking, deliverable coordination, and stakeholder engagement. Although not performing scientific or software development, personnel must understand NWP, scientific computing, and Agile development to engage technical staff and coordinate effectively.

Position summary

Provides science-aware Agile facilitation for continuous JEDI-MPAS data-assimilation teams. Structures work and evidence so NOAA can distinguish scientific-method, observation, workflow, compute, integration, and validation constraints and act on the correct dependency.

Roles and responsibilities

• Serve as Scrum Master/facilitator for assigned continuous-DA teams and coordinate their planning, refinement, reviews, retrospectives, and technical syncs.
• Maintain connected backlog increments for observation ingest/QC, background-error and covariance development, algorithm validation, cycling stability, coupled-component readiness, diagnostics, workflow integration, and performance.
• Help technical leads define hypotheses, datasets, configurations, diagnostic outputs, acceptance evidence, and readiness criteria for research and integration work.
• Track dependencies on MPAS/UFS interfaces, observation processing, common diagnostics, HPC capacity, software environments, verification, and operational transition windows.
• Maintain and escalate impediments, risks, actions, and decisions; connect cross-area items to the Integration Forum and program roadmap.
• Prepare iteration summaries and progress inputs that accurately distinguish coded work from integrated, tested, evidenced, and accepted capability.
• Coordinate with JCSDA, NWS, OAR laboratories, MPAS/UFS teams, and operational stakeholders through Government-approved channels.
• Coach teams on incremental delivery, version/configuration control, reproducible cycling experiments, peer review, automated testing, and evidence-based retrospectives.
• Provide workload-surge coverage to other focus areas and contribute to shared facilitation and process-improvement practices.

• MA/MS degree (or accepted equivalent).
• 8-10 years of experience in the technical area being managed and 8+ years of IT management experience.
• Demonstrated success managing engineering or scientific-software teams and coordinating complex technical project activities.
• Strong Agile facilitation, backlog/dependency management, risk escalation, reporting, coaching, and stakeholder-communication skills.
• Technical literacy sufficient to facilitate data-assimilation, numerical-modeling, scientific validation, and HPC-workflow discussions., * Experience with JEDI, GSI, MPAS, UFS-DA, coupled data assimilation, cycling systems, observation ingest/QC, diagnostics, or background-error/covariance methods.
• CSM, PSM, SAFe Scrum Master, PMI-ACP, or comparable certification.
• Prior work with JCSDA, NOAA/OAR, NWS, EPIC, or operational environmental-prediction programs.
• Experience managing scientific experiments and software integration under constrained HPC queues, storage, data movement, and retrospective-test windows.
• Advanced Smartsheet, Google Workspace, issue-tracking, dashboard, and technical-reporting skills.

IBSS offers a competitive benefits package that includes medical, dental, vision, and prescription drug coverage with a company-paid deductible, paid time off, federal holidays, a matching 401K plan, tuition/professional development reimbursement, and Flex-Spending (FSA)/Dependent Care Account (DCA) options.

Since 1992, IBSS, a woman-owned small business, has provided transformational consulting services to the Federal defense, civilian, and commercial sectors. Our services include cybersecurity and enterprise information technology, environmental science and engineering (including oceans, coasts, climate, and weather), and professional management services.

Our approach is to serve our employees by investing in their growth and development. As a result, our employees bring greater capabilities and provide exceptional service to our clients. In addition to creating career development opportunities for our employees, IBSS is passionate about giving back to the community and serving the environment. We strive to leave something better behind for the next generation.

We measure our success by the positive impact we have on our employees, clients, partners, and the communities we serve. Our tagline, Powered by Excellence, is a recognition of the employees that make up IBSS and ensures we deliver results with quality, applying industry best practices and certifications.