Release Manager

The Release Manager owns the release, change, and transport management discipline for a large-scale, greenfield SAP S/4HANA financial management modernization program for a Department of War (DoW) organization, accountable for the safe, auditable movement of configuration and code across a multi-system SAP S/4HANA landscape supporting nine concurrent financial process areas. This position establishes the release calendar, transport strategy, and change control governance that allow parallel process area development to converge without regression, and leads cutover and go-live execution for each deployment wave. The Release Manager is the standards authority for the program’s change process, ensuring every promoted change is approved, tested, traceable, and consistent with the configuration management requirements that sustain the system’s authority to operate. 

Note:  This position is contingent upon contract award. 

Essential Functions and Responsibilities: 

• Owns the program release strategy and release calendar across development, quality assurance, staging, training, and production environments, coordinating concurrent process area delivery streams. 

• Designs and governs the transport landscape and transport route architecture, including transport sequencing, dependency management, and conflict and overtake analysis. 

• Administers change request and transport management tooling, including change control workflow, approval gates, and automated import scheduling. 

• Establishes and enforces change control governance, including the change advisory board, emergency change procedures, freeze windows, and documented approval evidence for every production promotion. 

• Enforces separation of duties between development, approval, and transport import authority, and maintains evidence of that separation to support information system controls testing. 

• Ensures all promoted changes are supported by completed testing, defect closure, documentation, and traceability from requirement through design, build, and test. 

• Leads cutover planning and execution for each deployment wave, including cutover task sequencing, dress rehearsals, go/no-go criteria, command center operations, and rollback planning. 

• Coordinates with the risk management framework and security functions to ensure releases comply with configuration management controls and do not invalidate the system authorization. 

• Partners with platform operations on system refresh, client strategy, kernel and support package application, and maintenance window coordination. 

• Integrates release management with the DevSecOps pipeline, including automated build, static and security scanning, and deployment gates. 

• Establishes and reports release metrics, including deployment frequency, change failure rate, emergency change volume, and defect escape rate. 

• Sets release and change management standards, patterns, and best practices for the program and mentors delivery teams in their application. 

• Supports post-deployment hypercare and transitions release operations into the sustainment organization for the option period lifecycle. 

• Ability to travel up to 50% to client sites, varying based on client program schedules. 

• Adheres to all certified processes as part of our commitment to maintaining the highest standards of quality and information security, which includes actively participating in quality assurance activities and ensuring the protection of sensitive information in accordance with our security policies. 

• Performs other related tasks as assigned by direct supervisor. 

C5MI Expectations of all Employees: 

• Adheres to all C5MI Policies and Procedures. 

• Always conducts self in a manner consistent with C5MIs’ Core Values. 

• Maintains a positive and respectful attitude with all contacts. 

• Consistently reports to work on time and prepared to perform the duties of the position. 

• Meets productivity standards and performs duties as workload necessitates. 

• Maintains the privacy of all company proprietary information. 

• Treats vendors, customers, and team members with respect and dignity. 
• Able to safely perform the essential functions of the job with or without reasonable accommodation.
   

Minimum Qualifications: 

• Bachelor’s degree in a related field or equivalent experience (Master’s degree a plus); 8-10 years of relevant experience with a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree, or 10-13 years of relevant experience without a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree. 

• 8+ years of SAP experience, including significant experience in release, change, transport, or deployment management. 

• Hands-on expertise with SAP transport management, multi-system landscape design, and transport dependency and conflict management.