Release Manager

As a Software Release Manager, you will be responsible for overseeing and coordinating the entire software release lifecycle in a DevOps environment. This role involves collaborating with cross-functional teams, including development, QA, operations, and product management, to ensure successful planning, scheduling, automation, and deployment of software releases. The Software Release Manager plays a critical role in maintaining the integrity of the software development process, upholding quality standards, managing risks, and ensuring the timely delivery of high-quality software products(Bodhee) while aligning with business objectives and budgetary constraints.

Key Responsibilities:

Release Planning:

• Develop and maintain release plans, taking into account project timelines, dependencies, and resource availability.
• Collaborate with product managers, development teams, and quality assurance to align release schedules with business objectives.
• Construct and maintain centralized release calendar to provide visibility into all upcoming releases and dependencies.

Coordination and Communication:

• Facilitate communication and coordination among cross-functional teams, ensuring all stakeholders are informed of release timelines, changes, dependencies, and progress.
• Actively participate in sprint planning meetings to align release schedules with sprint goals, prioritize deliverables, and ensure development efforts support release objectives.
• Conduct regular release meetings, schedule Change Advisory Board (CAB) meetings to review release schedules and roadblocks, and provide weekly updates to relevant stakeholders.
• Communicate with application owners and business teams to align on enterprise-wide releases.
• Facilitate communication and coordination among cross-functional teams, ensuring all stakeholders are informed of release timelines, changes, and dependencies.
• Conduct regular release meetings and provide updates to relevant stakeholders.

Risk Management:

• Identify potential risks and issues related to releases, including impacts from third-party integrations or infrastructure, and develop mitigation strategies.
• Work closely with development and QA teams to address issues that may impact release schedules, quality, or scope.
• Measure and monitor release progress post-deployment to identify and resolve any emerging issues.

Version Control:

• Manage version control systems (e.g., Git) to ensure accurate tracking of changes, configurations, branches, and merges related to software releases.
• Implement best practices for versioning, including maintaining a release repository for build procedures, dependencies, and notifications, to maintain a clear and organized release history.

Deployment and Rollback Planning:

• Plan and coordinate deployment activities, including the creation of deployment scripts, automation pipelines, run books, and documentation.
• Develop rollback plans to address unforeseen issues during the deployment phase.
• Lead Go-Live activities to ensure successful deployment to production environments, validating that releases operate as expected.

Continuous Improvement:

• Evaluate and enhance release management processes to improve efficiency, reduce deployment risks, and ensure compliance with quality and regulatory standards.
• Implement automation and other tools (e.g., CI/CD pipelines, ARA tools like Jenkins) to streamline the release process.
• Research and develop scripts or tools for continuous integration, deployment, and configuration management to meet evolving business needs.

Environment Management:

• Oversee the management of development, testing, and production environments to ensure consistency and reliability.
• Collaborate with infrastructure and operations teams to address environment-related issues, including cloud platforms (e.g., GCP) and containerization tools (e.g., Docker, Kubernetes).

Quality Assurance:

• Work closely with QA teams to define and implement testing strategies that align with release objectives, including automated testing in CI/CD pipelines.
• Ensure that releases meet quality standards, do not compromise the stability of existing systems, and incorporate feedback from teams and customers for review.
• Oversee code quality processes, such as conducting or facilitating code reviews, static code analysis (using tools like SonarQube or ESLint), and enforcing coding standards to identify and resolve defects early in the development cycle.
• Integrate code quality metrics into the release gating criteria, ensuring that thresholds for code coverage, complexity, and maintainability are met before proceeding to deployment.

Vulnerability Assessment and Security:

• Collaborate with security teams to integrate vulnerability scanning and assessment into the release pipeline, using tools such as OWASP ZAP, Snyk, or Nessus to detect and remediate security vulnerabilities.
• Ensure compliance with security best practices, including regular penetration testing, dependency scanning for known vulnerabilities, and secure code practices during the release process.
• Review and approve releases based on vulnerability assessment results, mitigating high-risk issues prior to deployment and documenting any accepted risks.

Documentation:

• Create and maintain comprehensive release documentation, including release notes, known issues, post-release reports, technical guides, and training materials for support teams and end-users.
• Validate release notes and maintain documentation on procedures, builds, and dependencies to support knowledge transfer and auditing.
• Include documentation on code quality metrics and vulnerability assessment findings to provide transparency and facilitate audits.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field; a Master's degree is a plus.
• Proven experience (3-7 years) as a Release Manager or in a similar role within the software development lifecycle, preferably in DevOps or Agile environments.
• Strong project management and organizational skills, with experience in tools like Azure DevOps or similar.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, including advanced verbal and written abilities for cross-team coordination.
• Knowledge of version control systems (e.g., Git)and release management tools.
• Familiarity with Agile, DevOps, Scrum, Kanban, or Waterfall methodologies, with hands-on experience participating in sprint planning meetings.
• Experience with automation tools for release management (e.g., Jenkins) and CI/CD pipelines is required.
• Working knowledge of software development lifecycle (SDLC), application infrastructure, system architecture, and programming basics.
• Proficiency in code quality tools (e.g., SonarQube) and vulnerability assessment tools (e.g., Snyk, Veracode, OWASP tools).
• Problem-solving and decision-making abilities in a fast-paced environment.
• Demonstrated ability to coordinate cross-functional work teams toward task completion.
• Demonstrated effective leadership, analytical, and time management skills.
• Experience with cloud platforms, containerization, and orchestration tools is a plus.
• Certifications in DevOps, Agile, or Project Management (e.g., PMP, Certified ScrumMaster), or security-related certifications (e.g., CISSP, CEH) are advantageous.