Deployment Manager

Title: Deployment Manager
Location: Middletown, PA
Duration: 12+ Months

Note: Position is hybrid; primarily remote off-site with on-site as required in Middletown PA; one week/month for first 5+/- months (Initial Engagement); two non-consecutive weeks/month for the following 3+/- months, daily for the following 2+/- months (Go-Live), then two non-consecutive weeks/month for the following 2+/- months (Post Go-Live).



Position Summary:
We are seeking a Deployment Manager to add to our team assisting the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC) Information Technology (IT) Department for Transition Planning, Cutover Coordination, and Stabilization Support of the PTC Unified Back Office Solution (UBOS) project. This engagement will provide disciplined coordination and governance across a highly complex deployment, reducing go-live risks while safeguarding customer experience and revenue integrity.


Our Deployment Manager will be responsible for, and perform the following:

• Be the centralized coordinator providing oversight functions across various resources, SMEs, internal teams, implementation partners, contractors, vendors and executive leadership.
• Function as the single point of contact for deployment coordination activities.
• Oversee the overall readiness, cutover, and stabilization activities.
• Manage the Runbook development and coordinate its execution by all accountable parties.
• Manage the listed set of deliverables through their acceptance by the Commission.
• Report to Commission Program leadership and governance bodies.

Working in tandem with a Deployment Coordinator, these resources will have the following in-scope duties/responsibilities:

• Plan and orchestrate readiness planning, cutover coordination, issue triage, and stabilization oversight by aligning and mobilizing existing resources and vendors.
• Develop and maintain the Master Deployment Runbook.
• Create, edit, deliver, and receive acceptance of the listed deliverables to this SOW.
• Facilitate cross-functional meetings and command center operations.
• Track and escalate risks, issues, and dependencies to the Commission's governance bodies.
• Create and provide executive and operational status reporting & other communications as requested.
• Please note, the responsibilities of these resources are limited to coordination, facilitation, documentation, and governance support, and expressly exclude system development, system configuration, training, or operational execution.

Key Outcomes;

• Cutover Strategy & Plan including collaborating with each team to create a comprehensive Master Deployment Runbook.
• Controlled and well-orchestrated cutover.
• Clear communications on accountability and escalations during go-live.
• Reduced operational, financial, and reputational risks and impacts.
• ccelerated stabilization and transition to steady-state operations.

Deliverables;
These resources are to provide the following deliverables as part of their duties:

• Cutover Strategy Document.
• Detailed Cutover Plan (tasks, dependencies, timelines) and support its integration with the UBOS Master Schedule.
• Master Deployment Runbook (living document).
• Readiness and risk assessment document(s).
• Issue and action tracking logs.
• Periodic status and stabilization reports (as requested by Commission).
• Mock Cutover Reports.
• Deliverables are coordination artifacts, not system outputs.
• These deliverables must be accepted by the Commission to be considered complete.
• The Commission will provide templates or guidance on the format and content of the Deliverable documents.
• Deliverable Due Dates will be determined in coordination with the Commission. They must be delivered and accepted in a timely manner to provide value to the Key Outcomes.

Phased Approach - Activities for these roles will be implemented in a phased approach with the following high-level duties to occur during each respective phase:
Phase 1 - Readiness Planning (Pre-Go-Live);

• Cutover strategy & planning.
• Roll back strategy development.
• Legacy system decommissioning plan.
• Operational readiness plan including training and change management plan.
• Develop detailed Runbook for each deployment from the UAT stage, Dress Rehearsal, to cutover.
• Readiness assessments.
• Risk Identification and mitigation planning.
• Stakeholder and escalation mapping.

Phase 2 - Cutover Management & Coordination (Go-Live);

• Issue triage and escalation (related to cutover planning).
• Go/no-go decision support.
• Cutover execution coordination.

Phase 3 - Stabilization Support (Post Go-Live);

• Defect prioritization coordination.
• KPI and SLA monitoring for system and operations.
• Transition to steady-state operations.
• Cross-team alignment.
• Cross team communication of software release schedules.

Skills and Experience:

• 7+ Years: Experience in software deployment, release management, or technical program management for enterprise/back-office systems (ERP, Finance, HRIS, Procurement, Shared Services).
• Proven delivery in the role of a Deployment or Transition Manager of at least one large initial production deployment for a net-new enterprise application.
• Proven delivery of at least one large BackOffice production transition for a back-office transition from one vendor to another vendor.
• Hands on experience with CI/CD, environment management, and release orchestration across multiple teams.
• Strong understanding of data migration methods, integration patterns (APIs, message queues, ETL/ELT), and cutover techniques.
• Familiarity with ITIL change & incident processes; working knowledge of security, audit, and compliance requirements.
• Excellent communication, stakeholder management, and executive reporting skills; able to lead cross-functional command centers.

Desired Skillset;

• Experience in Finance/ERP (e.g., SAP) or CRM deployments.
• Knowledge of cloud platforms (Azure/AWS), container orchestration (Kubernetes), and infrastructure-as-code (Terraform/ARM).
• Tools: Azure DevOps, Jira, Confluence, GitHub/GitLab, platforms, monitoring/observability (e.g., Datadog, AppDynamics, Splunk).
• Certifications: PMP, ITIL, Scrum/SAFe, Prosci (Change Management), Azure/AWS Cloud.
• Proficiency with SQL, ServiceNow, feature flagging, scripting (PowerShell/Python), and test data management.