Senior Release Manager

About the role

The Senior Release Manager is a strategic leader within the Release Management function at NiCE CXone. This role owns and drives enterprise-wide release strategy, governance, and execution for our mission-critical, industry-leading customer interaction management platform. The Senior Release Manager partners closely with Engineering, Product, and Operations leadership to ensure predictable, high-quality, and highly available SaaS releases that meet a 99.99% uptime SLA, while continuously evolving release practices through automation and operational excellence.

Responsibilities

• Own and evolve enterprise release management strategy, governance frameworks, and best practices across NiCE CXone.
• Lead planning, orchestration, and execution of complex, large-scale SaaS releases spanning multiple teams, services, and deployment models.
• Serve as the primary release authority, ensuring readiness, risk assessment, and go/no-go decision-making aligned with business priorities.
• Partner with Engineering, Product, QA, Operations, Security, Support, and other stakeholders to align dependencies, and release outcomes.
• Drive continuous improvement of release processes, change management, and automation across the SDLC to increase reliability and reduce operational risk.
• Oversee testing strategies and environment readiness, ensuring quality gates and validation standards are met prior to release.
• Champion ITIL-aligned Change and Problem Management practices, including post-release reviews, root cause analysis, and corrective actions.
• Lead early customer access and beta programs, managing communication plans, success metrics, and escalation paths.
• Mentor and guide Release Managers and cross-functional teams on release best practices, tooling, and execution standards.
• Act as a senior point of escalation during release-related incidents, coordinating response and resolution across teams.
• Represent Release Management in executive and customer-facing communications with clarity, confidence, and accountability.
• Provide leadership and oversight for releases during off-hours, including nights and weekends, as required.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, or a related field (or equivalent professional experience).
• 3+ years of experience working within the SDLC in enterprise SaaS environments, with significant ownership of release management functions.
• 1+ years of experience leading complex, concurrent software releases in a senior Release Manager or similar role.
• Deep understanding of modern SDLC practices, CI/CD pipelines, and cloud-based deployment strategies (monolith and microservices).
• Strong knowledge of ITIL Change and Problem Management, release governance, and risk management principles.
• Proven ability to lead cross-functional initiatives, influence without authority, and drive alignment at senior levels.
• Excellent analytical, decision-making, and problem-solving skills, with a strong focus on quality and operational resilience.
• Exceptional communication and stakeholder management skills, including experience presenting to executive audiences.
• Experience with release automation, tooling, and metrics to improve deployment reliability and transparency.
• Background in software engineering, DevOps, or QA/testing is highly desirable.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, or a related field (or equivalent professional experience).
• 3+ years of experience working within the SDLC in enterprise SaaS environments, with significant ownership of release management functions.
• 1+ years of experience leading complex, concurrent software releases in a senior Release Manager or similar role.
• Deep understanding of modern SDLC practices, CI/CD pipelines, and cloud-based deployment strategies (monolith and microservices).
• Strong knowledge of ITIL Change and Problem Management, release governance, and risk management principles.
• Proven ability to lead cross-functional initiatives, influence without authority, and drive alignment at senior levels.
• Excellent analytical, decision-making, and problem-solving skills, with a strong focus on quality and operational resilience.
• Exceptional communication and stakeholder management skills, including experience presenting to executive audiences.
• Experience with release automation, tooling, and metrics to improve deployment reliability and transparency.
• Background in software engineering, DevOps, or QA/testing is highly desirable.

Skills

• Strong leadership and collaboration skills.
• Experience with release automation tools such as Jenkins, GitLab CI, Spinnaker, etc.
• Knowledge of cloud platforms like AWS, Azure, GCP.
• Experience with DevOps practices and tools.
• Understanding of ITIL and release management best practices.
• Ability to manage and prioritize multiple projects simultaneously.
• Strong communication and presentation skills.

Benefits

• NiCE-FLEX hybrid work model: 2 days in the office and 3 days remote per week.
• Highly competitive compensation package.
• Comprehensive benefits including health insurance, retirement plans, and paid time off.
• Continuous learning opportunities and professional development.
• Flexible work schedule to accommodate personal and family needs.
• Work-life balance and support for mental health.

Pay

• Competitive salary based on experience and qualifications.

Schedule

• Hybrid work model: 2 days in the office and 3 days remote per week.