Release Manager

The Release Manager is a newly created role responsible for establishing and leading Express Employment International's enterprise release management function. This position will design, implement, and continuously evolve the organization's first formal release management framework, creating standardized processes, governance, and best practices that enable reliable, predictable, and business-aligned software delivery. Working across Product Management, Engineering, Quality Assurance, Operations, and external partners, the Release Manager will plan, coordinate, and govern the end-to-end release lifecycle for IT products, platforms, and services. This role serves as the central point of coordination for releases, ensuring changes are delivered efficiently, risks are proactively managed, and stakeholders have clear visibility throughout the release process. *Express Employment International believes in the value of in-person collaboration to support teamwork, creativity and connection. Employees in this position are expected to work a four (4) day in-office schedule, with the flexibility to work remotely one (1) day each week, based on business and department needs.* **RESPONSIBILITIES** - Develop, implement, and manage release plans and schedules across multiple products, platforms, and delivery teams - Coordinate release scope, timelines, dependencies, and readiness with Product Managers, Product Owners, Engineering, Quality Assurance, and Operations teams - Orchestrate the progression of releases through all environments, including development, testing, staging, training, and production, ensuring readiness at each stage - Establish and enforce release governance, quality standards, and approval processes to promote consistent, reliable deployments - Communicate release plans, milestones, risks, impacts, and timelines to stakeholders, providing clear visibility throughout the release lifecycle - Proactively identify, assess, and mitigate release risks, issues, and cross-functional dependencies to minimize delivery disruptions - Build and continuously improve release management processes, standards, metrics, and documentation to increase efficiency, predictability, and delivery quality - Coordinate vendor and SaaS application releases with internal stakeholders to ensure alignment, compatibility, and successful implementation **EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE QUALIFICATIONS** - Bachelor’s degree in Information Systems, Computer Science, Business, or related field - 5+ years of experience in release management, delivery management, or a related role - Experience working in enterprise IT environments - Experience working with Agile/Scrum delivery teams - Experience with Azure DevOps **KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, OR ABILITIES** - Strong organizational skills, with the ability to manage multiple concurrent release schedules, environments, and dependencies - Strong documentation skills, with the ability to build clear, scalable process and policy from a blank slate - Strong oral communication skills, with the ability to clearly convey release scope, risk, and timelines to varied technical and business stakeholders - Ability to build effective cross-functional relationships with Product Managers, Product Owners, Scrum Masters, Franchise Systems, and SaaS administrators - Sound judgment and risk-management skills to identify, escalate, and mitigate cross-team and vendor-related risks *Not sure you meet every requirement? Apply anyway!* *At Express, we celebrate what makes you, you. We value diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and talents—because we know that’s what makes us stronger together. If you're excited about the role, we’re excited to hear from you.* *Express Employment International supports Express Employment Professionals franchises and related brands. The Express franchise brand is an industry-leading, international staffing company with more than 870 franchise locations in the U.S., Canada, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand.* *Headq…