The Release Lead is responsible for planning, orchestrating, and continuously improving the software release process across multiple applications and environments. This role ensures that releases are delivered on time, with high quality, minimal risk, and strong alignment to business and compliance requirements.

- Own the release lifecycle from planning to post-implementation review, covering build, deployment, verification, and rollback processes across all environments (dev, test, UAT, pre prod, prod).
- Define and manage a release calendar, aligning with product roadmaps, change windows, regulatory constraints, and dependent programs.
- Coordinate cross functional stakeholders (Product, Development, QA, Security, Ops, Business Owners) to agree scope, cut off dates, readiness criteria, and go/no go decisions.
- Design, implement, and maintain CI/CD pipelines and build/release automation on Azure DevOps, including automated build, test, and deployment steps.
- Improve and standardize build and deployment processes, reducing manual steps, cycle time, and failure rates through scripting and tooling.
- Ensure all releases meet defined entry/exit criteria (code freeze, test completion, defect thresholds, security checks, approvals, documentation).
- Manage non-production environments (integration, QA, performance, UAT) for release readiness: configuration, data refreshes, scheduling, and conflict resolution between streams.
- Maintain and enforce branching, versioning, and tagging strategies in source control (e.g., Git), including merge policies and baseline management.
- Troubleshoot and resolve build and deployment issues, working closely with engineering and infrastructure teams; provide on call or out-of-hour support during critical releases.
- Create and maintain release artefacts: deployment plans, runbooks, implementation and back out plans, release notes, and configuration documentation.




- Monitor release execution and system health during and after deployments; drive rapid incident response and coordinate fixes or rollbacks as needed.
- Collect, analyze, and publish release metrics (e.g., deployment frequency, lead time, change failure rate, MTTR, defect leakage) and drive continuous improvement initiatives.
- Ensure compliance with internal controls, audit requirements (SOC 1 Type II), and change management policies (e.g., CAB approvals, segregation of duties, traceability).
- Coach and mentor engineers and QA teams on release best practices, CI/CD usage, and environment management; act as the primary subject matter expert for release engineering.

Your Profile

- 10+ years in software engineering, DevOps, build/release, or environment management roles, with several years focused specifically on release management or senior release engineering.
- Bachelors degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or related field, or equivalent practical experience.
- Strong hands-on experience with CI/CD platforms Azure DevOps including pipeline design, templates, and shared libraries
- Deep understanding of source control systems and workflows (Git, branching strategies such as GitFlow/Trunk based, code review policies, pull requests).
- Solid scripting skills (e.g., Bash, PowerShell, Python, Groovy, YAML pipelines) to automate build, deployment, and environment tasks.
- Experience deploying applications to modern platforms such as Kubernetes, Docker, cloud PaaS (Azure, AWS, GCP),



and traditional app servers (Tomcat, IIS, WebLogic, etc.).
- Familiarity with configuration management and infrastructure as code tools (e.g., Ansible, Terraform, Puppet, Chef) for repeatable environment provisioning.
- Good understanding of SDLC, Agile/DevOps practices, and test automation integration in the pipeline (unit, integration, UI, performance, security tests).
- Experience with monitoring, logging, and alerting tools to validate releases and rapidly detect issues after deployment.
- Exposure to ITIL change and release management processes, especially in regulated or enterprise environments.
- Proven track record managing complex, multi system or multi team releases (e.g., microservices, distributed systems, or large enterprise platforms).
- Experience operating in Agile at scale (Scrum, Kanban, SAFe) with multiple squads or product lines and a mix of monthly and continuous releases.
- Background in a highly regulated or mission critical domain (finance, healthcare, telecom, etc.) is a strong plus where compliance and reliability are paramount.
- Ownership and accountability: Takes full responsibility for release outcomes, proactively identifies risks, and ensures explicit decisions and communication.
- Strong stakeholder management and communication skills, able to translate technical details into clear plans and status for senior management and business partners.
- High attention to detail and rigor in process, documentation, and execution, especially under time pressure and during critical production changes.
- Continuous improvement mindset, using data and retrospectives to drive process, tooling, and quality enhancements in the release pipeline.
- Ability to work across time zones and coordinate global teams; comfortable with off hours work during major releases.

📌 Release Lead - Hyderabad
🏢 Vertex Computer Systems
📍 Hyderabad