Description
The Head of Release Engineering oversees the entire release management function across the System C group, including leading a team of release train engineers.
This role focuses on managing the end-to-end release process, from development through to production, ensuring that releases are delivered on time, meet quality standards, and align with business goals.
The Head of Release plays a critical role in optimising processes, managing risks, and ensuring cross-functional alignment across product, engineering, and operations teams.
Key Responsibilities
Release Planning & Coordination
* Own the release management lifecycle, including scheduling, coordinating, and managing releases across multiple applications and projects.
* Collaborate with Product Management, Development, QA, and Operations teams to ensure releases are planned and delivered according to business priorities.
* Manage release schedules, ensuring dependencies are identified, risks are mitigated, and deliverables are aligned with business timelines.
* Coordinate pre- and post-release activities, ensuring all teams are prepared for go-live and that rollbacks or hotfixes are handled efficiently if needed.
Process Improvement & Governance
* Develop and maintain efficient release management processes, ensuring they are consistently followed across all R&D teams.
* Promote, implement and improve best practices for release automation, continuous integration, and continuous delivery pipelines.
* Ensure proper governance around release approvals, gatekeeping, and post-release reviews, ensuring lessons learned are applied to future releases.
* Drive continuous improvement initiatives to optimise release frequency and reduce risks associated with deployments.
Risk & Issue Management
* Identify, track, and manage risks related to release readiness, including potential delays, quality issues, or operational bottlenecks.
* Collaborate with stakeholders to proactively resolve conflicts in priorities, resources, or technical challenges that could impact release success.
* Ensure release-related issues are escalated and managed promptly, with clear communication to all stakeholders.
Cross-Functional Alignment & Communication
* Act as the primary point of contact for all release-related activities, providing regular updates on release status, risks, and mitigation strategies.
* Work closely with cross-functional teams (Product, Engineering, QA, Operations) to ensure alignment on release goals, timelines, and responsibilities.
* Ensure stakeholders are informed of release impacts, and that release schedules are communicated clearly across the organisation.
* Foster collaboration and coordination between teams to streamline release processes and resolve conflicts.
Education & Experience Requirements
* Bachelor's degree in computer science, Engineering, IT, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience in release or engineering management.
* Extensive experience in release management, with a strong understanding of software development lifecycle (SDLC) and Agile methodologies, such as SAFe, Kanban and Lean.
* Experience managing complex, multi-platform release processes in a fast-paced, high-availability environment.
* Strong organisational and leadership skills, with the ability to coordinate multiple teams and manage competing priorities.
* Proficient in release automation tools and CI/CD pipelines (e.g., Jenkins, GitLab, etc.).
* Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence cross-functional teams and manage expectations.
* Strong problem-solving abilities and decision-making skills, with experience managing risks and resolving conflicts in a dynamic environment.