Release Manager

Release Manager

The Release Manager oversees the planning and execution of application and infrastructure releases into production environments that support mission-critical government systems. The role coordinates schedules, dependencies, and approvals across development, operations, security, and business stakeholders to reduce risk and minimize downtime. The manager runs release readiness reviews, manages deployment and backout plans, and monitors release performance and incident trends to refine processes over time.

Key Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end release management processes, including scope definition, scheduling, bundling of changes, and communication of release plans.
• Prepare and execute detailed deployment runbooks that define validation steps, decision points, and rollback procedures for complex systems.
• Coordinate with multiple teams to ensure configuration items, documentation, testing evidence, and approvals are complete before production deployment.
• Integrate release management with CI/CD pipelines, environment promotion workflows, and change management practices to streamline delivery while maintaining control.
• Track and report release metrics such as deployment frequency, change failure rate, and mean time to restore service and use results to drive continuous improvement.
• Manage releases in environments with strict controls, including CAB reviews and formal authorization processes, ensuring compliance with agency policies and standards.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in IT, Computer Science, or a related field, or equivalent experience.
• Typically 4–7 years in release management, change management, or a closely related DevOps or IT operations role.
• Solid understanding of release management principles and experience with development/DevOps tools such as Jenkins, Git, and Jira.
• Strong problem-solving, analytical, communication, interpersonal, and organizational skills, with high attention to detail and the ability to manage multiple concurrent releases.
• Experience with risk assessment, automation in release processes, and post-release reviews.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a Secret clearance; U.S. citizenship required.

Preferred Qualifications

• Familiarity with federal agency IT infrastructure and policies.
• Relevant certifications such as ITIL Foundation.

Compensation Ranges

Compensation ranges for ASM Research positions vary depending on multiple factors; including but not limited to, location, skill set, level of education, certifications, client requirements, contract-specific affordability, government clearance and investigation level, and years of experience. The compensation displayed for this role is a general guideline based on these factors and is unique to each role. Monetary compensation is one component of ASM's overall compensation and benefits package for employees.

EEO Requirements

It is the policy of ASM that an individual's race, color, religion, sex, disability, age, sexual orientation or national origin are not and will not be considered in any personnel or management decisions. We affirm our commitment to these fundamental policies.

All recruiting, hiring, training, and promoting for all job classifications is done without regard to race, color, religion, sex, disability, or age. All decisions on employment are made to abide by the principle of equal employment.

Physical Requirements

The physical requirements described in "Knowledge, Skills and Abilities" above are representative of those which must be met by an employee to successfully perform the primary functions of this job. (For example, "light office duties' or "lifting up to 50 pounds" or "some travel" required.) Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with qualifying disabilities, who are otherwise qualified, to perform the primary functions.

Disclaimer

The preceding job description has been designed to indicate the general nature and level of work performed by employees within this classification. It is not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities and qualifications required of employees assigned to this job.