ITOT Systems Release Manager

Roche•Hillsboro, OR

About The Position

The ITOT Systems Release Manager (SRM) is the strategic guardian of the manufacturing site's digital landscape. This role is accountable for the planning, coordination, and execution of all system downtimes and releases across the IT/OT ecosystem, specifically focusing on SAP S/4 HANA and Rockwell MES Pharmasuite. Acting as the bridge between Global IT delivery teams and Local Manufacturing Operations, the SRM ensures that Product Increments are delivered with high quality, on time, and with minimal disruption to business processes. You will manage the technical complexity of interface testing, risk mitigation, and cross-team coordination in a regulated GMP environment.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Automation Engineering, Business Informatics, or a related field.
5–7 years of experience in manufacturing IT, Quality, or Supply Chain environments.
Proven experience managing ERP (SAP S/4, EWM) and/or MES system lifecycles.
Strong knowledge of ITIL (Release & Change Management) and Agile/SAFe methodologies.
Experience coordinating end-to-end integration testing across distributed systems.
Ability to communicate clear, precise technical information to non-technical business stakeholders and senior leadership.
Experience working with global/remote teams and influencing decisions in a matrixed organization.
Willingness to support deployments during planned downtimes (which may occur on weekends or off-hours, or holidays.)
Willingness to travel (international/domestic) up to 5%.

Nice To Haves

Experience working in a GMP/FDA regulated environment is preferred.

Responsibilities

Release Strategy & Downtime Management Develop and own the periodic scheduled and unscheduled site downtime calendar.
Negotiate maintenance windows with Manufacturing Leadership to balance system health with production targets.
Synchronize release schedules across disparate systems to prevent conflicts. Specifically coordinate alignment between: SAP S/4 & EWM global releases, MES local updates and hotfixes, and Infrastructure Patching (OS, Database, Security) cycles.
Lead the "Go/No-Go" decision process for all deployments.
Manage detailed cutover plans, runbooks, and Return-to-Service activities to ensure production/packaging is possible immediately following downtime.
Ensure that local site maintenance windows are aligned with the Global ITOT system landscape roadmap.
Product Increment (PI) Planning & Backlog Facilitation Lead site-specific planning for Agile Product Increments.
Translate global technical capabilities into local operational realities.
Act as the Single Point of Contact for the Business Process Expert community.
Prioritize new requirements and functional changes in the backlog to ensure local needs are represented in global S/4 Release Trains.
Ensure, together with ITOT leadership, that expert teams are adequately resourced (budget, time) to execute the quarterly increment delivery.
Quality Assurance, Interface Testing & Validation Orchestrate local and global testing efforts, specifically focusing on Interface Testing between SAP, MES, and Automation layers to ensure data integrity is maintained across the stack.
Conduct impact assessments for incoming changes to determine risks to the production environment.
Ensure validation documentation is complete prior to release.
Technical Risk & Reliability Management Proactively identify challenges that could threaten delivery timelines or site productivity.
Develop workaround strategies and mitigation plans for critical risks.
Manage vendor accountability during critical downtimes and patching cycles to ensure support availability.
Lead technical cross-team coordination during the "Hypercare" phase post-deployment.
Manage the resolution of defects and escalations to ensure a stable return to steady-state operations.
Lead retrospectives and Post-Implementation Reviews to refine the downtime planning process and reduce lead times for future updates.