Release Management Specialist

Autocar, LLC•Birmingham, AL

8d•Onsite

About The Position

Drive Operational Excellence. Deliver Production Readiness. Shape the Future of Commercial Vehicles. Are you a highly organized, analytical professional who thrives at the intersection of engineering, supply chain, and manufacturing? We're looking for a Release Management Specialist to play a critical role in transforming customer requirements into production-ready vehicle builds. In this role, you'll serve as the central coordinator between Engineering, Planning, Supply Chain, Manufacturing, and Sales teams—ensuring custom truck orders are accurately defined, validated, and released on time. If you enjoy solving complex problems, managing cross-functional priorities, and driving operational performance, we'd love to hear from you.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Supply Chain Management, Operations Management, Business, or a related field (or equivalent combination of education and experience).
Strong analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making skills.
Excellent communication and relationship-building abilities.
Proven ability to coordinate complex projects across multiple functional teams.
Advanced Microsoft Excel and business application skills.
Experience with ERP, PLM, manufacturing, inventory management, or related systems.
Knowledge of engineering change management, production planning, and supply chain processes.
Ability to successfully manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced manufacturing environment.

Nice To Haves

Experience in commercial vehicle, automotive, heavy equipment, or manufacturing industries.
Familiarity with Teamcenter (TC), Workflow Portal, QAD, or similar enterprise systems.
Knowledge of Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, and Continuous Improvement methodologies.
Experience building dashboards and reporting solutions using Power BI.
Understanding of product development, engineering release, and manufacturing launch processes.

Responsibilities

Lead the Order Release Process: Review and validate engineering orders (E-Orders) for completeness, accuracy, and manufacturability. Ensure material availability and proactively mitigate component and supply chain risks. Partner with Engineering, Planning, and Scheduling teams to align orders with production schedules. Drive resolution of release constraints and maintain visibility of critical action items through closure.
Coordinate Cross-Functional Teams: Serve as the primary point of contact for release-related issues including build date changes, order splits, truck unlock requests, and displaced production slots. Collaborate daily with Engineering, Procurement, Master Scheduling, and Plant Operations teams. Develop dashboards, reports, and tracking tools that provide visibility into risks, priorities, and release status.
Manage Engineering Changes: Monitor Engineering Change Orders (ECOs) and assess impacts on production schedules. Coordinate engineering change implementation activities while protecting production freeze windows. Identify and escalate risks related to material readiness, late changes, and scheduling conflicts.
Support Product Launches & Model Year Transitions: Lead breakpoint planning and inventory transition activities associated with engineering changes and new product introductions. Coordinate model year configuration changes and vehicle retranslation activities. Support prototype builds, pilot programs, and major product development initiatives.
Drive Continuous Improvement: Perform root cause analysis on release delays, missed freeze dates, and schedule disruptions. Develop metrics and reporting tools using Power BI and other analytical platforms. Lead process improvement initiatives that improve release performance, efficiency, and schedule adherence.