Job Description :
The Release Manager job function is responsible for scheduling, coordinating and the management of software releases across Modesto for multiple development projects. These releases can be inclusive of software packages, application updates, operating system patches, and security improvements. Release Managers collaborate with all stakeholders in software development projects to implement and manage release processes for code through Development, Staging, and Production environments. They also work closely with the leads of different systems and other business units (e.g. Products, Business Analysts) to help manage expectations and interdependencies to ensure timely delivery and integrity for every release.
The Release Management approach is based on Scaled Agile and DevOps principles, for instance Continuous Integration, Continuous Delivery, Agile Release Trains and Program Increments.
Responsibilities:
Assess deployment readiness of software packages coming from each development project. Plan for release packaging with the impacted Engineering and Development teams, verify that all quality criteria are met, and authorize the deployment of releases to the multiple environments under Release Management control.
Define and continuously improve the release strategy and approach in consultation with the project technology and delivery stakeholders and with consideration of the evolving business priorities. In particular, the strategy should consider the transition from Development to sustained Operations.
Support the establishment of environments under Release Management control which consist of multiple interconnected systems. Define and create the relevant tools to support these environments
Communicate all key project plans, commitments, and changes including requirements, QA plans, schedule, and scope to manage relationships and expectations between different teams at different locations.
Organize, chair and document Change Approval Board meetings, which is the governance forum with the authority to approve a release deployment. Facilitate decision making and resolution of escalated issues as required.
Maintain a release schedule to ensure alignment across key partners and vendors and to address dependency issues, in the case systems need to be deployed at the same time. Identify and resolve release collisions when incompatible or untested deployment requests arrive at the same time.
Manage risks and resolves issues that affect release scope, schedule and quality
Weekly Release Reporting
Communicate release details and schedules to the Business as required
Negotiate, plan and manage all release activities
Continually work towards making improvements in the release process
Lead and coordinate the release windows including the execution of the deployment Plans and checklists. Weekend and off business hours support as needed
Maintains a release repository and manages key information such as build and release procedures, dependencies, and notification lists
Deliverables:
Release Management strategy and approach, outlining process definition and implementation and quality criteria
Change Approval Board decision reports and Release Change windows to relevant stakeholders
Release Production Briefs with business values of the scope, lessons learned, and quality metrics reports
Root Cause Analysis (RCA) of deployment issues with continuous improvement plans
Environment readiness report, risks and issues resolution and mitigation plans
Release deployment risk assessment report and memos, with mitigation strategies
Software Release Notes template and documentation
Skills and Qualifications:
5-10 years of previous release and/or Change management experience
Project management experience in managing multiple teams concurrently is a must
Experience in IT integration, in an Agile/DevOps context
Ability to coordinate and lead cross-functional teams towards task completion
Knowledge of software development cycle and agile release train methodologies
Knowledge of JIRA workflow, Confluence pages
Demonstrated effective leadership and analytical skills
ITIL certification is preferred
Should be detail oriented and have ability to work in a fast pace dynamic environment
Should be able to support on Weekends and outside of business hours as needed
Advanced written and verbal communication skills are a must