Release Manager

Job Description: The eCommerce Release Manager is responsible for the release lifecycle. This includes the planning, scheduling, coordinating, deploying and overall management of the software build process through the different stages. Release Managers are responsible for creating detailed readiness checklists and integrated release plans across several products and dependencies, while improving the software build process, and for optimizing the release pipeline. Release Managers are not only responsible for obtaining deployment approval but manage the release activities into production during the scheduled maintenance windows. Release Managers build and maintain relationships with stakeholders, team members and peers and are responsible for communicating release expectations and statuses across value streams, program stakeholders and impacted users.

Responsibilities:

• Facilitates integrated release planning sessions in conjunction with teams and product team members (e.g., Product Managers, Solution Architects) to align on release objectives, identify dependencies across product teams and value streams, define milestones, and provide automated deployments and set configurations.

• Creates deployment plans and accompanying readiness checklists to ensure dependencies are identified and managed.

• Creates and manages the Request for Change (RFC) end to end process.

• Creates and maintains the change management calendar in conjunction with IT change management standards.

• Communicates release milestones and activity progress to all program stakeholders and team members.

• Creates and maintains the integrated project delivery plan across all impacted products (within and across value streams).

• Facilitates the documentation of rollback strategies, HyperCare support, and handoffs to production support teams.

• Builds operational readiness plan (e.g., Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA), run book, call trees with escalations, etc.) to ensure broader teams are prepared for deployment.

• Develops and maintains formal release records to track release content.

• Coordinates the release and deployment of the QA build to support Performance and User Acceptance Testing (UAT) activities as part of release schedule.

• Collaborates with program stakeholders to obtain final sign-off to release a build.

• Communicates release impediments and collaborates with teams to define mitigation strategies.

• Supports/serves multiple teams and Product Managers to drive release goals and outcomes.

• Coordinates the execution of all code deployments to production environments using appropriate tools and tracking mechanisms.

• Coordinates the resolution of portfolio-related production issues due to build and deployment errors with the support of environment and tooling teams.

• Provides teams and program stakeholders with coaching on organizational release management practices and disciplines.

• Assembles and leads multiple cross-functional teams to support IT application releases of varying sizes, including building and maintaining release distribution lists.

• Defines and manages release readiness activities and success criteria in conjunction with program stakeholders.

• Builds and maintains relationships with stakeholders, team members and peers.

• Identifies automation tools to automate build and release pipelines to improve the speed and reliability of the release process.

• Ensures version control for added traceability and reliability of code to track code evolutions.

• Facilitates post-release retrospectives.

Required Skills:

• 4+ years of eCommerce release management experience including deployment using a maintenance window.

• Excellent interpersonal and diplomatic skills as well as a positive attitude.

• Strong communication skills, both verbal and written.

• Strong organizational and planning skills, with experience building and executing tactical plans.

• Ability to negotiate timelines and deliverables with a strong sense of urgency.

• Strong process knowledge of System Development Life Cycles; Waterfall and Agile.

• Flexible, must be able to change priorities quickly, focus on new ones without distraction, able to deal with conflict and work under pressure to meet deliverable dates/timelines.

• 24x7x365 operations including evening, weekend, and holiday work required during release cycles.

Desired Skills:

• 7+ years' experience in IT; BA/BS degree in computer science or related technical field is preferred.

• Familiarity with eCommerce.

• Knowledge of Websphere Commerce, Order Management or Order Fulfillment systems.

• Project Management Certification (PMP) or related experience.

• Certified Scrum Master.