Coty Smith

Results-driven Release Train Engineer with expertise in Scaled Agile and risk management. Managed agile release trains for generative AI initiatives, aligning teams to achieve program objectives. Established PMOs to improve project coordination across international markets and led agile transformations that optimized performance and mitigated risks.

• Certified Scrum Master (CSM), Scrum Alliance, 03/01/13
• Certified Product Owner (CSPO), Scrum Alliance, 01/01/14
• Leading SAFe 6, Scaled Agilist (SA), Scaled Agile Framework, 09/01/17
• SAFe 6 DevOps Practitioner (SDP), Scaled Agile Framework, 10/01/22
• SAFe 6 Release Train Engineer (RTE), Scaled Agile Framework, 02/01/23
• SAFe 6 Practice Consultant (SPC), Scaled Agile Framework, 02/01/26
• Project Management Professional (PMP), Project Management Institute (PMI), 01/01/99

• Bank of America, Release Train Engineer, Global Financial Crimes (Contract), 09/01/25, 12/31/25, Coordinating and facilitating the ART ceremonies, managing dependencies across teams in the ART, and providing visibility into the health of epic/feature delivery and the overall program increment., Guide and coach teams on the Agile Release Train on Scrum practices and develop their understanding of Agile principles., Coordinate and facilitate ART ceremonies (for example, Backlog Refinement, Program Increment (PI) Planning, ART Sync, PO Sync, Scrum of Scrums), System Demos, and Retrospective. Primary tools are Jira and Confluence., In collaboration with the Product Manager, ensure the program has a healthy product/program backlog., Facilitate dependency management/risk management/impediment removal for the ART. Promote/facilitate communication and collaboration within the ART to support value delivery and PI commitment., Responsible for providing status updates and reporting pertaining to ART plans/delivery/timelines/impediments to stakeholders and leadership.
• AT&T, Principal Release Train Engineer / Scrum Master, 05/01/24, 09/30/25, Manage and coordinate the release of Generative AI projects, ensuring seamless integration and delivery of AI-driven solutions while fostering a collaborative and efficient Scaled Agile environment., Facilitate Program Increment (PI) Planning, Organize and guide the PI Planning event where teams align on objectives and plan work for the upcoming increment., Coordinate ART delivery, tracking progress toward PI objectives. Help remove impediments and manage risks that affect multiple teams., Single point of contact for the Product Owners and the point of escalation for Scrum Masters., Facilitate synchronization meetings such as ART Sync, Scrum of Scrums and PO (Product Owner) Sync to maintain alignment., Manage Program Risks and Dependencies, Identify, escalate, and track risks and dependencies within and outside the ART., Effectively utilized Planview, Jira, Monday, and team tools to manage and track project progress. Jira administrator.
• Global Payments, Senior Director of Agile Delivery - Release Train Engineer / Scrum Master, 08/01/12, 04/30/24, Coordinate and lead the Program Increment (PI) Planning event, ensuring teams align on their objectives and collaboratively plan the work for the upcoming increment., Drive ART backlog refinement, collaborating with the Business Owners, Product Manager, and Product owners., Identify and classify PI risks using the SAFe ROAMed framework., Measure and Report ART Performance, Track metrics such as team velocity, predictability and quality., Leader in Agile Transformation with the deployment of Scrum, Kanban and Scaled Agile., Coach teams on Agile and SAFe., Responsible for training and mentoring RTEs, Scrum Masters, Product Owners, and Product Managers.
• Coty Associates Inc., Managing Consultant, Owner, Program Manager, 08/01/97, 08/31/12, Consulting focused on Program and Project Management., Delivered IT solutions for clients including Pepsi, Koch Industries, AT&T Wireless, Nortel, Cingular, USData, and Memphis Light Gas & Water, with a focus on ERP implementation, software development, and infrastructure migrations., Product Owner for USData’s Manufacturing Execution System (MES)., Led international ERP deployments for Koch Industries across France, UK, Italy, and Germany., Served as Program Office Director for Pepsi, overseeing a $384 million data center consolidation project, which combined 1,036 international data centers into 3 state-of-the-art facilities., Established and developed Pepsi Program Management offices in South America, Europe/Middle East/Africa, and Asia/Pacific, enhancing global project coordination and delivery.