Associate Principal - Program & Project Management

Job Title Scrum Master cum Program Manager AI Development Agile Team Role Overview The Scrum Master cum Program Manager will lead and coordinate an AI development agile team ensuring effective agile practices program management and delivery of AIdriven software products This role combines agile team facilitation with strategic program oversight to align development efforts with business goals and stakeholder expectations Key Responsibilities Facilitate and lead scrum ceremonies daily standups sprint planning retrospectives backlog grooming to ensure smooth agile workflows and team collaboration Manage the software development lifecycle from planning through delivery ensuring milestones and quality standards are met Coordinate crossfunctional teams and stakeholders to align project objectives with business priorities Oversee programlevel planning risk management resource allocation and progress tracking Implement and adapt agile methodologies to accommodate evolving AI project requirements and improve team productivity Foster a collaborative and productive team environment providing leadership and guidance Monitor project performance identify bottlenecks and drive process improvements Manage communication across teams and stakeholders including reporting project status risks and deliverables Support quality assurance and user acceptance testing processes to maintain product reliability Utilize data analysis and AI tools to inform decisionmaking and optimize workflows Negotiate with stakeholders and vendors to secure necessary resources and resolve issues Promote AI ethics and responsible AI practices within the team and project scope Apply Ciscospecific release management processes to ensure controlled and efficient software releases aligned with Cisco standards Required Skills and Competencies Strong knowledge of agile methodologies and Scrum framework 
 Proven experience in program and project management preferably in AI or software development environments 
 Excellent communication facilitation and stakeholder management skills 
 Ability to lead crossfunctional teams and manage multiple priorities 
 Proficiency in data analysis and using AIassisted tools for project tracking and reporting 
 Strategic planning and problemsolving capabilities 
 Familiarity with quality assurance user acceptance testing and software development lifecycle processes 
 Understanding of AI development challenges and ethical considerations 
 Experience with tools such as JIRA Kanban boards and agile project management software 
 Awareness of basic AI tools and technologies used within Cisco including AIpowered assistants and automation platforms 
 Knowledge of Ciscos release management process to coordinate software deployment and version control effectively