Software Release Manager

Job Description

Job Description

About the Organization

A nationally recognized research institution where your work directly supports groundbreaking scientific programs. We build the infrastructure behind some of the most impactful research in the country.

About the Role

We are seeking an experienced Software Release Manager to bring structure, consistency, and operational rigor to a large-scale, multi-institutional scientific software project. This is a high-impact role supporting a complex, distributed development environment where much of the foundational work has been driven by researchers and domain experts.

You will play a central role in maturing the software delivery lifecycle — moving capabilities

from research-grade prototypes into reliable, maintainable, well-tested, and properly documented production releases. If you thrive at the intersection of technical coordination, process design, and cross-functional communication, this role is for you.

What You'll Do

• Define, implement, and manage the end-to-end software release process across multiple development teams and partner institutions
• Develop and maintain release calendars, versioning conventions, branching strategies, readiness criteria, release checklists, and change log processes
• Facilitate release readiness reviews, go/no-go decisions, deployment planning, and post-release retrospectives
• Track release scope, risks, blockers, defects, dependencies, and acceptance criteria across multiple teams and repositories
• Establish practical release governance for a codebase that has grown organically through research-driven development
• Communicate release status, risks, readiness gaps, and delivery confidence to technical leads, product leadership, project managers, and stakeholders
• Support a distributed, multi-institutional team by clarifying ownership, handoffs, contribution workflows, and integration expectations

What We're Looking For

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Physical Sciences, Information Systems, or a related technical field — or equivalent professional experience
• 5+ years of experience in software release management, release engineering, DevOps coordination, or technical delivery in a complex software environment
• Experience working with distributed software teams, multi-team delivery structures, or multi-institutional technical collaborations
• Strong working knowledge of modern software development practices: version control, branching strategies, CI/CD, automated testing, code review, issue tracking, release tagging, and deployment workflows
• Hands-on experience with tools such as GitHub, GitLab, Jira, Confluence, or equivalent platforms
• Demonstrated ability to bring structure to ambiguous, rapidly evolving, or organically developed software projects
• Strong written and verbal communication skills with sharp attention to detail
• Proven ability to identify risks, dependencies, process gaps, and blockers — and drive them to resolution

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with research software, scientific computing, HPC environments, cloud platforms (including AWS), data-intensive systems, or AI/ML infrastructure
• Background in transitioning research prototypes or exploratory codebases into maintainable, testable, production-oriented systems
• Familiarity with API-driven platforms, federated systems, infrastructure services, or user-facing technical platforms
• Prior work in national laboratories, universities, government-funded research programs, or large scientific collaborations
• Knowledge of DevSecOps practices, containerization (Docker/Kubernetes), infrastructure as code, or scientific workflow platforms
• Certifications in Agile, Scrum, DevOps, ITIL, or release management (e.g., ITIL4) are a plus

Great Organization!

Company Description

Great Organization!