Release Manager

TISTA Science and Technology Corporation•Rockville, MD

4d•Remote

About The Position

The Release Manager owns release governance, IT change control, and deployment coordination across the product line for TISTA's prime contract performance on the Department of Veterans Affairs Supply Chain Management DevSecOps (SCMDSO) task order supporting VA's supply chain and logistics Product Line. This position is the single point of coordination for every release moving from build through pre-release review, Assessment and Authorization confirmation, Initial Operating Capability, production deployment, and 90 day post deployment stabilization. The Release Manager ensures every release follows the VA DevSecOps Release Framework, is fully documented in the Build Release Package and Release and Deployment Support Package, is scheduled and deconflicted in the VA release calendar, and passes evidence-based go/no-go decisions before reaching Veteran-facing sites.

Requirements

8+ years in IT release management on federal programs, including 3+ years coordinating deployments across multiple Agile/SAFe teams and enterprise systems.
Expertise in managing release calendars, CI/CD pipelines, and IT change control processes (including Change Advisory Board coordination) using ServiceNow, Jira, and GitHub.
Proven ability to author and assemble comprehensive release documentation for federal health systems, including operations manuals, deployment guides, and disaster recovery plans.
Highly skilled in coordinating Initial Operating Capability (IOC) releases, zero-disruption production cutovers, rehearsed rollbacks, and post-deployment hypercare.
Strict enforcer of release readiness gates, ensuring all deployments meet requirements for test execution, defect resolution, ATO security compliance, and Section 508 conformance.
Proficient in sequencing complex, mixed-stack deployments (from legacy VistA systems to modern SaaS/cloud environments) while actively tracking Agile and DORA metrics.
Deeply familiar with VA OIT standards, including the DevSecOps Release Framework, VIP Guide, PLM Transformation Playbook, and Configuration Control Board processes.
Strong operational leader capable of managing cross-team dependencies, directing after-hours incident response, and utilizing AI-assisted tools for release readiness evaluations.

Nice To Haves

Highly preferred experience managing releases for VA supply chain products (e.g., Maximo, Nuvolo) and aligning with major enterprise rollouts like Oracle Health EHR.
Master's degree preferred
ITIL 4 Managing Professional or ITIL 4 Specialist: Create, Deliver and Support
SAFe Program Consultant (SPC) or SAFe DevOps (SDP)
PMP or PMI-ACP
ServiceNow Certified System Administrator or ITSM Implementation Specialist
Security+ or equivalent (understanding of ATO/RMF)

Responsibilities

Lead release governance, IT change control, and deployment coordination across the product line, guiding Scrum Masters and Release Train Engineers.
Manage the product line release calendar in ServiceNow, sequencing deployments to avoid collisions and aligning them with the overall master schedule.
Assemble and rigorously quality-check Build Release Packages, ensuring all code, test results, and security (ATO) documentation meet strict readiness criteria before deployment.
Own the IT change management process by overseeing Change Advisory Board (CAB) reviews and ensuring every production change is fully authorized and traceable.
Coordinate Initial Operating Capability (IOC) phases, enforcing strict error-free periods, and direct zero-disruption deployment cutovers with rehearsed rollback plans.
Oversee post-deployment acceptance and a 90-day hypercare period, tracking defect resolutions to closure and finalizing the Release and Deployment Support Packages.
Track and report essential release performance metrics—such as deployment frequency, rollback rates, and change failure rates—to monitor and improve deployment success.
Drive business growth and team development by contributing release strategies to proposals, mentoring team members, and participating in the hiring process.
Enhance corporate operations by developing reusable release templates, exploring AI-assisted deployment tools, and sharing best practices across internal communities.