Senior Release Manager

Job Description

We are seeking a highly skilled Senior Release Manager to oversee and manage software releases across the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) and Agile Release Management processes. The ideal candidate will be responsible for planning, coordinating, and overseeing the release of applications, updates, and system changes while ensuring minimal risk and disruption to business operations.

This role requires collaboration with development teams, DevOps, QA, product owners, and business stakeholders to ensure seamless deployments and continuous delivery. The candidate must have a strong background in release planning, CI/CD pipelines, risk management, and ITIL processes while being able to navigate both traditional and Agile frameworks.

Key Responsibilities

Release Planning & Coordination

• Define, manage, and continuously improve the release process across SDLC and Agile methodologies.
• Work closely with Product Owners, Developers, QA teams, DevOps, and Business Stakeholders to ensure successful releases.
• Develop and maintain a release calendar to track upcoming releases and dependencies across multiple teams and applications.
• Align releases with business priorities, security, and compliance requirements.

Agile & DevOps Integration

• Implement and optimize Agile Release Trains (ARTs) and Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) pipelines.
• Support Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) or other Agile methodologies to improve release cadence.
• Coordinate with Scrum Masters and Agile teams to streamline releases within sprints and program increments (PIs).
• Ensure release readiness by conducting Go/No-Go meetings and managing change requests.

Deployment & Environment Management

• Oversee release packaging, version control, and deployment processes across various environments (Dev, QA, UAT, Prod).
• Collaborate with DevOps to automate deployments, monitor system health, and resolve deployment issues.
• Manage configuration changes, rollback strategies, and hotfix releases when required.

Risk & Compliance Management

• Identify, document, and mitigate release risks to ensure minimal impact on production.
• Establish and enforce release governance, change management controls, and audit trails.
• Ensure all releases comply with relevant security standards (e.g., OWASP, SOC 2, GDPR) and participate in security reviews when applicable.

Continuous Improvement & Metrics

• Define and track release KPIs (e.g., deployment frequency, change failure rate, mean time to restore).
• Drive post-release retrospectives, root cause analysis (RCA), and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Foster a culture of collaboration between Development, QA, Operations, and Business teams.

Qualifications

Technical & Process Expertise

• 5+ years of experience in Release Management, Change Management, or DevOps roles.
• Strong understanding of SDLC, Agile methodologies (Scrum, SAFe, Kanban), and ITIL processes.
• Experience with CI/CD tools (e.g., Jenkins, GitLab CI/CD, Azure DevOps, Bamboo).
• Proven experience in managing the release of mobile applications through the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, including app submission, metadata management, release versioning, and phased rollouts. Familiarity with App Store Connect and Google Play Console is required.
• Experience integrating mobile builds into CI/CD workflows using tools such as Fastlane, Bitrise, or mobile-specific pipelines in GitLab or Jenkins.
• Proficiency in version control systems (e.g., Git, Bitbucket, SVN).
• Familiarity with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP) and containerization (Docker, Kubernetes).
• Familiarity with observability and alerting tools (e.g., Splunk, Datadog, New Relic) to monitor deployment success and post-release stability.
• Experience working in a telecom or digital consumer services environment is highly preferred.
• Strong understanding of customer-impacting systems such as CRM, billing, e-commerce platforms, and service activation APIs.

Soft Skills & Leadership

• Excellent communication, collaboration, and stakeholder management skills.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with attention to detail.
• Ability to manage multiple releases across multiple teams and applications.
• Experience working in fast-paced, cross-functional environments.
• Customer-centric mindset with the ability to prioritize releases based on business impact and user experience
• Ability to mentor junior release managers and contribute to the development of standardized release practices across teams.

Preferred Qualifications

• Certifications in ITIL, SAFe, PMI-ACP, or Agile Release Management.
• Experience in large-scale enterprise environments with distributed teams.
• Exposure to incident and problem management frameworks.